Vernon Kerswell Flies High
Vernon Kerswell, from Picklescott near Shrewsbury, is a teenager with a vision. At the age of 19, in 2007 he took a crash course in Chinese (Mandarin) at the Manchester University’s Confucius Institute and then used his £1,500 overdraft on a life-changing business trip to remote industrial areas away from Beijing. He then found there a company making lightweight, rechargeable, remote-controlled helicopters and UFOs. He was amazed with what he found and spotted the potential in those toys he saw. Kerswell then specified some design changes, and placed an order for 2,000 of those products. He then stored hundreds of the toys in his student bedroom in Hulme Hall in Victoria Park, Manchester, to deal with the high volume of orders. He sold most of them in one month over Christmas. His Extreme Fliers business sold the three models of helicopter and one UFO via the internet or through five shops. Kerswell, an information systems engineering student at Manchester Business School, won the £1,000 first prize in the Venture Out competition, run by Manchester University’s Manchester Science and Enterprise Centre (MSEC). This annual competition encourages people to put forward ideas with a potential commercial application, with the first prize given to the project that is judged to have the most chance of success.
I met the hardworking and talented young man one day while having lunch at a fast food joint, and found him very likeable, motivated, and an excellent businessman. That is why I was not surprised when I later found out that Kerswell says he used a lifetime’s worth of friends and networks to pull together the necessary skills and knowledge, to make his business work and obtain that prestigious prize.
“Effective management of knowledge was essential for the success of the business,” he said. “I hardly slept during December, I was so busy organising deliveries, promoting the products and dealing with orders and getting them into shops while doing essays and assignments,” said Vernon. Clearly, he has a knack for networking as well as a very good management system that works.
“As soon as I saw the helicopters, I knew this was the product I was looking for. They are fantastic. They use infrared, which makes them very responsive to the controls, and they also have a highly refined battery that gives them extra power compared to cheaper products. They are easy to use but are also very high quality which means they can crash without breaking. Our machines are much more durable and reliable - I ensured they were manufactured ethically in the factory and had quality control people at the end of the production lines to test each one. I am truly grateful to everyone who has offered their skills and time to help make it a success.”
I also asked him about doing business in China, and he had lots to say about China. “China is an entrepreneurs’ paradise – it’s the fastest growing economy in the world – where everyone wants to succeed and grab a piece of the action. Walking down the streets of Beijing, you’ll see people on bikes, towing a trailer laden with melons, rocking side to side, which he will sell, for example. There are opportunities everywhere!”
When I asked him about comments on doing business, Kerswell had this important piece of advice: “Running a business is exciting, you have to have fun and enjoy what you are doing – forget the money, because that will come as the business develops. Extreme Fliers is about developing great new gadgets!”
His motivation is contagious, and his business ideas, solid. You can visit his website at http://www.extremefliers.co.uk/ and check out his excellent products, the X Hunter, Justice, Invader and Rescue. Meeting this outstanding individual was my privilege.
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