A 26-year-old CEO and founder of a London-based business has been named amongst the likes of Luke Littler and Ambika Mod as one of the 25 most inspiring people under 30 in The Sunday Times Young Power List.
Joe Seddon set up tech company Zero Gravity, that helps students from low opportunity areas of the country get into top universities and careers, with the last £200 of his student loan at age 21. He told MyLondon: “I was passionate about this issue because I grew up in a single parent household in West Yorkshire, and saw first hand just how difficult it is to break in to top universities so I wanted to do something to shake the system up.”
Joe went to a state school in Yorkshire and then studied at Oxford University, he explained that during his time at the elite institution he realised “everyone was intelligent and hardworking, but I didn’t think they were fundamentally any more talented than the people I grew up with.”
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Now, Zero Gravity has supported over 8000 students from low opportunity backgrounds into top universities and over 800 into Oxbridge. They have also funded over £1.5 millions of scholarships for some of those students “because it’s not just about getting in the door, it’s about being able to survive and thrive there.”
Zero Gravity also helps young people land jobs with the biggest employers. Joe added: “This is not just about universities, this is about shaking up the wider system and trying to create a country where talent matches opportunity.
“It’s just surreal seeing how Zero Gravity has grown and I’m happy that the impact has been recognised. There’s a lot of news stories about how tech is causing social problems so I think seeing a story of a tech start up which is actually providing some good in the world will hopefully inspire people.”
The company have also just announced a £438,000 scholarship scheme with Mercedes Benz Formula One team, deploying scholarships to talented students who want to study STEM subjects at university. Zero Gravity also try and work with a variety of companies and help connect students with art companies too.
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