Teen who refused to go to college now earns over £750,000 a year and works with celebrity investors

For most teenagers, the most important thing in their lives is hanging out with friends and surviving school.

But for budding entrepreneur Harrison Nott, his goals have always been in the world of business.

After completing his GCSEs, the 16-year-old decided against going to college to pursue his business dreams full time.

A pretty bold move for a teenager to make – until you factor in that Nott is the owner of CoolTowel, a business backed by Rio Ferdinand.

"It just changed my whole life."

Nott originally came up with the idea at the age of 13, after scouring the market to find a cooling towel and coming up short.

Spotting a gap in the market, Nott came up with CoolTowel, a specially engineered towel which is designed to evaporate heat alongside moisture.

Which is certainly something that would've been handy to have during the many heatwaves of 2026.

After coming up with the idea, Nott was able to secure funding after winning the Alibaba.com CoCreate Pitch competition earlier this year, beating 15,000 entrepreneurs from across the globe and taking home £150,000.

The cash wasn't the only prize which Nott walked away with, as his invention had also caught the eye of footy ace Ferdinand.

"At that moment it was a bit of a blur. I couldn’t believe Rio Ferdinand had taken my number," Nott recalled.

"This was during my GCSEs, so it was a lot of emotions at once. I was a bit overwhelmed really. I was very excited and optimistic for how he could help.

"Having that name backing the business is quite a significant thing so it was a no-brainer when he offered to spend his time on it."

Nott now sells his towels through online retailers such as TikTok Shop and Shopify, securing 80,000 sales so far this year.

He was also flown out to Los Angeles to pitch his creation, mingling with the likes of James Corden and former Manchester United star Javier Hernández, which certainly sounds better than studying for your A levels.

The success of the business also saw Nott decide against pursuing further education, deciding instead to dedicate himself full-time to a business which has generated revenue of over £750,000.

"It is strange," Nott said of the decision. "All of my friends are going to college and seeing each other, and I am on a different path, which was a bit sad, but it was a sacrifice that had to be made."

Growing the business hasn't been without its issues either, as Nott has faced a number of issues when it came to scaling his business. After selling out of all of his stock in just two days, Nott decided to open a pre-order system, but closed it down as cancelled pre-orders could threaten the business.

There were also issues with the pre-orders on TikTok Shop, which stopped them from selling for a couple of months.

Nott was also targeted by scammers who copied his ideas, with one brand even getting 20,000 orders off the back of his idea.

He has yet to see a profit from the business, with advertising campaigns and affiliate commissions also eating into the £750,000.

Despite the setbacks, Nott is positive that he'll soon be able to turn a profit from the business.

"The future is looking a bit brighter. We have got big plans," he added. "It is not just a business in my bedroom anymore, it is a brand that is helping people properly.

"It isn’t physical cash in bank yet, but I have got a lot of stock and assets. If we keep going, we should break even."