Crimson Education co-founder Jamie Beaton recently won the EY Young Entrepreneur award. Photo / Supplied
Crimson Education co-founder Jamie Beaton recently won the EY Young Entrepreneur award. Photo / Supplied
Entrepreneur and founder of Crimson Education, Dr Jamie Beaton, wants New Zealand to re-evaluate how it supports and promotes young entrepreneurs to find success.
Beaton founded Crimson 10 years ago when he was just 17 as a start-up based around helping high school students around the world get into Ivy League universities and colleges.
The company has expanded in recent years, including an entirely online school, Crimson Global Academy, launched in 2019.
Beaton’s success has seen him pick up several accolades, most recently the EY Young Entrepreneur Award early this month. But the road to entrepreneurial success has not been easy for him, or some of his contemporaries.
One of Beaton’s closest friends in that sphere, Jake Millar, died in late 2021 in Kenya in a suspected suicide, following a difficult period in his career. Millar was best known for founding the online interview platform Unfiltered, which he sold to Crimson earlier in 2021 to the annoyance of some investors.
Speaking to Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything, Beaton reflected on Millar’s legacy, describing him as a friend “first, second and third”, and a business partner “some long way down the line”.
“I remember my first call with him, I think I was in my second year at Harvard, and I hopped on the call with him. He had so much boundless energy, so many ideas. He was super sharp. He had this incredible passion for what he was doing that you don’t see very often in a young person.”
Jamie Beaton, left, with Jake Millar. Photo / Supplied
Beaton said he still need to talk about and share Millar’s story, and reflect on how young entrepreneurs and young people in general are supported in New Zealand.
“I go through each day knowing that, if I stumble, there will be daggers thrown at me like instantly from some of the folks that would love to see places like Crimson or any entrepreneur organisation struggle, and that does kind of weigh on you.”
He said people take big risks when they launch their own business, as particularly in entrepreneurship you are entering a high-stakes, highly competitive environment where your competitors want to “eliminate you because your lunch could be their lunch”.
While Beaton has had the support of several high-profile investors during his career, including Sir John Key, he wants to see more support in place for young people so they can take a risk and have a chance to find their feet.
Listen to the full podcast to hear more from Jamie on his upbringing, founding Crimson, his views on education, and what aspiring entrepreneurs need to know.
Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast, hosted by Paula Bennett. New episodes are out every Sunday.
