At just 17 years of age, Tom Gough from Ramsey gave up the traditional school, then university career route to gamble everything on setting up his own digital design agency Thomas Patrick, and now, six months later, it’s proving to be a wise decision.

“I was half-way through my A levels when I realised that the small business I’d set up when I was 15 was actually far more interesting,” says Tom. “I was spending more time building websites and designing brand images for my clients than I was on revising for exams. So last September I made my final visit to Ramsey Grammar School to sign out, and officially launched Thomas Patrick the same day."

And only five months later, one of his clients, the online dating site HerSmile, was a finalist in the UK Dating Awards ‘Best New Site’ category.

Thomas Patrick is, in Tom’s words, ‘a very creative agency’ where he combines his self-taught skills with his natural design talents to work with clients ranging from a local car valeting company to Vibe Tickets, a socially responsible new App which sells second-hand tickets to sought-after events at face-value. Although Tom is the man behind Thomas Patrick, he works with a whole roster of freelancers with complementary talents.

“Branding is incredibly important, it’s all about portraying your key messages in a succinct way,” says Tom. “I’m already working with many prestigious clients on and off-island in industries ranging from private wealth to property development, I’m even working with London based startup Gander to bring location based discounts to the city. The Thomas Patrick approach is to bring together a specially selected group of talented individuals to craft an overall package.”

Being self-employed runs in Tom’s family, and there is no doubt that his parents were completely behind his decision to give up school. “I was doing well,” laughs Tom, “but was so involved with what became Thomas Patrick that school work was taking a back seat. We didn’t talk about ‘X Factor’ at home, it was more ‘The Apprentice’. I knew that one day that would be me, and for a long time I assumed I’d go down the university route first. But as I spent more and more time on my clients and less and less on my books, the opportunity started to develop in front of me. Why put it off?”

Tom’s certainly a self-starter. He didn’t take art or design at school, and most of his skills are self-taught. “There is so much out there to guide you,” he says. “If I couldn’t do it myself, I trawled the internet for suitable tuition. I’ve always been interested in good design and I love working with people with the same thought processes, so everyone involved in Thomas Patrick is working to the same end. Great design and innovative branding.”

For many sixth formers, university is the obvious follow-on to ‘A’ levels, but as Tom’s experience suggests, it’s not the only one.

“Most of my school friends are planning to go away to university or take courses at the college here,” he says. “Obviously it’s still early days for Thomas Patrick, but I actually feel a bit of a responsibility to prove that success in business doesn’t depend on acquiring a degree. Like my friends, I was strongly considering going on to university, but I can honestly say neither option appealed nearly as much as working for myself. By setting up my own business I want to show that there is another route. Yes, it’s a risk, but I’m still only 18 – why not take it?”

Photo - Tom Gough.  Courtesy of Richard Power.