Career Path of a Managing Director and Founder at Chilli Pepper Development Ltd
After completing A-levels at 18, the interviewee chose a retail job instead of university, viewing it as "my university," followed by several years of international travel and work. This unconventional path led to roles in sales at Coca-Cola and other FMCG companies, eventually transitioning into coaching and development before founding their own consultancy nine years ago, a venture they plan to continue "until I retire."
Career Exploration, Career Development, Executive/Leadership, Overcoming Challenges, Motivational Stories
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Pete Starr
Managing Director and Founder
Chilli Pepper Development Ltd
None
N/A
General Studies / Not Applicable
Coaching, Speaking & Writing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Pete chose a job in retail instead of university after finishing his A-levels, viewing his retail experience as his own form of higher education.
2. He emphasizes the value of diverse work experience, including time spent traveling and working abroad, which contributed to his career growth.
3. After several years in corporate roles, including sales and management, Pete transitioned into coaching, development, and training, eventually founding his own consultancy business where he works to this day, highlighting the importance of aligning work with personal passions and entrepreneurial spirit
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college, any internships or jobs you've had before, and then your current role.
I finished education at 18. In the UK, we take A-levels, and then I chose not to go to university. I had the choice between university or a job in retail, and I took the retail job.
I was ready to enter the big, bad world. I worked in retail for five years, which essentially became my university. Then, I spent a couple of years traveling, working abroad, working back home, and then abroad again.
After that, I took a role in a sales organization at Coca-Cola. That was when I was about 25. I worked for Coca-Cola for a couple of years before moving into different FMCG, fast-moving consumer goods, roles. These were in account management and client management, then into managing people.
When I was in my mid-thirties, I took my first role focused on coaching, development, and training. This was ultimately the direction I wanted to take. After five or six years of doing that in the corporate world, I developed a desire to work for myself.
In my early forties, I wanted to focus as a consultant, doing the thing I loved the most. That's when I set up my business nine years ago. For the last nine years, I've worked for myself in a consultancy business. We have three employees and use about 12 or 13 different consultants for various projects.
This will be the last job I ever have because I'll do this until I retire.