A YOUNG entrepreneur from Little Baddow is resisting the temptation to lead a lavish lifestyle as his fledgling business empire goes global.
Oliver Murphy, 21, still lives at home with his parents 12 months after winning a £50,000 investment from Kelly Hoppen on TV's notorious Dragon's Den for his miracle cure for water-damaged phones.
The Spring Elms Lane resident is now bringing to market the latest creation from his Reviveaphone brand as he branches out to meet demand in the United States, Australia and Japan.
The former Felsted School pupil recently released his newest product, Splash – a water-resistant coating for smartphones – but insists on saving his pennies, despite anticipating a £600,000 turnover this year.
The Reviveaphone managing director said: "It was a very surreal experience being on the show, but our sales figures rocketed from £1,000 each month to £20,000 almost overnight.
"I have just saved all my money. I know that sounds really boring but all my mates are at university and, as they're students, they don't ever have much to spend.
"So if I haven't got my friends around to do fun things with I just decided I'd save it all up until I know what I want to buy."
It is a refreshing perspective on life which reflects the level-headedness of a young man who evidently has a close bond with his family.
His older brother Sam, 24, is the company's business development manager, helping Oliver to grow the tech empire from their Chantry Farm office in Boreham, Chelmsford.
The one slightly extravagant purchase the Reviveaphone owner allowed himself was an Alfa Romeo, but he would be quite happy to trade it all in and return to the Alps for another ski season.
He said: "I worked as a chef in Verbier in 2012, and I loved every minute of it. My plan is to sell the company in about two years and I can see myself returning to the slopes before I start my next project.
"I'm teaching myself to code at the moment and I've got a few website ideas, so I'd like to give that my full attention once I've sold Reviveaphone.
"I think I've become too familiar with being my own boss to work for anyone else now. I enjoy being able to set my own hours as well as having the luxury of working from home when I want."
Oliver reveals that being his own boss has always appealed to him, as even when he was at school he would want to do things differently from everybody else.
It is a characteristic which has served him well in his early years in business, and he admits this would be the one piece of advice he would give to the county's aspiring entrepreneurs.
"Do what you want and don't listen too much to other people," he said.
"No-one will ever want you to succeed as much as you do, so if you have an idea or a dream, just go for it and don't ever take no for an answer."
Oliver's own dad even tried to dissuade him from pursuing his Reviveaphone career, instead suggesting that studying at university may be a better use of his time.
But after he invested £400 of his own money into the business in 2012 and managed to sell his first ten units on Amazon, he really began to enjoy the process.
He said: "At first I never really saw it as a business, it just happened. Me and my brother went to the Boreham boot sale three years ago and didn't manage to sell a single thing.
"People were actually trying to buy our display phone rather than our product, which was frustrating. But we enjoyed what we were doing which is important for all young entrepreneurs."
The Little Baddow resident keeps himself busy playing golf at Three Rivers when he isn't at work, reflecting that it will be difficult to stay away from the addictive world of trading for long.
He said: "I imagine I'll get bored quite quickly if I sell the business in a couple of years, but after this experience I feel so much more confident that I can make a success of a new venture.
"My mum still claims that as she came up with the name for the product that she should get all the credit."
But in the meantime, Oliver has plans to set up a Reviveaphone service for immediate repairs.
The 21-year-old added: "We hope to have a number of maintenance guys who can come to a customer's home and fix the phone within 20 minutes – so watch this space."
Reviveaphone's Splash can be bought from the company's website for £17.99, while the original Reviveaphone repair kit retails at £14.99.
For more information about Oliver's products and how they work, visit www.reviveaphone.com
