He Speaks 5 Languages — Why This Young Polyglot Chose Entrepreneurship Over University

What if leaving school wasn’t giving up on education — but taking control of it? In this episode of Jojo’s Cross Borders, Jojo sits down with Olly, a young British entrepreneur and passionate language learner who decided early on that the conventional education path wasn’t for him. Olly’s story began with an obsession with Mandarin. During lockdown in Singapore, he started learning Chinese and quickly became completely immersed — studying for 8 to 10 hours a day, listening to Chinese podcasts from his very first weeks, and writing individual Chinese characters dozens of times until they became second nature. But his unconventional approach to learning didn’t stop with languages. Feeling that the traditional school system was moving too slowly for him, Olly left school in Year 9 and switched to homeschooling. Instead of spending around three years preparing for his GCSEs, he condensed his studies into just nine months — and achieved straight A*s. Then came another decision: no A-levels and no university. Rather than following the conventional route, Olly chose to build his own path through languages, entrepreneurship and real-world experience. He travelled to Mexico to work as a bilingual translator on an archaeological expedition, went to Hainan for a martial arts retreat, acted as a trilingual bridge between Spanish and Chinese speakers, explored cryptocurrency from the age of 12, and began pursuing his own business interests. In this conversation, Olly shares: • Why he studied Mandarin for 8–10 hours every day • How Chinese characters became an obsession • The surprisingly simple way he mastered Mandarin tones • Why listening came before speaking • Why he left traditional school in Year 9 • How he completed his GCSE studies in only nine months • Why he decided against university • His experience translating across three languages • Why he believes practical experience can sometimes beat formal education • How AI is changing the choices facing young people • Why entrepreneurship became part of his plan from such a young age This isn’t a story about rejecting education. It’s about questioning what education can look like when curiosity, discipline and self-directed learning become the driving forces. Host: Jojo Guest: Olly Follow ‪@JojosCrossBorders‬