Vincent Quigg and TechWorld- 6 months in

It finally happened. October 11th, 2012, all the many hours of preparation and hard work was finally put to it’s final test. I was in New York, sharing my business plan to judges from all over the United States. I had fierce competition from 37 of the top entrepreneurs in the country and I’m very happy to say I came out on top.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in NFTE and their sponsors, most importantly MasterCard. They’ve revolutionized cashless payments over the years and this very same system is what allows businesses to strive under any circumstance. Without theirs sponsorships to support NFTE, other kids like myself couldn’t go through this life changing journey.

I am proud to say that since I’ve won the competition, the business is still running. I am currently working with people I’ve met throughout the year in possibly starting a new venture, which I am very excited about. I am very thankful for everyone who has been involved in my journey and I promise this won’t be the last time you hear about me. But before that happens, I want to take you on a journey on how it all started.

2010, I was a young high school student looking to make some extra cash so I could have extra cash to spend on clothes, new phones, and other goodies a normal high school student might want. I was buying and selling iPhones on Craigslist (photo below), selling P90X, selling collectibles for neighbors for a commission etc. I then met a manager at Best Buy who saw I had a good amount of knowledge on margins and how to make a profit. He hired me the day I turned 16 (the legal California age to work) at Best Buy and I worked there for 2 years selling HDTV’s and computers (photo above). With this knowledge I learned a lot about technology, customers, and how to balance a budget to become profitable. I had always been involved with the iPhone ecosystem, people referred to me as the iPhone guy. So I decided to use prior knowledge at Best Buy to create what I originally called “iRepair”, an iPhone repair business, which started in the NFTE classroom. I then proceeded to take necessary business steps to learn how to repair phones, find a supplier, and start to advertise via social networks. I won my classroom and proceeded to the regional competition where I took first place as well. I realized the business would be more appeasing if it did more than just repair iPhones, I then changed the name to TechWorld and had a logo quickly made.

I proceeded to the next stage of the competition where I was introduced to many great people who were extremely eager to help my business grow. I met and grew with people who had existing businesses, and people who were just there for me. These mentors were able to give up their time in helping me make my business plan the best in the country. Many unseen hours were put into the whole process, and I’m glad everything worked out the way I wanted it to.

Since the regional competitions, I have been able to create a small business that currently runs on its own. I have two lovely “helpers” who take customers from point of interest to point of repair. I am in a management position as of now and I can honestly say that my business is currently at a standstill. I am unsure what my next steps are for the business, and am going through that as of now. My business is at the mercy of Apple, I am an entrepreneur, I can’t stand to know that at any moment, everything I’ve worked so hard to build can be taken away. We are still up and running and can service phones all around the United States for an average of a 2-3 day return or in Whittier California in under 45 minutes. You can see a list of our services online at http://www.techworldfix.com. If you are interested in seeing the presentation that won the $25,000, head over to http://www.tinyurl.com/techworldvideo. I  am extremely grateful for everyone that has been involved in helping me get to this point, I am very excited to surprise everyone with updates on new business ventures in the upcoming future. Stay Tuned, and don’t drop that iPhone. If you want to contact me or connect with me. My email is vquigg@yahoo.com or you can connect with me via my linkedin. Take Care.