From college dropout at 17 to running a £1.8m company at 25, this is the story of one of Ipswich’s most successful young entrepreneurs

A recruitment company based in Ipswich with a £1.8m turnover is currently interviewing for positions for their new office in Manchester, and generating business in New York. But what makes the success story of Rubix Personnel so unusual is that the man behind the company, Milo Williams, is still just 25 years old.

After dropping out of college at 17 - “I was a bit reckless,” he admitted - Mr Williams’ career in recruitment began when his sister got him a job as a local insurance broker. “I realised that I really enjoyed doing sales, and it was something I had a knack for,” he said. Two years later, Mr Williams joined oil and gas recruitment agency IV Offshore. When the oil price crashed and the company embarked on a round of redundancies. Mr Williams decided instead to go it alone, forming Rubix Personnel in 2015 at the age of 22 from his mother-in-law’s dining room.

“I didn’t want to go down in a sinking ship, but I didn’t know anyone who had ever set up a business before,” he admitted. “But I had confidence in my own abilities.”

Mr Williams has managed to grow his company organically without outside investment, although he has had help in the form of mentorship from James Caan, a former investor on Dragons’ Den with a formidable name in the recruitment world.

“We were never privileged enough to have a massive cash injection when we first started,” he explained. “We have a fairly strong client foundation, and built our reputation from within.

Our first year we turned over £400k with a net profit, and this year we are on track to hit £1.8m, more than doubling our turnover. We also forecast another net profit, despite growing over 200% in staff members in the last 12 months.”

Ruibix began as a construction agency, but is now rebranding to Rubix M&E to reflect what has lately become its niche - the mechanical and electrical industry, as well as building services, power and energy, and rail and manufacturing.

In line with the rebranding, Mr Williams is expanding his office on Farthing Road in Ipswich to accommodate between 30 and 40 employees.

But his business success has come with a sacrifice. “Even now, I’m working 14-16 hours a day and at weekends too. Its a 24-7 industry, there’s always bits happening. Its very addictive if you want to be successful in the job you are in.”