Jake Darley is only 17 but he’s already enjoying the taste of success after launching his third business – a wood fired pizza van.
The Copper Kiln Pizza caters at events like weddings, parties, and even football clubs.
Jake’s entrepreneurial ventures began aged 14, when he started a grass-cutting business in Werrington, Staffordshire, with his dad.
“[We had] a bicycle and a trailer which me and my dad made – with all the equipment, strimmer, leaf blower and mower on there,” he said.
“Every day after school I’d come home, put my work clothes on, went straight out until it was dark,” he added.
He invested the money he made from this venture into another business – Jake’s Logs – which supplies hardwood kiln-dried logs.
It was then he set his sights on his own pizza van.
“I always liked the idea of having my own pizza business and making something special and different from other food vendors,” he said.
“With the money I saved up from Jake’s Logs and my grass cutting, I put everything into, and all my time into, the Copper Kiln.”
He launched the Copper Kiln Pizza in December 2024 when he was 16.
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