Adam Bradford is an Englishsocial activist, entrepreneur and business adviser. He has acted as an adviser to young entrepreneurs internationally and worked to develop entrepreneurship initiatives in the United Kingdom. He has also acted as an ambassador for young people's enterprise development as part of the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy.
Early life
Bradford was born in Sheffield, United Kingdom and grew up in Sheffield. He attended Westfield School in Sheffield. In 2004 he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. Whilst studying he took part in a regional enterprise competition, The BiG Challenge and won awards for his small business '3-Step Media'. In 2009 he was moved out of the school. He was transferred to complete his studies at The Grove School in Newark-upon-Trent, Nottinghamshire. He received an above average number of GCSEs and cited issues with his original secondary school for prompting his move from Sheffield to complete his studies.
Career
In 2007 Bradford set up a small business whilst studying. '3-Step Media' produced educational resources for teachers and delivered training on e-learning technology. The company entered the BiG Challenge competition and won prizes for Best Existing Business and Best Marketing Campaign in 2007 and 2008. Part way through studying for his A Levels at The Sheffield College, in 2010 Bradford joined the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy which is a BTEC vocational course designed specifically for aspiring entrepreneurs. He was a member of the College's first cohort of entrepreneurs when the Academy opened. The opening ceremony was attended by its founder Dragon's Den panellist Peter Jones CBE. Bradford graduated from the Academy in July 2011.
Enterprise and entrepreneurship
At the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy Graduation ceremony in 2011 Bradford was awarded the National Ambassador title by Peter Jones CBE and took on the role of promoting the academy to future students, mentoring and guiding them through setting up their ventures at Colleges across the UK. He went on to speak at MADE Festival alongside international business leaders and government officials in Sheffield in September 2011. At this time, his business was remodelled as 'UnITe Computing' and was relaunched with the support of celebrity chef and entrepreneur Levi Roots, a product of the Dragon's Den TV series. From 2012, Bradford joined UnLtd, a charity which funds and supports social entrepreneurs, to work with young entrepreneurs. In November 2012, Bradford's story of school life and business start-up was released in the Enterprising Child book written by author and businesswoman Lorraine Allman. Bradford has spoken to audiences across the UK to share his business start-up story. Notable public speaking appearances include a seminar at London Metropolitan University and a TEDx talk at Epsom College in September 2013. He spoke at the launch of a ResPublica campaign to encourage young people to learn basic cooking skills alongside celebrity chef James Martin. He also appeared in an ITV campaign designed by young people to promote basic skills such as cooking in May 2013. Whilst representing aspiring entrepreneurs Bradford was also an attendee at the 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is a trustee of Rethink Gambling and Learning Initiatives for Employment in Birmingham, UK.
Campaign work
Bradford has founded and developed several social impact campaigns. In September 2013 he launched the 'Look Past the Label' campaign to raise awareness of Autism, a condition he suffers from himself, to 'rid people of the stigma of the condition' and 'encourage Autistic people to be aspirational.' He launched the campaign on BBC Radio Sheffield. From March to September 2014 Bradford was made an ambassador for U2 lead Bono'sONE Campaign in a bid to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030. He visited the EU Parliament in Brussels with the aim to enshrine in law a 0.7% GDP commitment by governments towards foreign aid to meet Millennium Development Goals. As part of the campaign he visited Number 10 Downing Street. In June 2014, he launched a campaign to raise awareness of gambling addiction and Compulsive gambling. He called on the industry to support his proposed regulatory improvements and wrote openly to UK Prime Minister David Cameron to force political engagement in the issue.
Personal life
Adam has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism. He has openly spoken about the condition and worked with others with the condition in schools and colleges in England to help reduce its impact on their lives. Adam lives in Sheffield in South Yorkshire. In April 2014, his father was jailed after hiding a secret gambling habit and stealing money from his employers to fund the addiction. He was given a two-year suspended sentence following a trial at Mold Crown Court in Wales. He was released from prison in November 2014 and vowed to support son Adam's campaign to reform the gambling industry. Adam Bradford told this story to listeners on BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat programme in November 2014 one week before his father's release. In April 2015, the family's story was told in a Channel 5 documentary 'My Sister Had My Boyfriend's Baby and Other Betrayals' produced by Crackit Productions.
