A young Irish entrepreneur who missed the Leaving Cert due to swine flu now swaps business tips with Richard Branson.
Hannah Kathleen Hawkshaw is now the CEO at her own firm after helping her first client at age 16.
The now 22-year-old was forced to finish school early after suffering various illnesses including swine flu and was diagnosed with chronic fatigue.
She said: "My health got so bad I wasn't able to finish secondary. I had a series of infections and swine flu and after that I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue. My immune system was really down and I could barely even get out of bed."
She also missed her first year of secondary school due to various viruses.
The Dublin native began a fashion blog in her teens and won at the National Blog Awards in 2017.
She has since become CEO of her own global online marketing company and is on her way to making six figures by the end of the year.
Hannah told the Irish Sun: "I spent hours and hours watching 'webinars' and learning marketing techniques, and I started putting two and two together and realised I could try to help others do the same.
"I got my first client from Australia when I was 16. I was able to find a solution to this woman's problem and then it just kind of grew from there.
"It started to build and build and now I'm doing what I'm doing."
Hannah’s company helps other companies refine their marketing strategy across five continents.
Her success as grabbed the attention of Virgin owner Richard Branson and she was invited to his Necker Island along with entrepreneurs from around the world.
She said: “Lots of entrepreneurs from around the world got invited. It was incredible meeting Richard.
"He's such an inspiration. I'd always wanted to meet him but I never imagined going to his private island.
"It was such a valuable learning experience. I'm hoping to go back again this year."
