Teen entrepreneur shakes up digital marketing 

What were you doing when you were 16? For most of us, managing exams and friendships is enough. Not so Felix Harmon – he launched his first business when he was still in Year 11 at school. That gave him a taste for entrepreneurship, which led to him setting up SocialThriver a year later, when he was in the sixth form. Now a multi-award-winning digital marketing agency specialising in social media management and web development for businesses within the automotive and high-end business sectors, Felix has found that niching has helped fuel his business success. 

What led you to set up your business when you were still at school?    

Felix: “I was doing graphic design and business at school in Maidstone. I knew I didn’t want to go down the traditional 9-5 route. At the time, I was into nice cars, and I built up a few contacts from taking pics around Knightsbridge and Mayfair.  

“Someone approached me at the end of my Year 11 at school and asked me if I could run his company’s Insta page for him.  At the time, I was doing it for free for other people and thought, ‘Great, I’m going to get paid for it.’ I charged him £50 per month. It wasn’t a lot of money at the time, but it proved to me that people were willing to pay. He was really happy, and I worked for him for over two years.  

“I started reaching out to people and realised there was demand for it. I work for a lot of local people, but I specialise in the high-end automotive sector. 

“After school, I committed to this full-time. I was so adamant to make this work, and I knew that I could; I didn’t have a plan B, so this has to work. I started very slowly and built up organically through Insta. A big part of this is my personal branding; I have 7,000 followers on Instagram and LinkedIn, built up over three to four years.  

What motivates you?    

Felix: “What drove me was seeing a huge gap in the marketing industry: affordable, professional, and a truly personalised service was almost impossible to find. Most agencies were expensive, slow to respond, and often delivered work that wasn’t even on par with what an in-house staff member could produce.  

“I set out to reinvent that experience. SocialThriver was built around a one-to-one approach which sets us apart from larger, more generic agencies – I work with my clients like I’m part of their team. We’re responsive (often even around the clock), results-focused, and offer a full suite of digital marketing services that actually work. People underestimate  how much time that it takes to keep up to date and understand what is going on the platform (algorythms).”

“From content creation to campaign strategy, our mission is simple: help business owners thrive online while making their lives easier, not harder, by helping them amplify their online presence through powerful, disruptive strategies.”

Why do people choose to work with SocialThriver?    

Felix: “I’d like to confidently say we offer one of the best remote marketing services out there.”

“Clients choose to work with me because I specialise in what I do, I know my industries inside-out, especially automotive and high-end services and, most importantly, I always follow through. If I say I’ll do something, it gets done. That reliability, paired with a highly personalised and proactive approach, makes working with SocialThriver feel more like adding a trusted team member than hiring an outside agency. 

“I pride myself on personal service and sit with the brand during the onboarding phase and ask what is your style, messaging and how do you want to portray yourself? I spend a lot of time in the research phase before I start posting to really understand what they want to get out of it and how they want to come across.” 

What challenges have you faced – and how have you overcome them?    

Felix: “The most challenging thing is the amount of rejection you get, but you get quite resilient after a while. I can send out 10 messages and if I hear from two people, it’s a good day.  

“I underestimated the amount of time you need to put into it. Only now after three to four years am I getting somewhere with it. Everything now outweighs working for someone else. I am confident of  the service and the quality of what I do to justify my charges. 

“I am doing 12-hour days. It benefits my clients, but it’s for me. I don’t have a boss, so I am happy to put in the hours as it all reflects on me.” 

Why did you choose Capital Space for your office?  

Felix: “I was working in Maidstone, working from home, clients’ offices and co working spaces. I needed structure and routine. Not having a place to get up and go to began to take its toll. I am quite an organised person and not having a place to go to that was separate to living was difficult. I wanted my own private office.  

“I chose Churchill Square Business Centre because of convenience, and I like the fact there are other businesses here doing very well. There’s lots of potential clients here. Plus the area and the facilities are nice.” 

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?  

Felix: “Firstly, you have got to start somewhere. The best thing I did was just starting. Only now I am finding my feet, but I have four years on everyone else thinking of starting at my age. It gives you the foundations to improve on.”

“Secondly, My advice would be to niche down. Digital marketing is a highly competitive space, and it’s easy to get lost trying to offer everything to everyone. But if you focus on being the best at one specific service, or working with a specific industry you understand well, you give yourself a real edge. Get great at something, build proof, and grow from there. It won’t always be easy, but if you stay consistent, I’ve found results will come.” 

What advice would you give to business owners on social media?  

Felix: “Be consistent. Your posts need to provide value – whether they educate or entertain someone. I am not just doing pretty pictures, there’s a reason behind them, to ultimately drive enquiries.”

“Do something different to the norm. Try and find something that hasn’t been done before and you can test it over a month and repeat what is working.”

What are your thoughts on how AI is impacting social media?  

Felix: “Most companies are using it and if you don’t you will get left behind. However, they are not taking enough care. They are whacking in some prompts onto chat GPT or the equivalent, posting that directly without proofreading, it’s all in US spelling and you can tell it’s AI. It’s not meaningful. Yes, it is harming brands that are not using it properly. 

“You need to create clear prompts, give it as much detail as possible. You shouldn’t copy and paste; you should use it as a foundation. Insta algorithms can pick up what is AI-generated and will cap your posts’ reach as they realise you’re not being authentic with it.” 

What is next for you and your business?  

Felix: “I’m focused on expanding the business’s name and reputation while staying true to what makes us different: great results and a genuinely personal approach. The goal is simple, to help as many fellow business owners as possible build a strong, high-performing online presence. I want SocialThriver to be the go-to partner for businesses who are ready to thrive online.”

“I would love to be the go-to agency for anything high-end and automotive. It would be a dream to have some employees.” 

Unsurprisingly, Felix has a strong LinkedIn presence, where he shares not only his latest business successes, such as his new partnership with The London Heliport Ltd, but also his fundraising efforts through running.  

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