A FORMER employee at his parents' newsagent's shop, who is now a high-flyer on the New York stock exchange, has taken a role mentoring business people in Derby.
Rich Tyler, 48, worked at Tyler's News, Borrowash, and in IT before becoming a full-time stock trader last year, working in New York remotely from his home in Aston-on-Trent.
He has now agreed to mentor the owners of new companies at the Business Innovation Centre at St Peter's Church in the city centre.
Mr Tyler, who lives with wife Alison, said: "I was attracted to becoming a trader because I saw an opportunity and looked at where the demand was.
"The main reason I had the career change was through a mentoring scheme I took part in and that's why I want to put something back in at St Peter's.
Mr Tyler started trading stock three years ago and at first was supervised by a mentor from Click Events in Reading.
He said: "I went to a lot of trade events for training which was helpful.
"I want to get the message across that through training and mentoring you can change your career.
"With my work at St Peter's, I'm hoping to help people with self-employment. Success in business is in the boring details so I'll be helping people with keeping records and things along those lines."
Mr Tyler works by negotiating with investors at the New York Stock Exchange over the phone and via e-mail
He started doing the job full-time a year ago.
He said: "You're effectively a remote workstation attached to trade stations over in New York.
"The trades all happen in a nanosecond. When I first started it was incredibly daunting but I was supervised along the way."
Mr Tyler says he is very specific in the type of companies he invests with.
He said: "The opportunities should have low loans and a solid business model that looks like it will create jobs in the future. They will also have to be ethical and solid."
He chose the New York exchange because of the working hours.
He said: "I worked very hard every day between 6pm and 9pm. Alison has been very supportive and to be successful in business you need that behind you."
Mr Tyler said he was looking forward to putting his advice and experiences back into start-up businesses.
"I want to help with their business plans and formulate their ideas into reality," he said. Mr Tyler said his parents' newsagent was where he got parts of his early business sense from.
He said: "My parents are pleased with my career change because I have managed to make some money for them as well."
