Brandon Relph is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Studio BE, a media production company that cross boundaries between digital and traditional media and focus on an under 24-year-old audience. TV for young people made by young people, you might say. At just 20 years old, that’s already quite a rule-breaking achievement but there’s more: this is Brandon in his own words.

“It’s probably fair to say that Studio BE is my third career – so far. When I was really young, about 11, I wanted to be a cyber spy so I taught myself to code and then stumbled on the game ‘Minecraft’. Now it’s one of the world’s largest games with 150 million people playing it, but back then there were only a few thousand of us. Minecraft is a bit like digital Lego and I enjoyed building things within the game and getting to know people online who were playing it too.

“By the time I was 13, a client was paying me and a fellow player to build stuff within the game. As the game’s popularity grew, so did we. Over the next few years, we became the largest Minecraft studio in the world, employing a team of 37 people across numerous countries. We were running several Minecraft YouTube channels and streaming at 9pm every night to millions of people across the globe.”

“Of course, I was still at school at this point and juggling studies with Minecraft and the business. People often talk about time-management as a skill but, if you’re passionate about something, you can usually make it work. One of the best things about school was taking part in the Young Enterprise Scheme, I learnt a lot from being part of it. After school, I went on to college and took AS Levels in Maths, Physics and Computer Science – all subjects that were playing to my interests! Finishing my AS Levels lead to some soul searching. My commute to college was 1½ hours each way and I think I realised that staying on to do full A Levels wasn’t necessarily going to be the right thing for me, so I decided to leave college after just one year.

“As you have to stay in full-time education until you are 18, I looked around for other opportunities and I applied to the Open University to do a business degree. Without the usual entry requirements, there was as an assessment process I had to go through to make sure the course was right for me. The OU looked at my wider CV and experience and offered me the place. At about that point, I also sold my share in the Minecraft Studio and started working as a consultant, advising companies how to engage with young people, so the Open University was great because I wasn’t tied down to a geographic campus.

“Being a consultant was interesting! I got to travel and meet some interesting people, and I was asked to do a lot of speaking, including a TEDx talk. However, it didn’t offer the same excitement for me as running a company had done, so I started thinking about setting up a new business.

“By chance, I happened to meet Tony Dillion, a former BBC executive, at a careers event. We got talking about how to engage with young people, but how hard it is to break into TV production, and the idea for Studio BE started to take shape. Tony introduced me to Lizzie Hodgson, an experienced publishing industry professional, and with Tony’s encouragement, we decided to set up Studio BE. The business now employs young people to make the kinds of programmes that they want to watch.

“The media industry is really different to anything I’ve experienced before, a very different mindset. Lots of people who work in TV are freelancers, going from job to job; as well as knowing your own professional skills, you also have to effectively run your own business, manage your finances and be on top of interview skills. This can make it a real challenge for things like training and consistency, especially during a pandemic, but it’s something we hope to challenge as our own business grows.

“I am particularly interested in how gaming is being used widely in film and TV now; programmes like ‘The Mandalorian’ are filmed live in front of screens powered by game technology, and this is on the increase. ‘Virtual production’ is a really exciting opportunity for young people and those gaming skills are in demand. The traditional job ad’ which says “We need 3 years’ experience” has been blown out of the water as this programming language hasn’t even existed that long! Jobs that will exist in five years haven’t been invented yet; who would have thought even three years ago that you could have a career in building virtual environments for filming? We’re looking at how we can build apprenticeships into our business in order to encourage more young people into this industry.

“I do want to add that I am a big believer in formal education, but that it’s got to be the right education for you. My Granddad was a big supporter of my business but also believed in a good education and losing him last year did make me reflect on my educational experiences so far. Some of my business advisors suggested I consider doing an MBA (Master of Business Administration). I am now with City of London Business School and really enjoying it. It’s very collaborative and, even though it’s online, we have regular sessions and a fantastic learning experience. I’ve been really impressed with the resources that universities can offer in terms of enterprise support, too, so I know this will benefit my business as well as me.

“What would be my advice to others? Do what you enjoy and figure out a job from that! I get to use my passion for tech, creativity and working with young people. I do think a lot is down to luck and the right opportunity coming at the right time, but you have to be able to spot those opportunities in order to take advantage of them.

“I’d also say it’s about making good use of your time, too, and I don’t just mean about balancing work or school and life. It’s not just about hard work but about standing out so find ways to show how you are different. For example, I volunteer for charities (like Young Enterprise, young-enterprise.org.uk, and ThinkNation, thinknation.co ) and always find time for them as this balance is so important; they stop you getting burnt out by one thing and puts you in front of lots of other people and opportunities.”

Find out more about Brandon’s remarkable career on his website, brandonrelph.com, or visit the Studio BE website, studiobe.co.uk