Various business trips to London put me off the associated cost of living and I had second thoughts about reapplying to the London School of Economics. With offers still on the table from Warwick, York and Bath I had ‘easier’ alternatives and knew all three were highly valued by KPMG.
At the end of my 10 month placement with KPMG I was asked to act as ‘Campus Brand Manager’ for the University of Warwick, where I had been accepted to read Economics. Furthermore, the HR girls at KPMG hooked me up with an experience of a lifetime (for a golfer!): as corporate sponsors to the Ryder Cup they were able to secure me a marshalling job which had me looking after the likes of Monty, Garcia and Woods for a whole week at the Belfry.
Adam Arnold as a student
Time wasn’t on my side and I had to watch the final round of play from the Students Union at the University of Warwick – stood in an almighty registration queue. Not long after I found the bar and all was forgotten.
In my penultimate year at Warwick I was offered a 3 month internship at KPMG’s London Head Office, Salisbury Square, in the Corporate Finance; Mergers and Acquisitions team. The whole placement was a bit of a blag and just goes to show the power of networking. The CF M&A team hadn’t previously taken on interns or offered graduate jobs and to my knowledge they still do so year on year.
Had events panned out differently I would have readily accepted the full time offer in the Insurance Team (CF M&A sub division).
As a student, I found the whole “living away from home thing” far more stressful than it should have been. Aside from the Police’s total failure to do anything about the crack-head next-door who found enjoyment in vandalising my car and/or trying to run me over and/or threatening me with a knife, this was due to the estate agents responsible for managing the private rented accommodation our group lived in during our 2nd and 3rd years of study. We experienced the whole range of classic estate agent tactics, from over-selling a property to blatant misappropriation of rent monies, and I felt I could do something better.
Adam Arnold as an entrepreneur
After graduation I had to make a decision – KPMG’s offer letter required a reply and I could either accept, or turn it down and go it alone. In August 2005 I formed the Smarter Group and, six months after graduation, launched my first company Smarter Housing Ltd..
Setting-up the business couldn’t have been easier, but life has been difficult ever since! By documenting my day to day ‘Encounters of an Entrepreneur‘ I hope to expose some of the lesser published hard knocks of being in business. I have recovered older posts from Warwick Blogs, so the content on this site now dates back to late 2005 when I first entered the business world and will track my progress as I try to grow the Smarter Group into a monolithic empire as per Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.
Dear Arnold,
I would like to thank you about the article you wrote in regards Rajinderpal Dhillon Scams, I was just about to go into business with him but you’re article saved me , can email me if possible the PDF file that you uploaded iRajinderpal Dhillon CCJ’s as the link no longer works
Hi there,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I’ve had a look and it does seem as though the files linked from the original post, http://ceo.smartergroup.biz/blog/back-to-business-a-lesson-in-due-diligence/, are no longer on my server.
If you check back later on tonight the files will be back!
Thanks,
Adam
thank you Have you heard anything about his company called NSR??
I have updated the links so the files are available for you to download 🙂
As for NSR it sounds familiar but then again RD had multiple companies. Your best bet is to check it out on Companies House.
Out of interest, what was this business venture?
business is about computer tablets buying and selling abroad, something felt fishy about the guy , so my business partner and i decided to do some research and see what come up so far nothing that will encourage meeting him again let alone doing any business.
Once agin i would like to thank you for posting this article one you saved me getting in the same trouble you got into second i learnt a really important lesson ( always do a background check.
i wish you all the success in your future ventures.
Li
Hi Li,
No problem – I put the information online in the hope it would save other people experiencing the same problems that I did.
I did a quick check and NSR is one of his “property” companies….
Name & Registered Office:
NSR DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
236 ALCESTER ROAD
STRATFORD UPON AVON
WARWICKSHIRE
UNITED KINGDOM
CV37 9LG
Company No. 07348829
That’s RD’s company for sure 🙂
Adam
Originally posted to http://ceo.smartergroup.biz/about-adam-arnold/….
~~~
Dear Arnold,
I would like to thank you about the article you wrote in regards Rajinderpal Dhillon Scams, I was just about to go into business with him but you’re article saved me , can email me if possible the PDF file that you uploaded iRajinderpal Dhillon CCJ’s as the link no longer works
~~~
Hi there,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I’ve had a look and it does seem as though the files linked from the original post, http://ceo.smartergroup.biz/bl…, are no longer on my server.
If you check back later on tonight the files will be back!
Thanks,
Adam
~~~
thank you Have you heard anything about his company called NSR??
~~~
I have updated the links so the files are available for you to download 🙂
As for NSR it sounds familiar but then again RD had multiple companies. Your best bet is to check it out on Companies House.
Out of interest, what was this business venture?
~~~
business is about computer tablets buying and selling abroad, something felt fishy about the guy , so my business partner and i decided to do some research and see what come up so far nothing that will encourage meeting him again let alone doing any business.
Once agin i would like to thank you for posting this article one you saved me getting in the same trouble you got into second i learnt a really important lesson ( always do a background check.
i wish you all the success in your future ventures.
Li
~~~
Hi Li,
No problem – I put the information online in the hope it would save other people experiencing the same problems that I did.
I did a quick check and NSR is one of his “property” companies….
Name & Registered Office:
NSR DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
236 ALCESTER ROAD
STRATFORD UPON AVON
WARWICKSHIRE
UNITED KINGDOM
CV37 9LG
Company No. 07348829
That’s RD’s company for sure 🙂
Adam