What would you do if you had a six-figure salary? Perhaps you’d never cook another meal again or indulge in a monthly Thai massage and a Soho House membership to unwind from the stress that comes with being at your A-game.
Here at The Good Life you don’t have to imagine what life at the top looks like anymore: Get real-life inspiration for how the most successful live their lives.
Today Fortune meets Timothy Armoo, the London-based entrepreneur has founded several successful startups, graced business magazine covers and become a self-made millionaire—all before even hitting 30 years old.
Armoo got his first taste of entrepreneurialism at just 14 (while living on a council estate, no less), when he started offering tutoring services to fellow students. He grew the company to 65 tutors in six weeks.
By 17 years old, he already had an acquisition under his belt, with the sale of his publication Entrepreneur Express to Horizon Media, as well as experienced the sting of multiple failed ventures.
Then, as most students were out partying, Armoo spent his second year of university in 2017 founding Fanbytes, his most successful venture to date.
17 years old
The age at which Timothy had completed an acquisition.
The influencer marketing agency began by connecting social media campaigns with brands and content creators. Soon, it had bigwigs like the U.K. government, Deliveroo and Samsung among clients and by 2022 it was so lucrative that the global media agency Brainlabs, acquired it for an 8-figure sum. Armoo was just 27 years old at the time.
Now, he’s teaching others to follow in his footsteps through consulting, public speaking engagements, and his upcoming book CheatCodes.
The finances
Fortune: What has been the best investment you’ve ever bought?
It’s a toss-up between a lithium mine and avocados. I funded the purchase of a lithium mine with some friends and it was a great deal. That returned 63% within a year.
I also became an investor in a big avocado business from Kenya and that has been providing exceptional returns of 30-50% a year.
Don’t invest in things you don’t understand.
The worst?
I got caught in the stock market hype and bought some terrible stocks: I lost £74,111 on Alibaba Stock (I know because I have a journal entry as a reminder to not invest blindly into something.) I lost £53,241 buying Unity. (Again, another journal entry.)
Luckily I made these errors early when I sold my business and the lesson was: “Don’t invest in things you don’t understand” and “think about the downside first before the upside.”
Do you carry a wallet?
I do. I use it to keep my “Help Someone Fund,” which is £250 I use to specifically help people during the week.
By helping, I don’t mean just giving to charity but being very intentional. For example paying for someone’s shopping or getting someone who is struggling a taxi home. I’ve been doing that for a while, and it genuinely makes me giddy when I see someone I can help. It’s a selfish act of selflessness.
I use it to keep my “Help Someone Fund,” which is £250 I use to specifically help people during the week.
Timothy on carrying a wallet.
What personal finance advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
The amount of money you make is directly proportional to the skills that you have. So if you want to make a lot of money then improve your money-earning skills. This could be things like marketing, sales, or team management.
Ideally you have skills that can be used to solve big problems because the more problems you can solve, the more money you make.
Best invesment:
What’s the one subscription you can’t live without?
YouTube Premium.
I genuinely think if they increased it to £1,000 a month, it’d still pay for it. The amount I’ve learned on YouTube has been game-changing.
Where’s your go-to watch from?
I’m not really a watch guy. I had a sentimental one from a family member that I lost recently doing an axe-throwing competition! So for now it’s mainly Apple Watches. My friends have been trying to convince me to buy a Patek or an AP but I’m very “meh” about it.
The necessities
How do you commute to work?
I just walk to my office in London Bridge.
How do you get your daily coffee fix?
I don’t drink coffee.
What about eating on the go?
I have a weekly subscription to a company called FuelHub who send prepared meals on the go. I get 10 meals every week and that does the job.
Here for the effort of effortless.
— FUEL HUB (@fuelhubuk) January 9, 2023
Calorie counted, macro balanced meal prep delivered to your door – https://t.co/ITFGJBnEDG #teamfuelhub #fuelyourbody #fuelyourperformance pic.twitter.com/wJTNRNDe4I
If I go out for lunch I usually do Farmer J which gives me the protein and carbs I need. I’ve recently become a fan of Yolk too who make great sandwiches.
Where do you buy groceries?
Amazon for my organic eggs. M&S for everything else.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home?
I dine out once a week and it’s usually something protein-heavy like a nice steak. My favourite is Cut at 45 Park Lane. Alternatively I do love this place called Casa Do Frango but specifically the London Bridge branch. It’s affectionately called upmarket Nandos and they have the best chicken in town.
If I have a cheat day (I schedule one a month), then I go to a plantain chips shop near me. They’re my weakness.
The treats
Are you the proud owner of any futuristic gadgets?
I own a Remarkable Notebook, those have been great companions to me everywhere I go. I no longer need so many different journals.
I also absolutely love my Nothing EarPhones. I got these as part of a gift at a founders retreat and they are the best headphones I’ve had. I was an Apple fanboy but the fact that they’re always muffled when doing calls turned me off.
How do you unwind from the top job?
I work out a lot, five days a week. I have two gym memberships: ThirdSpace and Gymbox. My friends find it odd but I think Gymbox has the best leg equipment so I use it for leg day. On other days, it’s Third Space. I also go axe throwing a fair amount and play padel.
What’s the best bonus treat you’ve bought yourself?
I only learned to drive in November 2023 so at the beginning of the year, I bought myself a Tesla Model X and had it wrapped matte black. I feel like Batman every time I step into it.
Armoo’s quarterly holiday destinations:
Take us on holiday with you, what’s next on your vacation list?
I do a holiday every three weeks and then a big one every quarter. In Q1, it was Japan, and in Q2 is Brazil. Q3 is going to be Vietnam or Costa Rica—I’m not sure yet. And I’m currently at a fitness training camp in Portugal for a week which has been great.
Here at The Good Life you don’t have to imagine what life at the top looks like anymore: Get real-life inspiration for how the most successful live life. Dive into our other ‘The Good Life’ profiles.
Fortune wants to hear from European leaders on what their “Good Life” looks like. Get in touch: orianna.royle@fortune.com.
