Dan Wagner: When I told my mum, she burst into tears

Broke and on the dole, 20-year-old Dan Wagner scratched his remaining pennies together to launch his multi-million-dollar marketing firm M.A.I.D.

When Dan Wagner first heard that "computers could talk to each other" he knew it was a big deal. It was 1984 and Wagner, 20 at the time, was just the "gofer" for an advertising agency. "British Telecom told us that they were interested in data communication. No one had a clue what it was so I was sent to investigate." What he discovered convinced him it was time to quit his job and set up a business.

"When I told my mum she burst into tears. Back then the idea that a 20-year-old with no qualifications or degree would start his own business was crazy." But Wagner had a plan. He hoped to convince business newspapers and market research groups to let him access their content. Then he would charge customers say a market research firm interested in a particular sector to search for and access the information. The whole thing would be made possible by nascent technology.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.