My first million: Bruce Hodgson, Artichoke

With a baby on the way, quitting a reliable job in the army to make furniture may not have seemed the best of ideas. But thanks to some good advice and a couple of strokes of luck, the Bruce Hodgson's business is now worth £3.1bn.

When Bruce Hodgson decided to quit the army and make furniture, "my father wasn't too keen", says the 40-year-old founder of Bristol-based Artichoke. The former lieutenant was out of a reliable job, his wife was expecting a baby and to make matters worse, he was the owner of two investment properties with negative equity. Now of course, the £3.1m business was all his father's idea, he says, "and when he refers to the business, he refers to it as our business."

But for a long time, Hodgson was a one-man band, making cabinets and bookshelves from a rented workshop in the city. His first break one of many came after his mother-in-law's neighbour asked him to make her a bookshelf. "I was probably far too cheap." He charged her £1,200 for "something I would probably charge £12,000 for now". But it led to more work with her friends and then at a New Year's Eve bash in 1993, along came breakthrough number two.

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.