Young Jewish entrepreneur Zack Fortag has launched the Ahead of Time Academy, which aims to inspire and teach young people everything from how to write a CV to managing their own finances.

He wants to build on the success of his fashion brand, launched when he was just 15, which has helped more than 100 young people get involved in fashion and business.

Zack, who is now 19, from Chigwell in Essex, had lined up a roster of speakers, from accountants and stock traders to entrepreneurs and social-media experts, but all the events had to be halted due to Covid-19. He and a team of helpers have scrambled to move the talks online instead.

“I feel a lot of this should be taught in school. It would be beneficial to the economy if finance was taught, for instance,” said Zack, who left school at 16 and says he wishes a lot of this information was available to him then.

Importantly, he wants to create a safe and welcoming space where young people can come together to network and learn from speakers with a proven industry track record. “The Academy is for people who all feel the same and can talk to each other, it’s a way to communicate with people like themselves,” he explained.

The Academy will work with schools and youth clubs, and has secured a partnership with UK Youth, the largest UK charity for young people. “We try to spread positivity and give help to as many people as possible,” he said.

For Zack, whose mother teaches at Wohl Ilford Jewish Primary School, helping young people reach their potential runs in the family. “With our religion it’s definitely about community,” he added.