This millennial went from being a builder on $5 an hour to launching (and selling) Wingstop in the UK for $532 million—with no restaurant experience

(Credit: Left: Courtesy of Tom Grogan Right: Daniel Boczarski / Stringer—Getty Images)

Tom Grogan’s first job paid him just £30 ($40) a day lugging bricks and hauling cement on a Birmingham building site. His latest payday? A £400 million ($532 million) takeover deal for the UK arm of Wingstop—the American fried chicken chain with celebrity fans like Kylie Jenner—that he cofounded with Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin.

And it’s all thanks to a chance encounter that traces back to when he was just 18 and not sure what he really wanted to do with his life. Like many Gen Zers today, the millennial decided to skip university and try his hand at the trade industry when he turned 16 years old.