When I was diagnosed with dyslexia in 1988, it was still quite a new learning disability. I was pretty much the first person at school to have it. As a result, I got a lot of stick because I was thought to be different.

That led me to fight with people until one day someone smacked me on the nose, making it bleed. It stopped me in my tracks and made me realise how silly I was being.

Fortunately, I was always the kind of person who could get on with anyone. I didn't feel different because I had dyslexia, although I was given more time to do tests.

My parents also hired a teacher who'd come into the school and help me. However, the result was that when everyone else was having a good time, I'd be working even harder. That's helped me work the way I do today and to cope with setbacks.

I hired someone recently who, at the last minute, decided to pull out. I'd bought a new computer for them and it was a blow, but I took it in my stride. I'll also work until 4.30am then go into the office again at 9am if I believe it gets results.

The best aspect about school was that you really learned to appreciate what little free time you had. It was a military school, after all, and therefore it was regimented. In the evening after dinner, you'd have to sit in your cubicle from 6.30pm to 8.30pm doing homework. Then you might have 45 minutes of your own time before bed, which I loved. All that has helped me in having my own business yet not having a timetable.

I also remember going from school to university in Portsmouth, and what a shock it was. You didn't have to go to lectures or seminars, so I didn't in the first year.

The worst aspect of school - besides there being no girls - was not being a fan of the army. We'd have to go on long runs, assembling and dismantling weapons, shooting for target practice, etc.

Actually, I never wanted to go to boarding school, never mind a military school. It's only in the last eight years or so after school and university that I feel I've come to know my parents properly. Despite spending holidays with them, I felt in some ways they were strangers.

At school I liked creative subjects such as art and design, though at university I went on to do a degree in hotel catering management after working one school holiday as a chef at a Kowloon hotel.

During my course I did a one-year placement at the Mandarin Oriental, where I even operated the garbage truck and washed the pots and pans. Some of the staff thought it was hilarious that I'd do that. After graduating, I was unable to get the kind of hotel job I wanted, so I worked for a dotcom start-up and then an immigration company.

I'd started HKClubbing.com years previously at the Mandarin. I really liked going out but had found it difficult to discover what was on. So I'd finish my hotel shift at 1am, go off to parties and take pictures for the website. It's been great for my career as it's shown people what I can achieve while leading to other opportunities.

I'm now looking at setting up a website covering entertainment for all of Asia. It's still about proving myself because I was always classed as a failure and I'm showing others they were wrong.

I look back and realise I know people who were excellent at school but just don't have the motivation to propel themselves. I don't think it means anything to be great at school. What matters is the kind of person you are and what you want to achieve.