Jake Millar

{{Short description|New Zealand entrepreneur (1995–2021)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jake Millar

| image = Keith Krach and Jake Millar (cropped) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Miller in 2018

| birth_name = Jake Christopher Clifford Millar

| birth_date = 8 August 1995

| birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand

| death_date = {{death date and given age|df=y|2021|11|29|26}}

| death_place = Karen, Kenya

| death_cause = Suicide

| education = Christchurch Boys' High School

| occupation = entrepreneur

| years_active = 2013–2021

| known_for = founder of Oompher and Unfiltered

| father = Rod Millar

}}

Jake Christopher Clifford Millar (8 August 1995 – 29 November 2021) was a New Zealand entrepreneur and businessman who founded the companies Oompher and Unfiltered.{{Cite web|title=View All Details|url=https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/5743149?backurl=H4sIAAAAAAAAANMvSExPLdbPzEvJLMtMKU3M0S9OTSxKzrAvys9JDaksSLV19PFRK7T19fTxcQxSNXLW1vZKzE5VS0wpS8xLTk0JSMxLzbEtKSpNVcvNT0m1hYmrAU10ySwKLkksKS0GmwEUCM5AEgAAXNC1rXoAAAA=|access-date=29 November 2021|website=app.companiesoffice.govt.nz}}{{Cite web |last=Harding |first=Bruce |date=2022-01-21 |title=Life story: Ambitious entrepreneur Jake Millar, a Kiwi Gatsby |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300498921/life-story-ambitious-entrepreneur-jake-millar-a-kiwi-gatsby |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=Stuff |language=en}} On 29 November 2021, at age 26, Millar died by suicide in Kenya.

Early life

Millar was born in Christchurch, New Zealand{{Cite book|last1=Downs|first1=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_GcDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Jake+Millar%22&pg=PT133|title=No.8 Re-charged: 202 World-changing Innovations from New Zealand|last2=Dickinson|first2=Michelle|date=2018-01-29|publisher=Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited|isbn=978-0-14-377258-3|language=en}} and was the son of Robyn Jacobs and the late Rod Miller. He was raised in Greymouth.{{Cite web|title=Jake MILLAR Obituary (2021) The Dominion Post|url=https://deaths.dompost.co.nz/nz/obituaries/dominion-post-nz/name/jake-millar-obituary?pid=200760817|access-date=2021-12-06|website=Legacy.com}}{{Cite web|date=2017-04-02|title=Jake Millar - millennial entrepreneur|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201838855/jake-millar-millennial-entrepreneur|access-date=2021-12-06|website=RNZ |language=en-nz}} Rod Miller died in the 2010 Fox Glacier FU-24 crash.{{Cite web|title=Tributes pour in as Unfiltered founder Jake Millar dies aged 26|url=https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/business/tributes-pour-in-as-unfiltered-founder-jake-millar-dies-aged-26/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=ZB|language=en-nz}}{{Cite web|date=11 August 2016|title=Jake Millar: 21 years. 21 things I have learnt|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/83062869/jake-millar-21-years-21-thingsi-have-learnt|access-date=30 November 2021|website=Stuff|language=en}}

Millar was ambitious about business from a very young age. During his primary school years Millar's Mother Robyn helped him create and sell fridge magnets outside of supermarkets.{{Cite web|date=2022-01-21|title=Life story: Ambitious entrepreneur Jake Millar, a Kiwi Gatsby|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300498921/life-story-ambitious-entrepreneur-jake-millar-a-kiwi-gatsby|access-date=2022-01-24|website=Stuff|language=en}}

Also with the influence of his fathers Sky Diving Business growing up, Millar saw that business was something he wanted to get into as he got older.

Early in his career, Millar made a notable change to his personal identity. Originally born Jake Miller, he decided to change his surname to ‘Millar’ at the age of 19, when he was just starting his first business. This change was motivated by a desire to avoid confusion with the American rapper of the same name, as this was impacting the visibility of his business and its achievements online. Millar expressed a wish that he had chosen a more distinctive change, reflecting on the decision, “All the stuff we were posting about the business and the publicity we were getting at the time was just getting lost. I spent months trying to work out what to change it to and I wish I changed it to something more fun instead of just changing a letter.”{{Cite web |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/29-01-2019/the-bizarro-world-of-the-very-young-very-rich-jake-millar |title=The Bizarro World of the Very Young, Very Rich Jake Millar |website=The Spinoff |access-date=}}

Career

Millar's professional business career started early during his teenage years when he was attending Christchurch Boys' High School, where he was Head Boy in 2013.{{Cite web|date=2 April 2017|title=Jake Millar - millennial entrepreneur|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201838855/jake-millar-millennial-entrepreneur|access-date=29 November 2021|website=RNZ |language=en-nz}} There he founded his first company, Oompher, a career advice platform.{{Cite web|date=8 November 2016|title=Jake Millar launches Unfiltered Live business speaker series|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better-business/86228514/jake-millar-launches-unfiltered-live-business-speaker-series|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Stuff|language=en}}

Still a teenager, he sold Oompher to the New Zealand Government, with the platform being taken up by Careers New Zealand only 10 months after beginning Oompher.{{Cite web|title=Oompher|url=https://www.careers.govt.nz/about-careers-nz/oompher/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=www.careers.govt.nz}}{{Cite web|last=Junn|first=Jihee|date=11 February 2021|title=From Oompher to Crimson: A brief history of Jake Millar's Unfiltered|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/11-02-2021/from-oompher-to-crimson-a-brief-history-of-jake-millars-unfiltered|access-date=29 November 2021|website=The Spinoff}}{{Cite web|date=4 May 2015|title=Motivational website Oompher sold to Careers New Zealand|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/68214538/motivational-website-oompher-sold-to-careers-new-zealand|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Stuff|language=en}}

Unfiltered

Millar's next venture was Unfiltered which he founded in 2015,{{Cite web|date=29 July 2016|title=Unfiltered founder Jake Millar signs up Aussie entrepreneur|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/82454414/unfiltered-founder-jake-millar-signs-up-aussie-entrepreneur|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Stuff|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=24 February 2021|title=Jake Millar is not a typical entrepreneur|url=https://www.nbr.co.nz/node/229185|access-date=29 November 2021|website=NBR|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=29 November 2021|title=Jake Millar dies in Kenya|url=https://www.nbr.co.nz/node/232675|access-date=29 November 2021|website=NBR|language=en}} a platform that provides inspirational interviews and advice from high-profile individuals. A notable interview Millar did for Unfiltered was with British business magnate Richard Branson.{{Cite web |last=Brettkelly |first=Sharon |date=2021-02-25 |title=The Detail: The story of Jake Millar, a young entrepreneur who burnt some of the country's wealthiest investors |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-detail/300239440/the-detail-the-story-of-jake-millar-a-young-entrepreneur-who-burnt-some-of-the-countrys-wealthiest-investors |access-date=2023-05-28 |website=Stuff |language=en}}

Despite the promise of the idea with nearly $5 million raised and a $12+ million valuation at its peak, the business failed as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and Unfiltered was subsequently sold in early 2021 to Crimson Education for a combination of cash and shares.{{Cite web|title=How it all went so wrong for Unfiltered founder Jake Millar|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/how-it-all-went-so-wrong-for-unfiltered-founder-jake-millar/OKCWP63SCQSKCSBIWJTE7B5ACY/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=NZ Herald|language=en-NZ}}{{Cite web|date=26 February 2021|title=The Detail: The young entrepreneur who made millions then disappeared|url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/podcast-the-detail/page/the-extraordinary-jake-millar|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Newsroom|language=en-AU}}{{Cite web|date=2021-12-09|title=Young entrepreneur’s death sparks media backlash|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018823894/young-entrepreneur-s-death-sparks-media-backlash|access-date=2022-01-24|website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}

Personal life and death

Following the sale of his business, pressure from investors and New Zealand media led Millar to leave the country for Kenya.{{Cite web|last=Junn|first=Jihee|date=2021-03-31|title=Popping the Unfiltered bubble: Jake Millar on how it all went so wrong|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/31-03-2021/popping-the-unfiltered-bubble-jake-millar-on-how-it-all-went-so-wrong|access-date=2021-12-06|website=The Spinoff}} He had previously lived in Auckland and New York City.

On 29 November 2021, at age 26, Millar died by suicide in Karen, Kenya.{{Cite web |last=Fieldhouse |first=Rachel |title=Kiwi millionaire found dead in Kenya {{!}} OverSixty |url=https://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-trouble/kiwi-millionaire-found-dead-in-kenya |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=www.oversixty.co.nz}}{{Cite web|date=29 November 2021|title=Unfiltered founder dies in Kenya: 'I'd never met anyone like Jake Millar'|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300465494/unfiltered-founder-dies-in-kenya-id-never-met-anyone-like-jake-millar|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Stuff|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=New Zealand entrepreneur Jake Millar dies in Kenya, body found hanging from balcony|url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-11-30-new-zealand-entrepreneur-jake-millar-dies-in-kenya-body-found-hanging-from-balcony/|access-date=1 December 2021|website=The Star|language=en-KE}}

References