A YORK entrepreneur who built a $200m global business in his early twenties has become an advisor to the Government.

Dominic McGregor is working with the Cabinet Office on a year-long contract to help with their social media to reach younger audiences and niche groups, including small businesses.

One of the UK’s most promising entrepreneurs, Dominic was just 21 and at university with hopes of working in sport when he co-founded Social Chain after building a huge following by tweeting about student life.

Social Chain, one of Europe’s fastest-growing social media marketing agencies, went on to become a $200m turnover business with 750 staff worldwide, working with brands such as Amazon, Coca Cola and Apple.

Dominic, the chief operating officer, and his co-founder Steven Bartlett, chief executive officer, left the business last year after it became a publicly-listed company on the German Stock Exchange in 2019.

Steven has gone on to become the youngest ever investor on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.

Now 28, Dominic - a former Bootham School student, who grew up in Clifton Moor - is embarking on a new chapter after being approached by No. 10.

He has now announced his appointment as a policy fellow, a newly-created position, working with the Cabinet Office on a year-long contract to help with their social media.

“My role in the Cabinet Office is to advise on how to use social media and best practice to reach more people, specifically niche audiences, including younger people.”

He said the position played a part in the Government’s communication reform and efforts to bring people from different professional backgrounds into the Cabinet Office.

Dominic said he had been looking into Government’s communications operation, and what to add to it, as his initial focus.

“There are a lot of lifelong civil servants who are not from social media backgrounds, and social media moves so quickly.

"They do some really good work with traditional media but they are missing out on a lot of opportunities. This is about putting digital more at the heart of what they do.”

He said his role was about making schemes which impact young people more meaningful, such as Kickstart, which helps young people into employment through work placements.

Dominic lives in south Manchester but regularly returns to York to see friends and family, recently sponsoring and playing in the last York City charity match at Bootham Crescent.