Ukrainian schoolboy wants to buy his mother a house after selling a Minecraft server | British News

A student has turned his hobby into such a successful business that he is able to buy his mother a house.

Maksym Gavrylenko attends boarding school in Scotland and bought a little-used Minecraft server with two friends for £1,000 in 2021.

But now the 17-year-old has sold the server – and made enough money to buy his mother a new home after she fled her war-torn homeland of Ukraine.

His mother is currently staying with friends in Portugal, but his grandparents didn’t want to leave Kyiv and his sister stayed behind as her partner pledged to defend their country.

Maksym is a pupil of Lomond School in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute and it is thanks to his brother who works in engineering and the school that has turned his hobby into a lucrative business.

He said: “I am very proud that I was able to turn my passion into a profitable business and plan to treat my mother.”

“As a result of the war, she was forced to leave her homeland and became homeless. So buying a property for them will be worth it if you put all the hours into this project.

“We never thought this would turn into a viable business opportunity, but with the guidance of my brother, who works in tech, and school, I was encouraged to explore the possibilities of making it something bigger.”

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I’ve always been interested in business, having worked part-time as a translator and writer in Ukraine.

“Besides my passion for gaming, I also really liked the entrepreneurial side of our project and I applied to universities around the world to study business administration.”

After buying the Minecraft server two years ago, Maksym and his friends made big changes that resulted in a huge increase in the number of players.

From his bedroom he ran the server that allows players from all over the world to connect and play together.

Advertisers were drawn to the server, boosting its value, and Maksym sold the server last month after a “lucrative offer” from a tech company.

Johanna Urquhart, Principal of Lomond School, said what Maksym has achieved is “absolutely incredible”, adding: “I have no doubt that this will not be the last we hear about any of Maksym’s business ventures.”

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