Quickfire Questions is a Forbes Advisor UK series in which business leaders share exclusive insight on their background, the secrets of their success, their hopes for the future, and what they would do if they were handed a magic wandAkshay Ruparelia is on a mission to disrupt the UK estate agency market DOORSTEPSAkshay Ruparelia was brought up in 1998 in Harrow, north London, and had his sights on a university education at Oxford when he decided the set up Doorsteps.co.uk instead.The firm is an online estate agency offering reduced fee packages starting at £99 to sell a property. In three years, it has marketed over 10,000 homes with a combined value of £1 billion, showcasing properties on leading property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla.Akshay estimates his approach has saved customers some £10 million in commissions.What set you on the road to success?I enjoyed trading at school, such as selling sweets, perfume and the like. I already understood the process of selling property having helped my parents (with my sister’s assistance) move the family home about 10 years ago.Having seen the extortionate agency fees, I wanted to understand how the market could be disrupted – and to make a change: £99 to sell a home, no commission.I started when I was 16 with an app called HouseSmart, developed that into Doorsteps at 17 – and knocked on doors for months to get my first customers. Then word of mouth took over from there, no doubt because we focus so heavily on customer service.I’ve learnt this from the story of Steve Jobs (of Apple): focus on the customer and work backwards to the technology or service you provide.Did you have a hero when you were younger, and do you have one now?My family. My parents’ work ethic is amazing. Dad was kicked out of Kenya with his family and moved to the UK. Being deaf (both Akshay’s parents and one of his sisters are deaf) made things even more difficult. But they worked very hard, saved, scrimped and became independent from their family.That’s where I get my work ethic from – not only from an imitation point of view and role modelling, but my desire to succeed was initially driven by the goal of changing their lives for the better.Do you get bored easily?Yes, sometimes. I like to keep very, very busy so I won’t spend more than one to two hours a week watching TV. for example. If I’m not working on my mind or body, it bothers me. I like to get a lot out of each day – so I don’t like dead-time.However, this is a negative sometimes insofar as I don’t get enough downtime or ‘mind space’ to think about next steps or bigger picture. I just love being busy. As I say to my staff sometimes, “I eat disasters for breakfast”.Who do you admire in business and in life generally?My parents, as above. And I generally admire people with great, positive energy… those that understand that you can learn something from every person and conversation you have. Those people with raw curiosity that engage in genuine, interesting conversation and have a “can-do” attitude and positive view on life – and I mean life itself, not just what happens in life.I admire successful, self-made people. Especially the generation of those humble ones that are in my parent’s generation that came and built their own legacies. And I’m impressed by philanthropists.How would you describe your leadership style?           Generally quite laid back, but performance driven. If people are driving results – I don’t mind how they do this (within reason!). Otherwise, I do intervene often to see how I can support and remind people of the big picture and vision.I like to interact with all staff as much as my time allows and I would like to continue this. I also advocate that, as a leader, you should do as you want your team to do, and lead by example.If I didn’t care about customers, or didn’t work hard, I genuinely don’t see how I could expect my staff to.Self-motivation is absolutely vital as a leader, based on this framework. I think I do need to learn how to be more hands-off and controlling though, and that’s something I am working on – entrusting others with my ‘baby’ and the work that comes with it.What are your ambitions?For Doorsteps  to be the number one agency in the UK.But in life, I want to leave a legacy and to make a difference. I want to make a fundamentally positive difference in a way that can inspire or drive changes in individual lives, across the country, or world.And I want to help my parents retire in whatever way they desire.