Samuel Leeds, Elijah Ramsay
When property investor Samuel Leeds knocked on Elijah Ramsay's door in south London, he had one goal: he wasn't leaving until Elijah was financially free. Seven days later, Elijah had made £23,000 from scratch and used the money to buy his own house.
A life at breaking point
Elijah, 24, had been sleeping in a shared room with his brother. He'd lost his job, was in debt, and felt completely stuck. "I'd just been fired," he says. "My parents didn't even know. I was embarrassed and didn't want to look like a failure. I had bills piling up and no idea what to do next." Samuel, a self-made millionaire who started in property after leaving school with no qualifications, saw potential in him. "Elijah reminded me of myself when I was younger," he says. "He just needed someone to believe in him and show him how to make things happen."
The seven-day challenge
The cameras followed them as Samuel put Elijah through an intense crash course in property deal sourcing, finding below-market properties for investors, and earning commission on successful deals.
"We were working from morning till night," Elijah says. "Cold calling agents, viewing run-down houses, running the numbers. It was full-on."
By the end of the week, Elijah had earned £23,000 from the deals he closed. "When I saw that money hit my account, I was speechless," he says. "It felt like everything had changed."
Buying his first home
Elijah used the money to buy a two-bed house in Burnley through Samuel Leeds Finance, a Sharia-compliant lender structured around Islamic law. Because Elijah is Muslim, the financing was arranged under a Murabaha agreement, where the finance company buys the property and resells it at a small markup rather than charging interest.
"We had Islamic finance specialists and community advisers go through everything," Samuel explains. "It's fully approved and completely legitimate. Elijah paid his deposit from his own earnings, my company financed the rest, and he now owns the house himself."
Samuel's firm did profit from the sale, but he insists everything was transparent. "It was a proper business transaction, not a favour," he says. "That's why it works, it's real."
A proposal and a new beginning
The first thing Elijah did after completing the challenge was buy an engagement ring. He proposed to his long-term girlfriend that same week, using the money he'd made from deal sourcing.
"I went ring shopping with him," Samuel says. "It was one of those moments that just stick with you, a real full-circle story."
Elijah says it was the happiest moment of his life. "I'd promised her I'd get my life together," he says. "To be able to buy a house and propose in the same week, it was emotional."
Not a typical week
Samuel admits that seven-day results like Elijah's are rare.
"Normally it takes months," he says. "But because we were filming, we had to get quick results, and I brought in my network of agents, accountants, and solicitors to keep things moving. Elijah just went all-in. He did the work."
Independent research by Survation backs up Samuel's wider results, showing that 86% of students in his Samuel Leeds Academy complete a property deal within their first year.
"That's why I can talk with confidence," he says. "It's not luck. It's a system and support."
Still winning a year later
A year on from the challenge, Elijah is still thriving in the Samuel Leeds Academy and now runs a six-figure property business.
"He's flying," Samuel says. "He's built solid income streams, and he's still part of the Academy community, getting ongoing support. I couldn't be prouder."
Samuel's view
Some critics have accused Samuel of being too intense, but he shrugs it off.
"I'm straight with people," he says. "If someone joins my academy, I'll push them hard. Life's already tough; a bit of pressure can change everything. Elijah knew what he was signing up for, and he had full aftercare through the Academy. I'd never drop someone and disappear."
Samuel says stories like Elijah's are what drive him.
"I don't care about fancy headlines," he says. "I care about results. Elijah did the work. He earned it. Anyone willing to graft, learn, and take advice can do the same."
One week changed my life
Elijah says the experience transformed his outlook completely.
"I made more in that week than I used to make in a year," he says. "Now I've got a business, a house, and I'm getting married to the woman I love. It still doesn't feel real."
