Adora Svitak, 12
Today, Adora is 12 and she has transformed her writing success into speaking and teaching success. She has spoken at over 400 schools and presented at the annual TED conference. She’s also planning a conference of her own, for kids and by kids, called TEDx Redmond. She has been featured on Good Morning America and on CNN. Adora also maintains a blog and attends an online public school. She is in the eighth grade.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What challenges have you faced specifically because of your age? How has your age helped you to succeed?
Adora with her books.
A: People sometimes close doors and make judgments based on
your age, how short you are, or the way you speak. That’s one of the things
that I hope to change.When people look at me, they think, “Oh, a little kid who’s just walking along and talking to her mom.” There are low expectations. But my parents obviously look at my sister and me as individuals who can do great things. Other people just look at me as a kid.
At the same time, being 12 and having published a book makes people think, “Wow, that’s pretty impressive.” It’s not something that I really capitalize on too much because I’m obviously going to grow up. So I hope to make what I do special, as opposed to it only being special because I’m 12.
My age has also helped me in that I’m able to relate to kids at a level that an adult speaker might not be able to do. As a teacher, I’m able to say, “This is what my generation thinks.” Having that voice and being able to speak for my peers is definitely an advantage of being 12.
Q: How do you think entrepreneurship can change the world?
A: Obviously, everyone knows about Bill Gates and his foundation. But, young people have also been able to do tremendous things, like Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Alex Scott was a four-year-old girl who had cancer. She started a lemonade stand that raised thousands of dollars for cancer research. Being able to help a cause is something that anyone can do with their business.When I was selling my book, Flying Fingers, in Vietnam, I was able to raise $30,000 for schools. That was through donations from sponsors, but also through a book auction. You’re definitely able to do wonderful things when you put your
company behind them.
Anyone can change the world. When we think “change the world,” we think of presidents, world leaders, and religious leaders – but it doesn’t have to be a bunch of old people. Whatever age you are, you have that ability.
You can change the world by inventing something or by sharing your views. There’s no committee that says, “This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.” Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: It’s important for kids to know, “I can do this. I am fully qualified.” All that you need to become an entrepreneur and change the world is a working brain – and pretty much nothing else.
Adora’s TED Talk: What adults can learn from kids
If you make it to 50 seconds, I bet you can’t stop!“One thing I noticed was that a lot of people were skeptical I wrote the speech myself, citing some of the words/phrases I used. I write all my speeches myself and my vocabulary is a “side effect” of reading a lot.
”Adora Svitak’s Top Quotes
“If you pursued something that you felt strongly about, then I call that success.”
“There’s no committee that says, ‘This is the type of person who can change the world – and you can’t.’ Realizing that anyone can do it is the first step. The next step is figuring out how you’re going to do it.”
“All that you need to become an entrepreneur and change the world is a working brain – and pretty much nothing else.”
Savannah
Britt
Like any great entrepreneur, Savannah pulled herself up by her bootstraps. She started her own publication – a magazine called Girlpez – making her the youngest magazine publisher in the world. The magazine features coverage of events, like concerts and fashion shows, along with interviews from the likes of Shwayze, Kevin Rudolf, and Dawn from Dannity Kane.
Now 15, Savannah has guided her magazine as it has transitioned to an online-only format at Girlpez.com. She hopes to use her influence to strengthen girls and their communities.
The following is a short excerpt from 50
Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What drove you above and beyond, towards entrepreneurship?
A: I like a challenge. I think what drove me to start my magazine was the fact that I was so young and I was doing something that nobody around me was doing. That pushed me, honestly, to start my magazine. I can be a competitive person.My mom and dad definitely pushed me as well. My dad has published three books and he’s a very determined person. If he says something, he’s going to do it. He’s also optimistic and he does not procrastinate at all. I think he inspired me.
Q: How do you balance your business with other priorities?
A: It’s really hard. I’m in all honors courses, so I have to balance the studies with the magazine. I go to school six hours a day and I have basketball practice afterwards. Then I go straight home and [conduct an] interview if I can. Even some Saturday mornings I’ll do interviews, because it’s the only time I can squeeze them in. On top of that, I’m currently working on a music project that I’m trying to get attention for from labels.Somehow I do it all. I don’t know how, but it gets done. I’ve got a calendar in front of me. It’s hard, but I make it work. When I was about 14, in eighth grade, I thought that [Girlpez] was putting a strain on me and that I wouldn’t be able to focus on grades. But I was able to bounce back. I have always been a very independent person, but I finally sought help from my parents.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: I would like to raise money for Haiti [following the earthquake of January, 2010]. It’s a sad experience that’s going on there, but it’s definitely something that I want to address. It’s a wake-up call for the world that there a lot of people who are stricken by poverty.Also, I’m working with another young entrepreneur who runs a blog, Jayswag.com. We want to put together a conference that will feature people in the industry who are well-versed in hip-hop. We want to have a panel of them and have teens be able to come ask questions and have a discussion.
There are some things in the hip-hop industry that go under the rug and they need to be addressed – like the way they portray women in the music videos, the people they put in the ads, and whether or not their skin color matters. It’s something that needs to be discussed.
Savannah Britt’s Top Quote
“There is no reason to be hesitant… becoming an entrepreneur is a learning experien
Philip Hartman
Today, a home-schooled high school senior at the ripe age of fifteen, Philip spends most of his time cultivating two somewhat more advanced entrepreneurial ventures. One is a new system for fusing optical fibers that is cheaper, more efficient, and more dependable – an invention for which Philip won the 2008 Young Inventor of the Year award.
The other is called Steam Viper. It’s a device that emits steam onto a windshield and is capable of defrosting a frost-covered windshield in about 15 seconds.
The following is a short excerpt from 50
Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: How have people around you reacted to your success?
A. For my immediate family, this is just normal life. So there’s no special response. I have a lot of different sections of my life. I play tennis and I also play banjo for example. In those groups, people don’t know that I’m an inventor and entrepreneur. So it’s kind of funny when people in those groups see me on the news or in a magazine. It surprises most of them because they think that I’m just involved in whatever they’re involved in.For most people, the Steam Viper is a really exciting thing. Everybody knows what it’s like to be driving down the road and have bugs all over your window. The head of advanced motor parts said that 20% of all accidents are caused by glare from stuff on the windshield. We also all know what it’s like to scrape our windshield in the morning. The Steam Viper completely eliminates all of that.
Q. How did you plan and organize your business?
A. I’ve never taken a business course, but I have always had a bit of business intuition. I’ve made business plans and I’ve had some different consultants, including my dad, but the best way I learn how to do something is just to go ahead and do it. It’s the best tool that there is. I learn more every time. I could never learn what I’m learning at college. They just don’t teach it there, because it can’t be learned in that way.Q. Anything else you would like to add?
A. If you love entrepreneurship, you should do it. Do what you love. But if you’re not really into what you’re doing, then you should go get a job and do something else. It’s not easy. You’ve got to have a huge passion for it, along with a passion for helping out the world. If you’re just doing it for the money, then it doesn’t really work. You won’t end up being successful.Philip Hartman’s Top Quote
“I could never learn what I’m learning at college. They don’t teach it there, because it can’t be learned in that way.”ALEX FRAISER
In January 2010, Alex and his business partner, 24-year-old Seth Waite, launched their first product – a web theme modeled after Blogussion’s unique style – to immediate success. With an Alexa ranking under 20,000, Blogussion is now the highest ranking blog by a 16-year-old on the Internet.
When Alex isn’t helping people around the world make their blogs as popular and profitable as possible, he’s just a normal high school junior in New Jersey. He lives with his family and enjoys camping, playing ping-pong, and cheering on the New England Patriots.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What drove you above and beyond, towards entrepreneurship?
A: My dad is what really inspired me to start [Blogussion.com] up. He lives in Florida and owns two seafood restaurants. Obviously, blogging and owning a restaurant are two very different things, but the fact that he’s his own boss really inspired me to go out and do it myself.When you think of a teenager nowadays, you think of some lazy kid who has no direction in life. I don’t want to be like that. I like to look deeper into things and I can’t stand just sitting around. I like the idea of working hard now, so you can earn big later. I’ve worked in my dad’s restaurants before, so I know what that’s like. Manual labor sucks, dude.
Q: How do you balance your business with other priorities?
A: School has to go first. I’ve always been taught that if you don’t succeed in school, then you’re not going to succeed in life. But [given the success of Blogussion.com], sometimes I think that maybe school’s not what I should be focusing on the most.I’ll be honest – I was so eager to develop my theme that I might have missed out on a couple of homework assignments. But if I want to keep my business going, I’ve got to do well in school. It’s as simple as that. I love high school. I’m not about to drop out.
I’ve definitely been trying to balance my schoolwork and my freelancing stuff. For instance, we have all these mid-term projects for school right now. It has been crazy. But with useful productivity tips I’ve learned from blogging, I can manage all these different projects at once.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: If you want to learn more about me, check out Blogussion.com. It’s built around my personality and my thoughts and it also has some crazy-awesome content. There’s also a contact forum if you ever want to chat. I also have a more personal blog, Asnio.com.Alex Fraiser’s Top Quotes
“Manual labor sucks, dude.”“I like the idea of working hard now, so you can earn big later.”
- See more at: http://juniorbiz.com/interview-alex-fraiser#sthash.jpWaYx7X.dpuf
Many similar ventures followed. Each took his achievement to another level and the appreciations left him humble. This motivated him to offer his work under the name of his company.
Since, Farrhad has launched Rockstah Media, a cutting-edge company devoted to web development, marketing, advertisement, and branding. It is just over a year old but it has clients and a full fledged team of developers, designers and market strategists spread across the globe. As the CEO and founder, Farrhad is responsible for taking care of the clients and guiding the creative team to success.
At 16, Farrhad is planning to continue running Rockstah Media, while studying finance at India’s prestigious H.R. College of Commerce & Economics. In his free time, Farrhad enjoys hanging out with friends, playing Playstation, reading, watching movies, and playing the guitar.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What is the single most important reason for your success?
A: I’ve never sat on an idea. If I get something, I act on it. Business is all about taking the leap. Once you take the leap, then you can think about what’s going to happen next. The larger the vision, the larger the need to pave your path with skill and confidence. But, a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. That first step is the most important thing.
Farrhad's Company, Rockstah Media
There are many in the field and each have their own way and strategies. But
one thing that I learned from my mom is to never try to copy anyone. Think of
your own thing and move forward with that. Construct your own success with
total confidence. I put my vision to test, I love to conceptualize and
illustrate and the teams effort in creating awesomeness means a lot.Never look left or right. Look straight at the path you have paved. Follow your vision and have your ethics in place. Yes I get inspired by those who had the vision and the guts to give it a shape. I love to read success stories as they teach you that failing is a part of the process and one must not deter.
Q: You have a successful and growing company, yet you’ve decided to stay in college. Why?
A: Education never goes to waste. I know I can put the things I learn in college to use in my business. Business is something that’s never certain, there’s always a risk. But, if you have your education in place, it’s going to help you analyze challenges and deal with them. Plus, I think a few degrees to your credit sure feels good. I know there is a view that structured learning is not needed. I feel that education can never harm you and one can put it to use in more ways than one.It’s not just about making money. But while formal education will make you a living, self education will make you a fortune. If you want to really learn something and make something of yourself, self education is crucial. We learn from glory and from our own failures too.
If you learn and make efforts to manage your time properly and if you have a proper business set up, your business can thrive while you’re in college. College takes a lot of time, but I have my like-minded team who can make up for me at any given moment. My team has always supported me and my parents have always given me solid, unconditional support and that’s what I appreciate the most. I definitely haven’t done all of this on my own.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: For young entrepreneurs, I would say one thing: even if you get success early, it shouldn’t intoxicate you. There are miles to go. There are lots of things to do in life. You need to diversify and be innovative all the time. You shouldn’t lose focus and get intoxicated with success.Farrhad Acidwalla’s Top Quote
“Failures are the stepping stones to success.”
Mark Bao had his first encounter with entrepreneurship in the fifth grade. He used Visual Basic 6.0 to write a simple computer application that managed his homework assignments and helped him write school papers. Then he copied the program onto floppy discs and sold them to his friends.
His first start-up came in his first year of high school. Debateware.com was an event management system for debate organizations. Eventually, Mark and his business partner sold it to the largest debate organization in the United States.
Today Mark is a 17-year-old high school senior and he has already launched 11 web-based companies (and sold three of them) along with three non-profit foundations. Some of his projects include TickrTalk, the Ramamia Foundation, Classleaf, and Avecora – a technology network launching sometime in 2013.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: You’ve created 11 web-based businesses and you’ve sold three of them. What is it like to sell one of your companies?
A: The buyers mostly just come to us. They recognize our company, make an offer and, in some cases, we go ahead with it. The problem with a lot of start-ups is that they try to go for an acquisition [from the onset] and they don’t focus as much on the money-making part of it. That’s why most of my companies focus on making money, not hoping for an acquisition.Part of my struggle is that I want to see where they’re going with the business and, in most cases, I don’t have control over that. Like with a baby, I just want to make sure that it’s going to have a good future that will promote the ideas I started the company with.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: I still want to do entrepreneurship. Avecora is helping people communicate better and experience technology in a new way. That’s the company that I want to build an empire out of.We’re always working on the non-profits as well. My preliminary life goal right now is to donate 80% to humanitarian aid and research. Since my life goal for my career is to earn $10 billion, that would be $8 billion. Another 10% will go to The Mark Bao Foundation, where we manage research grants and lobby for better funding for NASA and the National Institute of Health (NIH). Another 5% will go to funding start-ups, helping them grow.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: I just want people to create companies that are awesome, create value, and give back to the community as a whole. I really hope they do.
.Mark Bao’s Top Quotes
“I just try to think of myself as an entrepreneur who happens to be a teen.”“I hope my companies will help create value and make people happier in the long run. That’s what I’m in it for.”
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When Stanley Tang was an 11-year-old growing up in Hong Kong, his school banned snack foods. Instead of taking his empty stomach in stride, Stanley bought snacks at the local convenient store and sold them to his classmates for three times the price.
A few years later, he was introduced to Google Adsense and the ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ series of books by Robert Kiyosaki. They inspired him to get online with his business and to develop a book called ‘emillions’. When ‘eMillions’ was published in December of 2008, it rocketed straight to the top of the Amazon Best-Seller lists. At just 14 years old, Stanley was the world’s youngest best-selling author.
Since, he has been making six figures with his blogs, StanleyTang.com and TheUniversityKid.com, which he eventually sold to another young entrepreneur. Stanley also just graduated high school in May of 2010 and he will be attending Stanford University in the fall, where he plans to study computer science.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What is the single most important reason for your success?
A: It comes down to hard work. There is no magic pill to get overnight success. Overnight success doesn’t exist. ‘eMillions’ took 15 months. But, then it seemed like it came out of nowhere when the book launched.Success comes down to hard work plus passion, over time. If you work really, really hard over a long period of time, it will pay off. It’s not about working super-hard for a week and then expecting a huge payload. For example, when you tried to arrange this interview for me, you were really persistent. That is what I admired about you.
Q: How did you manage to make eMillions an instant #1 best-seller?
A: Basically, you have to coordinate a successful product launch. I sent out a blog post, wrote tweets, and all of that stuff. But, you also have to have a great sales letter that converts and an irresistible offer. When ‘eMillions’ came out, I said, “Buy this book – and I’ll give you all of these great bonuses.”The bonuses came from my affiliate and joint venture partners, who also promoted the book on the same day and sent out an email to their list. Obviously, you first have to gather and contact all of those partners. For ‘eMillions’, naturally, the joint venture partners were the 14 internet entrepreneurs who I interviewed. Since they were part of the book, they wanted to promote the book – a win-win situation.
I think the press was a huge factor as well. I got featured on the front page of the second largest newspaper in Hong Kong. That attracted a huge buzz. I think I got something like 15,000 unique visitors in 24 hours to my website, StanleyTang.com. It actually crashed on the day I was featured.
Writing a book is not for the money. You could make way more money if you simply repurposed that content as a video course or anything like that. You could sell it for $99 or $199, rather than just $20. But writing a book is not just about the money; it’s about all of the benefits that come with the book, like credibility. So, even though Amazon takes a huge chunk and my publisher takes a huge chunk, I think that it is a great platform to distribute your book. It’s more about getting to a wider audience, as opposed to just making money.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: To all of the young entrepreneurs out there, just go out there and take action. Take a risk. Follow your passion. The best time to take action is when you’re a teenager. You’ve got nothing to lose. If your business fails, so what? You’ve always got your parents and your school to fall back on. Later in life, it’s going to be harder because you will have responsibilities, like a family. Now is the best time to take action.
.
Stanley Tang’s Top Quote
“Success comes down to hard work plus passion, over time. If you work really, really hard over a long period of time, it will pay off.”
He started Urban Stomp, a website where he posted music and the locations of parties in the area. The site made a profit by selling clothes through affiliate links. Adam proved too successful for his own good: Urban Stomp drove 800 people to one party. He had to shut it down after only a few weeks.
Adam has learned from his mistakes and now teaches people age 15 and older how to make money online. He practices what he preaches: his courses, ‘Mobile Monopoly’ and ‘Cell Phone Treasure’, have each earned over $100,000 and he has another one in the works, called ‘Dude I Hate My Job’. To get his blood flowing, Adam enjoys driving his newly-purchased 2010 Audi A5 and playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on his Xbox 360.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What challenges have you faced specifically because of your age? How has your age helped you to succeed?
A: People didn’t believe me at first. Even my friends were so stereotyped into thinking that you can’t do anything when you’re young – that you have to wait until you’re older and have a degree to actually become successful. So, whenever I would tell people, “I’m doing this,” they wouldn’t take it seriously. Now that I have my Audi A5, everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon.Age also has its benefits. For instance, I use my age as a marketing advantage. I can target younger people. I’m 18 years old. I say, “If I’m 18 years old, you could be doing the same thing no matter how old you are.”
When you’re young, what do you have to lose? You’re still living at home. You don’t have 50 bills you have to cover. All you’ve got to do is cover your late night dinners and your pizzas and all that. If everything completely fails, you’re still at school. You’re still going to get your degree. So, it doesn’t matter as long as you have fun doing it, work your way up, and stay dedicated. There’s no real loss. Enjoy the way up.
I’m living at home still. I don’t have to pay for rent or anything, so I can just put it in the bank. That’s really a big benefit: building up equity. Stay at home as long as you possibly can, even if you’re making a lot of money. Don’t stay until you’re 30, though [laughs]. And if you’re 60, you’ve got to be out.
Q: What would you tell an up-and-coming entrepreneur?
A: Even if you fail the first time, who cares? What’s going to happen? You’re young. The worst thing that could happen to you is that you wake up and go to school the next day. So just keep at whatever you’re doing and I promise you you’ll hit it. It’s all about perseverance.Entrepreneurs have this thing inside of them where they don’t necessarily give up very easily. But [a lot of] people have the mindset from the media that they could get rich overnight. It’s possible to do anything, but you have to keep working at it. If you give up, then what’s going to happen? You’re just going to sit there and wonder what would have happened a year down the road if you had kept doing it.
Maybe the idea you had will have been taken by another entrepreneur. I think it has been proven that whenever you have a really good idea, there are at least three or four people in the world that have the exact same idea at the exact same time as you. There are a lot of entrepreneurs out there. So, if you’re not going to do it, they’re going to do it.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: Don’t listen to what other people say. If you’re a young entrepreneur and you’re trying to make it big online, don’t think that you can’t do it. With the internet the way it is now, you can do anything. Even if everyone is saying, “No – it will never happen. Everything online is a scam!” Honestly: just screw them. Check them out of your mind and go for it. That’s what I did and I’m doing well, I think.Adam’s Courses
- Cell Phone Treasure – Make money with cell phones.
- Dude I Hate My Job – Blogging course.
- Mobile Monopoly – Earned $2.8 million in three months.
- Mobile Mastermind – Exclusive mobile marketing mastermind group.
- Local Mobile Monopoly – Giving away a Ferrari to the top affiliate. [Latest]
Adam launched Local Mobile Monopoly on Monday, March 21st. He
has already eclipsed the million dollar mark and this is shaping up to be one
of the biggest launches in internet history. Plus, he’s donating 10% of the
profits to Japan.
Adam Horwitz’s Top Quotes
“All of my friends were doing babysitting jobs. I wanted money without the job.”“The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that you’ll fail ten times for every success.”
As an 11-year-old growing up in a backward sector Northern India, King Sidharth and a few friends began organizing events and competitions for other children. They would make tickets and charge an entry fee, then award little prizes to whoever won. In an area where there wasn’t much else to do, Sidharth’s first business was a big success.
Seven years later, King Sidharth has just graduated from high school and he has already made a name for himself as one of India’s top young entrepreneurs. His primary work is in website development and design (see websites like MeditationRocks.us), but – like many young entrepreneurs – he’s never content working on just one thing.
King is also a speaker on topics of entrepreneurship and spirituality. He’s currently writing an e-magazine for teens (Friendz) and a book about the intersection of spirituality and science (Bhagvad Gita & the Law of Attraction). He’s also developing a movie that peeks into the lives of ten young entrepreneurs (“Friendz: The Movie”). Lastly, King is organizing a conference for teenagers called Createens. It will give young people an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, blogging, and more from world-wide experts.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What is the single most important reason for your success?
A: I keep everybody out of the equation and follow my own inner calling. A lot of people get caught up asking, “What do you think, mother of mine? What do you think, father of mine?” But there are a thousand different people and you’re going to get a thousand different responses: somebody pointing you South, ten people pointing you North, even more pointing East. Where are you going to go? Go with yourself. Your point of view is unique in the world.When you’re done with your vision, then you might ask for advice on minor things. You have to strike a balance. But even after asking people, follow what you think out of it, not what they think.
Take Google and Yahoo. These two are different perspectives of solving the same problem: finding content on the internet. Yahoo keeps on listening to people. Google doesn’t give a darn. They never ask you how their home page should look like. They never ask you anything – and that is really behind their success. They do it themselves. Then later, they might ask you how they could improve it.
Q: Why do you call yourself an outlaw in India?
A: I consider myself an outlaw because I refuse to follow a given pattern. I’m going to reinvent the wheel. My vision of the wheel is unique.The majority of India thinks, “I’m here. I better play this safe because this is the only life I’ve got. I better get in the rat race that everyone has tried and tested.” How many students in your own class are really interested in enterprising? Are 90% of them just there for the degree? They want to get a good job so that they can get a good life, good money, and be happy. I ask them, “Why don’t you be happy in the first place?” Then you don’t need the degree and you don’t need the job. You can be happy now and then you can do anything you want.
That’s the reason I started Friendz in the first place. I saw talented people wasting their time with work and trying to score marks in exams when they could do so much more. The magazine is a place where teenagers can be themselves. I want to make it a platform for teenagers to know that there is nothing better than following their own passion.
You’re not going to find the real entrepreneurs in universities or online courses. Either you will find them as drop-outs or you will find them in the places least expected. Come to India. Go to the streets. They are street-smart people. They know how to sell. They can sell you your own shoes in two minutes.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: When you start out, whatever project you’re working on, realize that you don’t have to figure everything out about it in the first place. You can’t. You can’t sit on a breakfast table one morning and write out your life plan.As you move on with your life, it will keep on changing. Creation is never complete. Keep on fine-tuning. If you’re a designer, you will realize that design is never complete. If you are writing a blog post, you will realize that a blog post is never perfect. Google is the best company in the world. But, it is still evolving and it always will be evolving. So, you don’t have to figure out all of the answers before you get started. All you have to figure out to begin with is what you want to do and just get started with it. The rest will come.
Meditation Rocks by King Sidharth
If this universe inspired an idea in you, then it has every means to fulfill
it. Trust in that. The more you improve, the faster you grow. So, the secret to
a bigger business is not finding the perfect plan and sticking to it. If you do
that, your business is going to be dead. The secret is to keep on changing,
keep on fine-tuning. The best scooter in India was Bajaj LML. For years,
that was the only scooter you could get. But they didn’t do any research and
they didn’t fine-tune their product. Every other company in India was doing
just that. Today, LML has vanished from the market.Entrepreneurship is never about playing it safe. If you want to play it safe, please close this book and go to sleep. It’s not for you. Life is not for you. Life is never about playing it safe. Life is about playing it fun. That’s behind every entrepreneur. If you go and ask, “What makes you so passionate about your blog, your product, or your business?” It’s because they love changing it and they love how it all comes to form.
Be yourself, nothing else will do.
This is an abridged version from King’s interview in our latest
project, 50 Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs. King is the most enthusiastic
entrepreneur I have ever come across. He absolutely loves what he’s doing. The
main takeaway from his interview is just that, do what you love and love what
you do. Awesome, right?!
King Sidharth’s Top Quotes
“If you’re not doing the things that you love, then your life is not worth living. What are you here for?”“I’m going to reinvent the wheel. My vision of the wheel is unique.”
“It was just one year ago that I realized that what I was doing was entrepreneurship. Just two weeks ago, I learned how to spell it [laughs].”
TV shows like ‘The Oprah Show’ and ‘The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch’ inspired Arjun to take entrepreneurship to the next level. During the summer of 2009, he got a LinkedIn account (under the name Aaron Ray) and started connecting with other ambitious entrepreneurs, hoping to learn as much as possible about the art of entrepreneurship and business.
In 2010, Arjun became the COO of a quickly growing onlineadvertising company, but he soon set out to follow his own,unique vision. That vision is a brand-new venture called odysseyAds.Though he’s just getting started, Arjun plans to buildodysseyAds into a premier online advertising network with afocus on customer service, maximizing ROI, and catering to 21stcentury marketer needs. In the midst of all this, Arjun also justcompleted his junior year of high school. He’s 18 years old.
The following is a short excerpt from
Q: What drove you above and beyond, towards entrepreneurship?
A: Some people put their dreams aside. They never find happiness. They never find the satisfaction that would come from starting their own company and doing something that they know is an extension of themselves. Going to high school, college, and then working nine-to-five is the career path for many, many people. But they’re working for someone else, someone who couldn’t care less about their dreams and ideas.There is a small group of people who try to build something with their passion, determination, and vision. For me, being ambitious means taking a risk and following a passion of mine. In most cases, that means building a company that caters to a need and is an extension of myself. It’s going out there and taking a risk – regardless of any discouragement or negative opinion.
I started with computers at age seven. I moved on to learning more advanced topics in computer science. From a very young age, I would sell a few household items to the public. Sometimes I would get in trouble for that. There was one instance where I was in Denver, CO and we were moving. We had some items placed outside the front door that we were throwing out or that had to be packed. There was a pretty busy road right next to our apartment, so I put up a sign that advertised a few items for as little as 25 cents. A few people actually came up to the apartment. My dad and mom said, “Who are these people?” We had to turn them away.
Moving forward from there, I would watch ‘The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch’. It was a show on CNBC where entrepreneurs came to share their business insights, promote entrepreneurship, and share their story of how they achieved the American Dream. These were young, brilliant people doing phenomenal things. So, Donny Deustch was a huge inspiration to me personally, through his books and through his show.
From there, I got on LinkedIn and started meeting other entrepreneurs. Some were three times my age and others were only a few years older or younger than me. My horizons expanded gradually as I networked and gathered as much as possible about business and entrepreneurship.
Q: You’re starting a new company right now? What’s that like?
A: I’m looking forward to building odysseyAds and launching it as soon as possible. The founding goal is to gain the clients’ satisfaction and really cater to the needs of the 21st century marketer, maximizing their return on investment. We want to provide a service that clients find useful to their marketing efforts. Whether you are a publisher (website owner) or an advertiser, we intend to create a service that brings efficiency to the process and assists the client in their needs. Like any startup, there’s a lot of uncertainty behind it, but there’s a lot of passion behind it at the same time.I always think positively in any situation, because that’s all you can do – all you should do. So, I’m thinking very positively about this new venture and I look forward to scaling it as far as I can. For anyone starting out: it doesn’t matter if you’re 18, 12, or 50, and it doesn’t matter where you are, who you are, or what idea you have. What matters is that you have passion for it and you aren’t doing it for greed. If you have a bad month in sales, you need to have enough passion to keep moving forward. When you combine passion with hard work, it’s so much easier to run something at a larger scale.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: To any aspiring entrepreneur, you need to have passion and a drive to make it big. Go out there with so much passion that nobody can stop you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other people – whether they’re billionaires, millionaires, or aspiring entrepreneurs themselves. They can give you advice and mentorship. As you move forward with your business and your life, look at the “value proposition” when making decisions. Have a plan A, B, and C so that you are never in a state of confusion when something doesn’t go as anticipated. Whether in life or business, plan everything!Don’t let yourself worry about people who are trying to bring you down. At the end of the day, it’s your life – your story that you have to write, your song that you have to sing, and your dance that you have to dance. Make your business for yourself. You will find a lot of people who will try to bring you down because they can’t do it themselves. Ignore them and move on. Even if you fail, at least you tried. So many other people didn’t take that chance, put themselves out there, and follow their dreams with passion. Always learn from your mistakes and get up the next day implement those lessons to attain success and make it big. Good luck!
Arjun Rai’s Top Quote
“You always want to surround yourself with people who are rooting for you and who want you to succeed. Stay away from the naysayers who couldn’t do it themselves.”
Keith J. Davis Jr. grew up watching his father sell watches, clothing and anything else he could get his hands on.
Following his dad’s footsteps, ten-year-old Keith ventured to a wholesale market, where he bought a dozen hats at a few bucks a pop. He sold them all back for about $10 in profit each. Instead of being satisfied with his success, Keith kept selling: at school, he sold everything from Yu-Gi-Oh cards to magnetic earrings to bubble gum.
Today, Keith is 19 and he’s gone from his middle school’s ‘bubble gum man’ to a college freshman at the University of Houston and an entrepreneur of all trades. He somehow finds time to be a nationally known public speaker, actor, model, newspaper publisher, and author. His newspaper, Fyt Ya (renaming to Idealist Magazine), and his book, Young? So What!, are both aimed towards empowering young people to become successful entrepreneurs.
The following is a short excerpt from 50 Interviews: Young
Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What challenges do you face specifically because of your age? How has your age helped you to succeed?
A: Being young is a challenge in and of itself. Especially at 15 or 16, you’re going to be going through some of those awkward phases. Sometimes being young, being ambitious, and trying to do everything can hurt you.I remember at one point I was trying to do too much and spreading myself too thin. I was thinking about getting involved in real estate, trying to re-establish Fyt Ya, promoting my book, speaking, and going to school. All of that was just too much. As young people, that’s what we do: we think that we’re all superheroes and we can do everything. But you still have to have structure and focus on [what’s important].
My father taught me at a young age that it’s not what you know, but who you know. I get a lot of support because of my age. Especially as a young African American. People see that I’m trying to do something positive and help a generation. So professionals are willing to lend a hand and lend their advice. If I was 20 or 30 years old, they would be trying to charge me for that advice.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: I want to be a philanthropist. When people talk about Keith J. Davis Jr., I want them to say that he was a great businessman, but that he also did a lot for the community and for his generation. I want to be able to make a difference by informing, encouraging, and inspiring others. I want to leave a legacy.At some point I’m going to be working to get my real estate license. You build wealth through property, real estate, investments, and things of that nature. So I want to get into commercial real estate. We own a marketing research firm. I can continue to learn the business and, one day, take it over.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: You know what they say: if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I’m in love with entrepreneurship and everything that comes with it. Entrepreneurship is where it’s at right now, especially with this economy. The unemployment rate is at 10%.As college students, we can’t depend on finding a job right out of college. So, you have to be able to create opportunities where there are none. There is going to be an increase in individuals owning and operating their own businesses. Entrepreneurship is the key.
Any time young people are doing something positive and spreading the word of entrepreneurship in our generation, I feel it’s my duty to help out. I’m just honored to be able to be a part of this program.
Keith J. Davis Jr.’s Top Quotes
“If you have a goal, be relentless in your pursuit.”“If you can’t communicate, you’re going to find yourself a lonely businessperson.”
LINDSAY MANSEAU
She wanted to help her mom out so she volunteered to accompany her to a bridal show. Two years later, Lindsay had gotten involved in every aspect of the photography business – from networking with brides to doing the paperwork to taking the pictures – and she loved every minute of it.
In 2009, Lindsay photographed 25 weddings on her own as a freelancer. Her business was thriving, but she wanted a way to better connect with her couples and the wedding industry. That’s when Lindsay began developing My Marriage Market, an online platform where couples and vendors will be able to connect. The site is set to launch later this summer. In the mean time, Lindsay is a 20-year-old college junior studying entrepreneurship and small business at the University of Southern Maine.
The following is a short excerpt from 50
Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What would you tell an up-and-coming entrepreneur?
A: Be strong. Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight, and ride along with the roller coaster that you started.Don’t take no for answer. Not everyone out there has great news to tell you. A lot of people would have you believe that there is no way you could start your own business in this economy. But don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Say, “You know what? I have the possibility to do it anyway.”
But there are also a lot of times when you need to listen to somebody else. When you’ve been through those teen years of thinking that you know everything, it’s difficult to be able to sit back and say, “You’re right. How can I make myself better?” It’s not something that I do perfectly yet, but It is something that I’ve figured out is important.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: At this point, I’ve given up guessing. I thought that I wanted to be an environmental scientist and I was wrong. I thought that I wanted to be a graphic designer and I was wrong. I ended up in business, so I don’t really know where I’m headed to next. I do know that I love small business, entrepreneurship, and the wedding industry, so I hope to do something in those areas.Working in an office is something that always sort of scared me. People who are in the small business industry, specifically the wedding industry, are all so passionate about what they do. But that doesn’t really happen in the corporate world. There’s something contagious about the small business and entrepreneurship community and I wouldn’t leave it for the world.
MyMarriageMarket.com, Marrying Couples and Vendors
I would love to see My Marriage Market explode. I really would. It’s a
heart-felt project that we started to solve a problem in the wedding industry.
To have this sort of management tool provided for small businesses will really
be a service to the community. So, I would like build My Marriage Market up.
After that, we’ll see.Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: Thank you for taking the time to interview me. Check out My Marriage Market and please be patient because the timetable has really been turned against us. Hopefully, we will have big updates on there for you by the beginning of June 2010.Lindsay Manseau’s Top Quote
“Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight, and ride along with the roller coaster that you started.”
- See more at:
http://juniorbiz.com/interview-lindsay-manseau#sthash.bAavHbg2.dpuf
Marshall Haas got his start selling Pokémon cards on the street corner with his friends. But by the time he was 17, Marshall had moved on to architecture. He got a job working for a high-end architect in the Dallas area and began taking classes at a local community college.
Marshall noticed that many architecture firms weren’t offering images, or renderings, to their clients. He decided to fill the void by starting his own company, AllRendered, LLC. Marshall recruited a team of 20 artists in the Philippines to create architectural images from floor plans and he began attracting as many as eight clients a month.
Today, Marshall is 20 years old and still working to build AllRendered into a premier rendering service, while pursuing a degree in computer science. He is also in the process of developing a mobile web application called Podums, which will use game mechanics to encourage people to be productive. Whenever he finds the time, Marshall gets his thrills by riding his motorcycles.
The following is a short excerpt from 50
Interviews: Young Entrepreneurs (Volume 1).
Q: What challenges have you faced specifically because of your age? How has your age helped you to succeed?
A: I’ll be straight up: it is harder when people see that you’re younger. I have to remember to tell clients, “I’m not a one man shop. I’ve got a designer and a developer and they’re not just my buddies. They’re the best at what they do.” It’s about communicating that I’m not some kid: this is the real deal and we’re just as good as the next guy.There are definitely advantages [to being young]. A computer has been in our lives the entire time we’ve been alive. That is a big advantage in my industry. I talked [to a client] about social media stuff and he perked up. All of a sudden, it was an advantage that I was young. Now, that company might hire me as a consultant for social media.
Q: You have an outsourced team of 20 designers in the Philippines. How did you get started with outsourcing and how do you continue to manage such a large team?
One of Marshall's
renderings on a billboard! He randomly found this last week.
A: It started with Tim Ferriss’ book, That’s how I was
introduced to the whole concept of hiring people overseas. At the same time, I
had this architecture job and the main architect had an amazing skill with
rendering. I really thought that more firms should offer a visual experience
like that for their clients.So, I asked a homebuilder for a kitchen floor plan for one of their models. I told them that I wanted to do a rendering for them for free and see how they liked it. I took that floor plan and put up a job on Elance.com and I paid three different companies to do a rendering of it. I ended up going with one of those teams, a group of artists in the Philippines who do watercolors and 3D stills. Then, I just started looking around and contacting architects, saying, “This is what we do.”
I’ve got one point of contact with the team and he manages all of the other guys for me. He’s also an architect and one of the artists. I’m the one point of contact for the architects and he’s the one point of contact for the renderings. So, I don’t have to manage 20 people. It’s really easy.
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