In 2014 two brothers started the company Are you kidding. The two brothers were interested in helping others so by starting their own business, they are able to fulfill this goal. Brandon and Sebastian Martinez were fifteen and thirteen years old when they first started their business. The two started designing and drawing their own sock designs at home but have eventually made the upgrade to sell their unique socks on their online store. Their socks feature designs such as race cars, rocket ships and googly eyes. The price of each pair of socks costs ten dollars. In order to stay successful they took roles. Brandon became the director of sales while Sebastian is CEO. They were able to make $15,000 selling their specialty socks in their first year of business. By the second year, they claim that “We have been able to already reach the $15,000 that we made last year and are on track to double and hopefully triple our sales this year.” Instead of just keeping all the profits, they wanted to give back to the community. The company “teamed up with organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Live Like Bella Foundation last year to raise more than $3,000 for cancer awareness. In April, the company partnered with The Hue Studio and donated 25 percent of all proceeds from its “Eye See You” sock sales to Discovery Arts, a charitable organization that brings art programs to children with serious illnesses.” The brand kept growing and partnered with major organizations such as Live Like Bella, JDRF, Make-A-Wish, Cowboys Who Care and the Special Olympics.
These two young entrepreneurs inspired me because they were able to make a big impact at such a young age. They had a vision and were able to achieve it so I would describe them at very innovative. They continue to make new designs and always want to improve.
These boys had a really good idea. They didn’t invent something new or create something from scratch, instead they used their own artistic ability to design unique sock patterns. One thing we can learn from them is that to be an entrepreneur you don’t have to create something unheard of, you can just do your own unique take on things and still be successful. I love how they wanted to give back to the community and could create socks that would help raise money. They took a common idea and turned it into something that would help others.