Frankly, when I read the story of Benjamin Kapelushnik, I wasn’t sure it was real. After further research, I found that Benjamin’s story is far from fallacious.

Benjamin Kapelushnik – a regular boy – born in New York – grew up in Miami. He was the son of Russian immigrants, but American fad culture took him by storm while he was only in middle school. Benjamin grew up in a school engulfed in the sneaker culture. At the beginning of his intermediate schooling, he was relatively unamused with the seeming obsession with shoes. That was until his mother bought him a pair of Nike Lebron 9 “Galaxies.” Naturally, his empire started with him selling the gift he received from his mother. Being quickly infatuated with his profits he asked his mother to buy him another pair – he sold the second pair as well. With the cash he earned he began to purchase more sneakers. It did not take long before he began to camp out to buy sneakers on their release dates. After some success he moved his ever-growing platform online.

He grew and grew until he was able to snatch a connection to the songwriter Khalid. It did not take long before he made connections with several celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Travis Scott, Floyd Mayweather, and believe it or not, P. Diddy – yes, remorsefully, he is still a teenager. Eventually the boy was named “The Sneaker Don.”

Whether it is because of humility or not, the ambitious teenager does not disclose his revenue, but it is clear he makes more the 6-figures annually. The Sneaker Don plans on going to Yale University for marketing for the purpose of hopefully learning strategies that will help him expand his business.

Citation:

Levin, Tim. “Meet the 16-Year-Old Sneaker Reseller Earning Six Figures from Yeezys and Air Jordans.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 July 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/timlevin/2016/07/27/meet-the-16-year-old-sneaker-reseller-earning-six-figures-from-yeezys-and-air-jordans/.

This is a story about a boy who came to success; he came to success by making fun of his sister. The common assumption is that I am implying that great ideas come from the back of sibling rivalry. Well in this case, they do. Hart Main, a 13-year-old boy, once complained about the feminine nature of the scented candles his sister made for a school project. He snarkly conveyed that he would make masculine candles that did not smell like lavender.  His mother’s interest was quickly peaked. So, she pushed her son to make some masculine scented candles. He did so and ended up making quiet the brand out of it with the supportive help of his parents.

Hart Main is unique in several ways. Firstly, when his mother pushed him to try out something that was originally a joke, he didn’t say no to the challenge. Secondly, Hart’s family was motivated by curiosity. They wanted to see what their idea would look like if it came to life. Lastly, Hart looked for opportunity in all facets of his life. He made a joke which bloomed into innovation.

The Hart family is inspired by curiosity and driven by hope and potential. His mother said, “I do that with all of my kids — I listen to them,” Amy Main says. “Even if it sounds like they’re joking, if their idea sounds like something they can do, by all means, I tell them to go for it.”

What makes his idea great? Hart Main found a niche; he saw that it was for women; he wanted to make it for men. He demonstrated the ability to look for and solve a problem, an ability to turn that problem into something that can drive revenue. He let curiosity fuel an idea that ultimately was cultivated into a business.

I believe that the true hero of the story was not so much Hart himself but his mother. The reason I say this is because there was no differentiating characteristic between him and many other boys and girls except that his mother cultivated an environment of pursuing curiosity, and spending time with one’s ideas.

This taught me that one has to not only think of ideas but test them out, see where they take you. Leap the bridge from concept to reality.

Bibliography

Chun, Janean. “13-Year-Old Entrepreneur Invents Candles for Men.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 28 July 2011, www.huffpost.com/entry/hart-main-mancans-13-year-old-entrepreneur_n_909300#:~:text=For%20a%20startup,%20ManCans%20is%20doing%20well,%20averaging%20300%20orders.

What is exemplary or unique about these young entrepreneurs? 

Carson Batzel is unique not only because of his young age but because of his growth and adaptability within his business. What started out as a kid selling some cards on Ebay turned into a lucrative business driven by customer satisfaction and an exemplary user experience framework. Carson, just as he began to take his baseball selling business seriously, understood the competitive market he was entering. He was able to get sales here and there but ultimately did not fully understand how to increase his revenue and attention. He eventually came to a shifting point…

Mr. Batzel enhanced his company in two significant and notable ways.  Firstly, he eventually changed his perspective when he shifted his focus and pivoted to a riskier approach. Buying bulk buying in much larger quantities he was able to sell more and provide quicker to his increasingly eager customers. Secondly, he began to deliver his shipments in premium packaging to give his customers a sense of professionality, seriousness, and care for his customers. Along with same day shipping, Carson turned his strategy customer centered.

Carson exemplifies a work ethic not frequently identified, especially in his generation. He portrays this in the time he spends in his business and his constant effort to provide for his customers. He exemplifies curiosity by not only consistently looking for ways to improve his strategies and business model. But by deciding to attend Grove City College to pick the brain of the brilliant professors here and hopefully have some inspiration to grow his company further.

One thing that I appreciate about Carson is that he did not have to create a genius idea to begin his entrepreneurial journey, but rather found a passion of his, (Baseball cards) and broke into a market by innovating his approach rather than his idea. This model helped me to start at my own passions when thinking of business ideas, rather than trying to just think of the best money maker.

When asking Carson why he thinks his business is working he simply stated that people are impatient, and they want fast shipping. There is a demand for sports cards, and customers like us. He mentioned that his return customer demographic his quickly increasing and typically his returning customers buy in larger quantities. This shows that his dedication to adaptation is proving massively beneficial in his business venture.

Carson is an inspiring character which is why I am extremely excited to see him grow at Grove City and even more so to see him thrive as a driven entrepreneur.