Caleb Nelson asked his father if he could borrow $10,000 for a business plan that he had in mind. His plan was a to create a business that used pedicabs, which are carts that are connected to the back of bicycles, to transport people around town. Caleb made a presentation that talked about his plans and showed it to his father. His father decided to give Caleb $5,000 if he could make the rest of it by himself. Caleb was only 14 years old at the time, so it seemed to be quite a challenge. However, he found a way to raise the $5,000 and Caleb and his father were on their way to Denver to purchase two pedicabs. With the help of some of his friends from middle school, Caleb officially launched Romeo’s Rickshaws. He has said that he is most grateful for everything that he has learned. He recognized that it was difficult for any business to stand out, because there were so many advertisements for the festival’s program. Caleb made the advertisements for Romeo’s Rickshaws not only stand out, but the people who are in charge of the pedicabs are taught to guide riders to advertisers. He also learned about how to get people to show up. There is no charge for a ride and the people only pay tips to the operators. Despite his accomplishments, Caleb does not see his business being a permanent venture. He says it is because it takes a lot of work. As of the date of the article, Caleb is 17 years old and is intending to sell the pedicabs before he leaves for college. He also intends to remember the lessons that he learned from his business.
Author Archive for CallihanAV22
Christopher Gray was born and raised by a single mother in an extremely poor neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama. Some of his favorite hobbies as a kid included video games and superhero comics. Gray won many academic competitions by the time he was in fourth grade. His academic future was looking very bright. However, he had trouble getting financial aid due to his mother’s credit record. He also didn’t possess the materials that were necessary to research and apply for scholarships. He had to go to the library that was close to where he lived. There was a 30 minute limit on computer usage, which meant that he was forced to take many breaks while requesting scholarships. He ended up applying for approximately 80 scholarships. Amazingly, with the assistance of the library and Google, he won $1.3 million in the form of scholarship money, leading to his decision to attend Drexel. When he got to college, he wanted to make the process of searching for scholarships online easier for other kids. He started Scholly with the help of a couple of coworkers. Scholly uses a student’s background to match them with the scholarships that are most fitting for their profession. It also gets rid of guesswork and makes research easier for other students. In 2015, Gray was invited to appear on Shark Tank while he was an undergraduate at Drexel. The Shark Tank investors liked Gray’s confidence and dedication to his company. Christopher Gray proved that you don’t need to have a large amount of money before you start a successful company.
https://esme.com/single-moms/sons-daughters/the-passion-of-christopher-gray
Hart Main saw his sister, Camryn, selling candles for a school fundraiser. He thought that the scents from the candles were “too girly.” About one month after, Hart completed a triathlon and said that he did not do well in the bike race, because his bike was older. He wanted a Trek racing bike that costed $1,200. However, his parents told him that he would have to buy it with his own money. In 2010, when Hart was only 13 years old, he founded ManCans, a candle company that sells “manly” scents in a soup can. In 2011, a soup kitchen in Lima received 200 cans of soup from Hart. The cans were projected to last approximately five months. A news station in Columbus heard about Hart’s company and broadcasted a story about it. The Associated Press also got word, which lead to Mancans being requested an average of three candles for every order. The cans were From 2010 until the time the article was written in 2015, Mancans have went from being created in Hart’s kitchen to being created at Beaver Creek Candle Company and sold in almost 150 stores in the United States. Mancans has also given thousands of dollars to many soup kitchens. As of 2015, the company has donated 100,000 soup cans and $35,000 to 25 soup kitchens in four different states. Most people would have never considered doing something that they at first thought was bad. However, Hart gave the candles a second chance and it resulted in great success.
https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/local/2015/07/21/young-entrepreneur-hart-main-17/985981007/
Benjamin Stern graduated from Viera High School, which is located in Florida, in 2017. During his junior year, he made an appearance on the TV show “Shark Tank.” He wanted to gather support for Nohbo, a newly established material packaging company. Mark Cuban, who was one of the “sharks” on the show, made a deal with Stern. Cuban was willing to invest $100,000 into Nohbo in exchange for 25% of the company. In 2020, Cuban went to Florida to provide an update on Stern and his company. Stern’s goal has been to get rid of single-use plastic containers sitting in landfills and polluting waterways. His solution to the problem is making raindrop-shaped pods, which are made up of plant-based materials. The pods include products including shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Stern said that most of the shampoos are made up of approximately 90% water. He received a Thiel Fellowship and was awarded $100,000 over two years. This meant that he could not go to college during this time. Today, Ben Stern is 23 years old. He has raised $5.5 million, has secured three patents, and even has a factory in Palm Bay that can produce as much as 195,000 pods of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash daily. Nohbo works with over 60 personal care product businesses. Stern has stated that he wants to expand the company. He plans on getting the product into all drug stores, Targets, and many other places. Ben Stern’s story is very inspiring and shows that you can be successful and maintain that success long after it began.
https://www.vieravoice.com/community/viera-high-school-graduate-continues-to-succeed-long-after-shark-tank/article_8effb438-11a2-11ed-a551-5b1169d1c371.html
Cory Nieves and his mother, Lisa Howard, moved to Englewood, New Jersey from their original residence in the Bronx. This was because Howard desired a better life for her son. There was one huge problem with this plan. Cory and his mother did not have a car at the time, so Cory wanted to do something to help out. When he was just six years old, he started selling hot chocolate at a restaurant that was owned by a family friend. He became so popular that he shortly experimented into the cookie business and created Mr. Cory’s Cookies. Cory and Lisa created a recipe to help them bake chocolate chip cookies. They sold them outside their home and at various stands throughout Englewood. The cookies were such a success that Lisa moved their service from their oven at home to a profitable kitchen. Lisa became famous for her nickname, “the Cookie Mom.” Lisa received help from Chase, which was a bank that she had been a longtime customer for. Chase assisted in handling the quick growth of resources from Cory’s popular business. Cory and Lisa have spread their business and added online sales as another option. It became more necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have even had the ability to sell cookies all over the world. Some of their largest market profits are in Canada and Saudi Arabia. They have also hosted workshops for kids and their parents at the Boys & Girls Club, the Center for Great Expectations, which is a shelter for pregnant mothers who are young and mothers who have had trouble with substance abuse, and Bergen’s Promise, which is a group that provides assistance for families who have kids that are dealing with various problems such as behavior, mental health, and substance abuse. Cory and Lisa are examples of people who found a way to get through tough times and achieved their dreams. Cory also proved that it is never too early to help someone out and that you can start a business at any age, regardless of how young or old you are.
https://www.jpmorganchase.com/news-stories/how-a-teen-entrepreneur-turned-a-pop-up-cookie-shop-into-a-thriving-enterprise
Two brothers, Brandon and Sebastian Martinez, created a company called Are You Kidding Socks. The brothers are from West Kendall, Florida, which is a small town located near Miami. At the time the article was written, Brandon was 13 years old and Sebastian was 11 years old. The idea originated when Sebastian was 5 years old. His mother noticed that he had an adoration for socks and asked him if he wanted to create his own. Sebastian instantly began creating layouts with crayons. Within a year, Sebastian’s layouts were developed onto real socks and the stock started to sell rapidly. Since 2014, the charitable division for Are You Kidding Socks, Are You Kidding Cares, has given away socks to children who are homeless, in foster homes, or impacted by natural disasters. They have also collaborated with many organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Autism Speaks, Make-a-Wish, and the American Cancer Society. Brandon and Sebastian partnered with Enrique Santos, a Hispanic radio producer and the chairman of iHeartLatino, to start the Are You Kidding podcast, which was the first iHeartRadio podcast to be presented by kids. Its goal was to encourage children to help other children by identifying innovative ways to be charitable. The podcast lasted about one month, running from August 2019 to September 2019. There were some appearances from celebrities and on-air personalities such as John Leguizamo and Elvis Duran. As of the date the article was written, Brandon and Sebastian have sold over 100,000 pairs of socks through their company. They have raised approximately $200,000, which is all devoted to organizations that assist kids in need. The brothers are seeking to grow their company all across the country by teaming up with more organizations. Brandon has said that him and Sebastian want to start an apparel line that includes hats, shirts, and sweaters. These two brothers have proved that you are never too young to start your own company. They can be seen as an inspiration to many people, especially those who are young, who are thinking about starting a company.