Smosh is one the oldest YouTube channels in the platform starting back in 2005.  But it didn’t start as a YouTube channel, it was started as a website originally by Anthony Padilla and was used for flash animation, it wasn’t until later that Ian Hexcon joined him that the channel was launched and started to grow. The channel continued to grow from then and in 2012 they launched several channels that allowed them to hit different target audiences. This list included a Spanish channel, a gaming channel, and a comedy channel showing the diverse communities that Ian and Anthony wanted to include. Later on, in 2017 after great success at Smosh Anthony left to pursue his own interests. After he left in 2018 the parent company of Smosh closed down without warning leaving them no other option than to join Mythical entertainment, a company owned by Rhett and link. The company did well here for several years, until in 2023 it was announced that Padilla had rebought the company and along with him Hexcon had come back as well.  This re-established Smosh as an independent company. Today Smosh is still striving with over 10 billion viewers and 26 million subscribers. Working with them today is over 15 cast members and 40 other workers, some being freelance workers.  In addition to this Smosh also holds several accolades in several different areas. One being that they have three separate spans of the most subscribed channel on YouTube. Moreover, they were listed in the Guinness book of world records as the most subscribed comedy YouTube channel. Personally, I can see why the channel has such a diverse audience and range that allows for anybodybto watch their content me in included. Overall Smosh, ran by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hexcon, has had great success and a long-standing reputation as one of the greats of YouTube  

GamerSupps was founded in 2015 by a multitude of different people and is an energy drink brand that is targeted to the gamer community. During this time the brand had a lot of controversy and was not doing too well, this was until a YouTuber by the name of “JSchlatt” took over. Jschlatt started his YouTube career in 2013, but he didn’t take off until about seven years later in 2020 during Covid. It was at this time he gained his fame which allowed him to buy and turn around the falling company of GamerSupps. As stated previously, GamerSupps is an energy drink brand that is targeted towards gamers and E-sports players. It has zero calories and is sugar free which makes it a great alternative to sodas and other energy drinks. Although the brand started in 2015 it didn’t really get its start until Schlatt took over the company. The reason for this is because he has such a big following of fans that he is able to advertise to, he uses his connections and influence to showcase the brand. Another reason the brand is doing a lor better now is because of all the collaborations they do. Schlatt is a very sociable creator and makes friends with a lot of other people on the platform, this is where he gets most of his collaborations from. These collaborations allow for the other creators to get their name out and also make a profit while doing so. If you watch several of the creators that Schlatt and GamerSupps have partnered with you’ll notice them, also say use code “Blank” and get 10% off. This code benefits the customer, the creator and the company, which I think is great. This brand doesn’t just sell their powdered drink, but it also sells shaker cups to go with it. Overall JSchlatt is a great creator who used his name and likeness to turn around a company that is now doing well with their sales and brand name.  

      The GHOST brand was launched back in 2016 with one goal in mind, create a sports/ athletic brand that was authentic and not a fake version of fitness. Dan Lourenco and Ryan Hughes and the founders of GHOST. Both of these men come from significantly different backgrounds but came together to form one company that is thriving. They stated the way the brand started was they were two friends that wanted to have some fun. That this brand was aimed at everybody that was a part of the gym not just one specific group. They wanted to take the experience of the gym and make it feel less “perfect.” That now days the fitness brand is all about eating chicken breast for every meal and having the best abs. They wanted to stray away from that mentality and make supplements that the average gym goer would use. Recently the GHOST brand has partnered with people like Chips Ahoy, Oreo, and war heads, making energy drinks, protein shakes and other gym supplements. They use these already existing brands so when people ask if it tastes good or how does it taste they can say it taste like (the brand they used). Personally, I can attest to this. The energy drinks they make with war head and sour patch kids taste just like the candy! The GHOST brand is great at listening to their customers as well, they take feedback and apply to their products. These men have had such an amazing entrepreneurial mindset. They both started out at different companies coming together and making something for fun, breaking into a huge market and striving! Ryan Hughes says that  

     “Thing about entrepreneurship and success in a lot of ways is you don’t start something like this or go on this journey as an entrepreneur for success. You do it out of pure passion for what you’re doing.”  

       Which I think is a great mindset to have when starting a business!  

Michael “Mikey” Wren is an entrepreneur from St. Louis, Missouri, who has mind built for business. At the age of 8 is where he started his business that would set his future; Mikey’s Munchies Vending, is a vending machine company that quickly gained traction. For Michael though this was only the start.  Wren’s passions and abilities extend beyond just business. Wren is committed to giving back to his community by helping others. One way that he is able to do this is through his financial literacy education. He uses this education to teach children and others in his community about the importance of money management and how to spend it wisely. Moreover, every year he organizes and host an annual toy drive to donate to local kids, I think that these two things demonstrate his positive attitude towards giving back to his community.  If he wasn’t doing enough already by giving back and running his own business, he is also an author! Wren has written two children’s books, “Mikey learns about Business” and “Biz is a Whiz.” These books are aimed at educating children pre-K to the third grade. The books teach about the basics of business, marketing strategies, and networking. Wren also regularly books talks to talk about his books! I think these books are a great idea as they get a younger generation inspired to be Entrepeneur’s and maybe start their own business just like Wren. In addition to running his own business, teaching courses, and writing books he still has the time to be involved in two national kid’s boards. Here he gave away 10,000 dollars’ worth of brand-new clothing to kids in his community. Overall, Wren’s business, community involvement, and penmanship are incredible feats for someone of his age! His story is a great example of how business can be used to serve and give back to those around you!

10 Successful Young Entrepreneurs (investopedia.com)

Person2Person fitness is a name known by many around northern Virginia. It was over 20 years ago that Mandy Person started her personal training business, and it’s still going strong today.  Mrs. Person has been running her business out of her basement. In there she has a fully equipped and functional gym, it has everything you would need to be successful— squat rack, bench press, cable machines, free weights, and much more— but this took time to grow. When she started many years ago, she was a mother of one, and did not have all the equipment she does now. This caused her to travel a lot for her work. She would travel over an hour to go to her client’s house and train them. This was difficult for her because she had to take her son with her as well who was very young at the time, but she always made it work! Over the next few years, she grew her business and her family. She was able to get more clients, which meant new and better equipment! She also then had to work around the schedule of her kid’s schools and their needs as well, but she pushed through and overcame those obstacles as well.  Now in one day she usually has about 3-5 clients, she trains for an hour, and on each day her clients are different. She has a huge variety of people she helps keep active and healthy! To this day she still does travel to some of her clients’ homes considering her clients might not want to commute, she cares a lot about her clients lives and wants to help them no matter what.  Overall Mrs. Person is an amazing “Person” who started her business of traveling to homes with her son to growing and expanding her gym at her house where she trains clients today, but most importantly she is an amazing mother who does so much to support her kids and her business!  

Fraser Doherty, a 14 year from Scotland who used his grandmother’s recipes to make a sweet, delicious jam. Doherty started his journey by going door to door selling his jams, but soon after he set up a stand in Edinburgh farmers market, it was there that his jams gained traction. He would bike to deliver his jams, but the problem was he had more orders than he could keep up with. To solve this, he dropped out of school and rented a factory for a few days every month, he worked extremely hard to keep up with the high demand and production.  What’s amazing about his jams is that they are made with 100% real fresh fruit, which in return sets him apart from his competitors. It’s not only me who thinks the jams are amazing but the store Waitrose as well. Not only did it gain shelf space there but also across the UK and Europe and extending to even Japan and other international markets.  In Korea he sold £1 million worth of merchandise in an hour. His business achieved such high success that he even received a medal from the Queen of England herself! Another remarkable thing that Doherty does is he sets up free tea parties for the older people in his community and also several bee keeping projects. Doherty faced challenges with high demand, but he found a solution by dropping out of school and opening a factory. Today, his brand is available in supermarkets and specialty stores; globally in 2019 he sold 5 million jars of jam. His inspiring journey from door-to-door salesman to international entrepreneur shows how his passion and deduction lead him to extraordinary success. Personally, I think that this was an amazing idea, how he started from humble beginnings is very inspiring to me, as I hope to eventually run my own business.

10 Successful Young Entrepreneurs (investopedia.com)