Now I realize that some people have already written about Casey Niestat since he has had an incredibly successful year, I however, would still like to give my perspective on this creative man. Casey Niestat may be one of the only people in the world to have mastered the art of the viral video. Casey’s vlogs have become an internet sensation over the last year as nearly every one of his videos has over 2 million views on YouTube. Furthermore, Casey’s vlog series has grossed over 1 billion views for his nearly 6 million subscribers. The man is a genius. While he does have a very successful channel and his videos nearly always go viral, Casey has yet to say what makes viral videos, as he himself does not understand what he does in particular that makes these videos go viral. In the last month, Casey has grossed a total of 60 million video views. However, Casey’s viral videos are not what have made him so famous in the last few weeks. Casey has recently sold the app that he created to CNN for an estimated 25 million dollars. Casey built an app that was designed for video recording and vlogging. The app was not very popular initially, but with the app being acquired by CNN, Casey will be able to make his app into a global sensation. Finally, the most important thing that I believe makes Casey a true entrepreneur is his most recent decision to end his vlogging channel. Niestat made this decision because he felt that he was no longer being challenged by the channel. This shows that Casey truly loves creating and in my mind that is what makes him a true entrepreneur.

Featured on the hit show shark tank, Brian Lim has created a multimillion dollar company and has the leading sales out of anyone in the new market of “glove lights”. Glove lights are as simple as they sound, gloves that light up. However, in places like Japan, China, and Europe, Glove lights are very popular because people can put on entire shows with them and also have competitions. The lights and the way that people move them are an amazing form of entertainment that one must truly experience to understand. Glove lights are a booming business and the industry is only growing more and more each day. Currently, the company Emazing Lights is the largest company of its kind. They sell gloves which can range from standard gloves at $20 all the way up to customizable pairs that can get up to over $150. Nonetheless, these gloves have essentially created their own market over the past two years and the entertainment industry has adopted this new form of entertainment very quickly. After getting on shark tank, the business partnered with Mark Cuban and Daymond John. After partnering with these two their 3 million dollar company has transformed into almost a 20 million dollar company. Lim took an art form that he found in 2010 and created his own market which has expanded around the globe. His desire and innovation has led him to tremendous success in the business world.

Sean Belnick is a young 28 year old male who started selling office furniture at the age of 14. Sean’s product was not something particularly special as office furniture has been around for years, however, his entrepreneurial skill set is faceted more towards a department like sales. Belnick claims that he began trying to sell things a young age. Before selling furniture, he sold a wide array of objects such as pokemon cards, wrapping paper door to door, catalogs, and many other everyday items. Sean wanted to create a business and he knew he to sell, he just needed a product. He claims that when his mother married his step- father, who is now his business partner, he began to get into furniture sales. His step father was already an independent salesman of a furniture company. Belnick was very tech savvy at a young age and decided to help his step father by creating a website for his furniture company. At the time, the internet was a very new innovation, and many people did not know how to use it, so this website was a genius creation. Belnick’s Bizchair empire is now valued at nearly $70 million. Thanks to his innovation and drive, Belnick was able to create a company that was very popular. While he did not invent the product he is selling, he revolutionized the way to sell it.

At age 14 a young British citizen by the name of Olajide Olatunji, also known as JJ, began making YouTube videos. JJ was primarily focused on making entertaining videos that revolved around the virtual soccer game “FIFA”. Because of his skill in the game and also his comedic commentaries, his channel began to grow very quickly. After 2 years on YouTube, his channel “KSIOlajideBT” had nearly 3 million subscribers and around 100 million views. Fast forward to 2016, JJ or “KSI” is the 22nd most subscribed person on YouTube with almost 15 million subscribers and over 3 billion views. But KSI is not only a YouTuber, he is an entertainer. Because of his vast internet fame, JJ was able to establish many connections with famous people, networks and various companies. He has launched his own music career which has included various tours across the UK and Europe. In addition, JJ was able to partner with another large YouTuber, Caspar Lee, and together they created their own movie which was a DVD only release this past year. Furthermore, JJ wrote his own book and also co authored another book with his YouTube group known as the “Sidemen” which recently reached best seller status in the UK. KSI took something as small as a YouTube channel and created his own persona which has led to his rise to fame. At the young age of 23 years old he has an estimated net worth of 7 million dollars. JJ began as a FIFA YouTuber, but saw a market in which he could expand his talents to reach the entire world. By partnering with many companies and start ups as well as making contracts with entertainment networks all over the UK KSI has become a global sensation and is a perfect example of a young entrepreneur.

Hart Main is a young 14 year old who saw a problem and a potential solution. He often found himself teasing both his sister and mother over the fact that the candles they used always smelled “girly”. Main believed he could create candles that would be for men and have more manly smells rather than smells like “Summer breeze” or “springtime flowers”. Main used $100 of his own money and asked for a small loan from his parents of $200 to begin his business. He and his family then took the time to create their candles or as he called them “Mancans”. Some of the scents he made include: campfire, bacon, sawdust, grandpas pipe, fresh cut grass, new shoes, and many more. Main’s candles can be found in over 60 stores across the nation and he has reportedly sold over 9000 units so far, and he’s only 14. Main is an inspiration to young entrepreneurs everywhere as a young man who saw a problem with a new market and created a product to meet the needs of that market.

One of the most successful and innovative young entrepreneurs I have ever heard of has ti be Daron Taylor. I first heard about Daron when I saw a video of him that had gone viral on Facebook. Daron is a young 14 year old boy who started his own lawn care business. He became a success very quickly and began to have customers all over his neighborhood. Some of these customers lived quite far away from Daron and he realized that carrying his lawnmower, weed wacker, leaf blower, and gas can such a far distance was very impractical. Daron then took his own money he had made from mowing lawns nearby and bought a nice bike. After purchasing the bike, he bought several pieces of wood from a hardware store and created his own makeshift trailer hitch. Finally, Daron bought a small trailer that could carry all of his equipment. This young man took his own time to create an easier way to reach more customers for his business. Daron also made an Instagram page to market his company “D’s Lawn Care”. Daron is an inspiration to young people everywhere showing that all it takes is a little hard work and some creativity to have success.