At 7 years old, Nathan had a problem. He was walking to school with his dad, and suddenly, rain comes falling down. Fortunately, Nathan’s dad had an umbrella! Unfortunately, Nathan did not. as they tried to fit two people under one regular umbrella while rushing to school, Nathan and his dad still ended up drenched. Nathan thought, “If only I had an umbrella that i could hold while my dad holds, and that we could easily fit under together!” and so him and his dad began to work, jamming together a prototype. lo and behold, it worked like a charm, with a middle handle for his dad and a lower handle for him! They dubbed their prototype “The Duo”.

Eventually, Nathan moved to Los Angeles and competed in the “Innovation Competition” where kids ideas and projects can gain a large amount of recognition. And recognition it gained. The Duo won many following competitions, winning “the most original invention” in the country” and placing top ten in the world.

Using this popularity and fame, Nathan cold-called the CEO of Shed Rain, one of the most popular umbrella companies in the world, and surprisingly enough, his pitch convinced him! They became partners and began working out manufacturing and distribution. After this Nathan auditioned for Shark Tank, and was accepted. He landed a deal with Robert Herjavec. They have begun both taking orders and distributing through places like Target and Nordstrom!

If you want to look at the Duo, click here

Socks, socks, socks! Sebastian and Brandon Martinez started this business (with some help from their mom of course) in 2014. Sebastian decided that since he loved socks so much he should be the CEO. His older brother became the COO and helped design the website, while his brother worked on sock design with his mom.

Each line of socks raises funds for different awareness groups and charities, like Cookies for Kids charity has socks with fun cookies on them, Kids cancer foundation and breast cancer awareness each have some fun socks, and there are socks for autism awareness. they also have other, non charity related lines, for men, woman, and children.

These awareness lines pair great with Are You Kidding’s Kids Helping Kids Initiative, where the boys partner with schools to provide socks and other tools to create fundraisers to benefit local charities and schools, so they can use socks to give back to the community.

Are you Kidding? was on Today, Good Morning America, CNBC, and many other sites and press items. They have gained this recognition and leveraged it to give back more with each sock they sell. Brandon says that he wants people to remember “Are you Kidding??” about their brand. The quality, the design, and what their money is going to.

If you’re interested in learning more about Are You Kidding, click here.

Robert Felder was on a high school trip to Bangladesh in 2012 and saw a need for both jobs and ethical clothing production. Simple as that, the menswear brand (bear with me) Bearbottom was born. Robert wanted to give back to the people in Bangladesh with things like jobs and clothing. He returned and began to build his business.

Back in western Florida, Robert couldn’t find any daily wear clothing that suited his adventurous lifestyle, especially not year round. This was his opportunity to produce his own! He saw that he could both give back to the people of Bangladesh, as they were one of the largest clothing/apparel manufacturing countries in the world at that time. He could provide jobs by manufacturing clothing and give back to the people with a buy one give one business model.

By 2014, the business was launched (while Robert was still in highschool!) and has been growing steadily ever since. They now have donated over one million meals to children in India, where some of the manufacturing has been done. Bearbottom has committed to ethical practices with their Vender Code of Ethics, which prohibits Child labor, Forced labor, Discrimination, Bribery, and many other items. They have also committed to sustainability, keeping long lasting comfort in mind while providing shorts, pants, and other menswear from recycled materials. they test everything they make themselves and hold their products to a high standard.

Robert, as a entrepreneurial highschooler, saw a massive need among producing countries for jobs and ethical practices, and shifted that into his own, very profitable business.

Visit Bearbottom’s webpage to learn more!

Back in 2011, 9 year old Moziah Bridges faced an issue. Nothing that I can find to wear fits my style! How can I look classy and feel good while I do it? The answer was simple, make your own accessories, specifically bow ties. With the help of his grandmother and her box of fabric scraps, a baby business was born. Mo saw a personal need and filled it, and it spread to so many others.

He learned to sew from his grandmother and started producing ties, 2000 of them by the time he was 11! a helpful boost to his business was his appearance on the Oprah magazine. At 11 years old, Mo appeared on the ABC show “Shark Tank”. He was offered 3 three dollar royalty by Kevin, and Daymond offered to mentor him, but would not be giving any money. Mo accepted Daymond’s offer of mentorship, and the two have been working together since. in 2014 Mo was accepted into the Tennessee State Museum Costume and Textile Institute, and grew his fashion expertise to a whole new level with the skills he acquired there. In 2015, Mo served as the fashion correspondent for the NBA. This led to the NBA signing him on in 2017 to create custom bow ties and neckties for all 30 teams. Along with the Oprah magazine, Mo appeared twice on Time magazine list of most influential teens, and on Fortune’s “18 under 18” list.

Mo’s Bows, with just 5 employees(including his mother grandmother, and himself, as well as his mentor) has now sold over 700,000 worth of men’s accessories, including bow ties, neckties, pocket squares, and hats, all with Mo’s unique fabrics and designs. Mo’s Bows has also partnered with several retailers, including Cole Haan, Bloomingdale’s, the Home Shopping Network and Neiman Marcus.

Time to tie this all together. Mo’s entrepreneurial mind saw a personal need, and eventually that grew into a whole business venture. He used his fame and publicity to gain mentorship and guidance, and used that guidance to profit doing something he loves.

You can find Mo’s website here!