From an early age, it was clear to Kevin Plank and those around him that he had incredible entrepreneurial skills. Later, these skills were developed and harnessed to create a 4-billion-dollar company, Under Armour.

Some of Plank’s earliest memories were with his two brothers, buying cheap bracelets and t-shirts and then selling them for a profit on the street. Plank always came away with the most profit. As he grew up, another thing that Plank was very passionate about was football. To combine his love of business and football, Plank began brainstorming things that he believed he could change, for a profit. The problem he settled on was the weight of a cotton t-shirt under a football uniform after a game or practice; football players needed something that would dry faster and stay lighter while they sweat.

With his connections that he had made in his years playing football, support from his family, and a lot of credit card debt, Plank was able to get more and more orders. Word-of-mouth was a massive selling strategy for Under Armour because when one team liked it, five other teams wanted it.

Plank’s journey to make Under Armour is not glamorous or easy. He had to work hard, and at one point was at rock bottom with lots of debt. However, the vision he had and the smart marketing decisions that he used worked well for him. All of that combined with his hardworking nature rewarded him well.

Sources

How I Did It: Kevin Plank of Under Armour (2003 Column) | Inc.com

A massive topic in the business world currently is the subject of non-fungible tokens or NFTs. This is a market that is just beginning to really gain traction and become more popular. Since it is new, lots of people, including young entrepreneurs are taking their chances in this space. One of these entrepreneurs is 12-year-old Benyamin Ahmed.

Ahmed began to work on the code for his very popular second collection of NFTs in June of this year with some inspiration from another NFT collection and help from mentors and online tutorials. His finished product included thousands of pixelated images of unique whales called “Weird Whales”.

After launching this collection of NFTs, the collection sold out within nine hours. Including the percentage that he makes for every resale, Ahmed told CBC he believes he will hit $400,000 in gross profit by the end of this month.

I think this space has huge potential for entrepreneurs of any age, but particularly for a younger generation who has grown up using and being comfortable using technology to make an income, this will be huge. In an article from the New York Post, Ahmed was quoted saying, ‘“When people buy Weird Whales, they’re investing in me and my future,” Ahmed reportedly said. “If I carry on as I’ve been, I might end up like other tech entrepreneurs out there like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.”’ I think Ahmed will be an inspiration for other young entrepreneurs and show that although it takes some hard work and self-teaching, this will be an area where money can be made.

Sources

Feuer, W. (2021, August 27). 12-year-old reportedly set to earn $400k in two months selling nfts. New York Post. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://nypost.com/2021/08/27/12-year-old-reportedly-set-to-earn-400k-from-selling-nfts/.