Michael Bloch is continuously innovating and trying to find new ways to either grow a business or help others. Bloch graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013 with a degree in Business Administration. After, he graduated he briefly worked for Camio, an company that “turns any smart phone into a home video monitoring camera,” as their head of growth. While Camio failed, for many reasons; Michael Bloch became an integral “ground floor” member of Doordash.

Bloch worked for Doordash for over three years as their Director of Strategy and Operations. During this time he personally oversaw the growth of the Northern California and New York territories. These territories were some of Doordash’s best performers at the time. Also, when he entered the company there was less than 50 people total and he grew the New York territory to have 50 workers alone as well as over 100 million dollars in Revenue.

After Mr. Bloch helped grow Doordash, from the ground up; he decided to do some good. Mr. Bloch is trying to help over 45 million Americans pay off their student loans through his app Pillar. Pillar used a complex algorithm as well as AI to help people pay off their student debt quicker and easier. He decided he had to create this app after his wife graduated law school with over three hundred thousand dollars in debt. Lastly,  even though Michael Bloch’s current achievements have landed him on the Forbes 30 under 30 list (link below), his best creations are ahead of him because he is continuously innovating.

https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloch/?sh=1a57df8f4939

Benjamin Stern grew up in Melbourne, Florida and was always a good student. In ninth grade, he took a biology class where he saw a video describing how damaging plastic bottles are to the environment. After seeing this video he wanted to help the environment by reducing the amount of plastic in the world. Instead of doing something simple like start a recycling center or a local compost station he started Nohbo. Nohbo is a shampoo brand that does not use plastic bottles so that they can “rid the world of unnecessary plastic.”

They “rid the world of unnecessary plastic” by making single serving shampoo packets that come in a water-soluble container which decomposes with water in seconds. These shampoo “drops” were just the start now they have “slips” of soap so people can wash their hands with out using plastic and they are developing a new type of toothpaste that is not packaged in plastic.

Stern has come up with many great ideas; however, he did not know how to market his idea or obtain the capital needed to get his idea off of the ground. So, he went to shark tank. He pitched the sharks when he was only 16 years old and still in high school. It worked and he secured a deal with Mark Cuban. Ever since the deal with Mark Cuban Stern’s company has taken off and has not only lessened the amount of plastic in the ocean, jungle, and landfills, but has also turned a significant profit.

To learn more about Benjamin Stern and his company please see the link to Nohbo’s website and a short video describing the shampoo below.

https://nohbo.com/

When most 13-year-olds want some extra spending money they cut grass, wash cars, or sell lemonade. Hart Main did something much more innovative. He realized that most candles are positioned toward women. The smells are “womanly” the candles are generally pink, purple, or light blue. Hart created a solution to this problem, Man-Cans. Man-Cans has created a candle for men. The scents are “manly” and they are packaged in soup cans. Some of their most “manly” smells are gun powder, grandpa’s pipe, and cigar just to name a few.

His candles are being made by Beaver Creek Candle Co. and Main sells them on their website (which is linked below) and at 150 retailers all over the nation. Also, his price point is shockingly low at five dollars for most candles and ten dollars for specialty candles, like “2020: the year that stinks.” His company makes a good profit; however, they do much more than that; they give back. Man-Cans has donated 100,000 cans of soup and 35,000 dollars to over 20 soup kitchens in multiple states. On top of Main’s great philanthropic efforts, he is also furthering his education.

While building his business Hart Main has stayed in school, and when he was 17 years old, he decided that he would like to continue his education. So, he decided to attend college and continue growing his business. He also said that instead of spending his profit on something fun, he will use it to graduate debt free. Hart Main, is a very impressive young entrepreneur because he saw a hole in the market, filled it, and is using his profit to do good while furthering his education.

https://bccandle.com/mancans

Growing up Peter Yang always liked food, but like most people he didn’t follow his passion; he went to college. At 22 years old, Peter Yang graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in structural engineering. Shortly after, he started working as a structural engineer and hated it, so he decided to try something new. He and his father started Pokeworks, in 2015.

Pokeworks focuses on bringing people healthy flavorful food in a sustainable way. They do this through making Poke bowls and burritos. Poke bowls and burritos are like the Hawaiian version of Chipotle; they are filled with rice, fresh fish that is only lightly seasoned and cooked, an array of fresh and interesting herbs and vegetables, and a great mix of sauces. They bring these ingredients in fresh and sustainable ways. However, they also work to make sure the planet is being protected. Their Forest Stewardship Council takes care of the world’s forests by creating re-claimed wood products and protecting forest from deforestation.

This business model of focusing on flavor, health, and sustainability is working. Since 2015, they have opened over 30 locations from New York City to Houston. According to Yang, their business has exploded because they give people a healthy option that does taste great and does not cost a fortune. He also believes that their commitment to sustainability is another reason his business is doing so well. Many Millennials would rather spend their money somewhere that is sustainable and helping the environment instead of somewhere that is polluting. Peter Yang is an impressive young entrepreneur because he mixed his passions of food, health, and sustainability into a growing business that is turning a large profit. Lastly, he was a member of the Forbes 30 under 30 in 2017. The video below is a snippet of his interview which talks about him as well as his company and its growth.

George Matus began taking pictures with drones as well as racing them when he was still in middle school. During this time, he felt that there was no drone that allowed for racing and photography. He also saw that there was no “out-of-the-box” drone that could be raced and compete without any modifications. After seeing these problems and working thru multiple iterations of his product he opened his own company at the age of 17.

This company, Teal Drones, aimed to make a drone that could be raced and as well as used for photography. They came out with one of the fastest drones on the market. It can go over 70 miles per hour! However, these drones’ cost over 1200 dollars and have little use for civilians, so Matus pivoted. Matus created the Golden Eagle a drone that can go over 50 miles an hour, withstand 30 mile per hour wind gusts, and has an operating radius of over 2 miles. This is shown in more detail thru the video below. More importantly, the Golden Eagle has AI computing that allows it to track people, vehicles, and animals in real time.

The Golden Eagle led to Teal securing a contract with the department of defense. This contract put Teal and George Matus on the map. It also led to Teal being bought by a Red Cat Holdings a publicly traded company. Teal, under Red Cat, now is selling their drones to the Department of Defense and positioning their product to be used by ranchers, construction companies, and private security contractors. George Matus took his passion and turned it into a booming business, by seeing a problem, making a product to fix it thru many iterations, pivoting, and finally selling to a public company for a large profit; George Matus is a very impressive young entrepreneur.