Author Archive for Payton Walker

Cory Nieves – Mr. Cory’s Cookies

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Thursday, December 5th, 2019 
· 1 Comment

At the age of six, Cory Nieves combined his love for baking treats and problem solving to come up with the perfect all-natural cookie recipe. After getting a little help from his mom, Cory founded his business, Mr. Cory’s Cookies, in 2010. It all started after telling his mom that he no longer wanted to ride the bus to school, but he would rather buy a car and drive. He began making money for his car by selling hot chocolate in surrounding neighborhoods. His hot chocolate became very well-known all over his hometown of Englewood, New Jersey.

As hot chocolate sales began to rise, Cory decided to begin selling cookies. He and his mom formed the perfect cookie made from all-natural ingredients. Sales took off immediately, and the company was born. Since the launch of the company, Mr. Cory has added three more flavors: Double-Dark, Oatmeal Raisin, and Sugar.

As sales for Mr. Cory’s Cookies continued to grow, Cory Nieves had the opportunity to partner with several large companies, such as Macy’s, Pottery Barn, Whole Foods, and Mr. Marcus Lemonis (their current partner). The company has also done its share of charity work, donating profits and resources to Bergen’s Promise, a local NJ nonprofit, and the Children’s Aid Society of NYC.

An idea simply inspired by a passion for sweet treats has involved into a national business recognized by dozens of America’s leading companies. Cory is now only 15 years old, and he continues to show a true entrepreneurial spirit and drive as he strives to innovate and push forward his all-natural cookie company.

1 Comment
Categories : Charity, Cooking, Food, Kids, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Brandon & Sebastian Martinez – Are You Kidding Socks

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Thursday, December 5th, 2019 
· No Comments

In 2014, 9-year-old Brandon and 7-year-old Sebastian Martinez founded Are You Kidding Socks, a sock company with a unique twist. The two kid entrepreneurs design and sell socks with unique, exciting designs. It all started with Sebastian, who loved wacky socks. By the time he was five, his grandmother had bought him over 100 pairs of colorful, fun pairs of socks. Sebastian’s mother remembers the very day she asked him, “Would you like to design your own socks?” On that day, June 25, 2013, Sebastian enthusiastically said yes.

Later that year, Sebastian began designing socks while his mother connected with a manufacturer in Guatemala to produce the designs. By 2014, Are You Kidding Socks was an established company, selling thousands of socks from the Martinez home. Sebastian was the CEO of the company, while his mother was the president. They brought on Sebastian’s older brother, Brandon, as the sales rep – due to his vibrant, outgoing personality. He was later promoted to the “Director of Sales” by his younger brother.

In recent year, the Martinez boys have made it their mission to raise awareness for national charities and organizations. Through the sales of their socks, they have raised thousands for nonprofits, such as Live Like Bella, SLAM ALS, Autism Speaks, and the American Cancer Society. They have designed specific socks that represent each cause they support.

The Martinez boys also care very deeply about local communities. They donate their time, resources, and socks to local schools and shelters during annual fundraisers and events. They also partner with local schools to host fundraisers and campaigns.

Since forming the company, the boys have received great recognition, from the mayor of Miami to interviews on CNN and Good Morning America. Sebastian and Brandon have taken a fun, simple idea and turned it into something very impactful.

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Categories : Charity, Helping Hands, Kids, Male Entrepreneurs, Redemptive Entrepreneurship, Social Impact, Socks, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Catherine Cook – myYearbook

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Thursday, December 5th, 2019 
· 2 Comments

In 2005, Catherine Cook and her brother, Dave, were flipping through their high school yearbook to see if they recognized anyone. While looking through it, Catherine thought of putting the whole yearbook online. This idea sparked a multi-million-dollar company in the years to come – and Catherine was only fourteen!

After coming up with the initial idea, Catherine contacted her oldest brother, Geoff, who was a sophomore at Harvard University. Geoff Cook was already on the road to making hundreds of thousands of dollars off his two websites EssayEdge.com & ResumeEdge.com, when his younger sister first told him of the idea. He immediately invested $250,000 into her idea and they began working with developers in India to bring the website to life.

Within one week of launching the site, Catherine & Geoff had 400 people with accounts – and it was confined to their hometown of New Hope, PA. Catherine would wear creative shirts that said things like, “Are you the prettiest girl in school? How about the dumbest? Find out!” By 2006, the website had over 1 million users. It continued to grow throughout the following years until, in 2010, it entered the top 25 most-visited websites.

In 2011, myYearbook merged with the Quepasa Corporation for over $100 million. One year later, they renamed the company to MeetMe. MeetMe still keeps some of the same features that made myYearbook so popular, but it now offers online chatting and connections with other people.

Katherine’s simple idea turned into a multi-million-dollar venture, something she says she definitely did not ever expect. myYearbook is a great example of the possibilities that can arise from a unique idea.

2 Comments
Categories : Communication, Great Ideas, Social Entrepreneur, Social Media, Websites, Women Entrepreneurs, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Ben Pasternak – Flogg

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Tuesday, October 15th, 2019 
· No Comments

At the age of fifteen, Ben Pasternak developed an app called Impossible Run. He began developing the app during his science class in high school. The app’s purpose was to test the user’s reflex reaction times using geometry. Impossible Run was downloaded 1.3 million times, which rocketed the app to the top of the Apple App Store. After the app gained this traction, many Silicon Valley investors reached out to Pasternak about the possibility of developing some of his other app ideas.

One year after releasing Impossible Run, Ben raised $1 million to begin development on a buying/selling app called Flogg. He wanted to aim the app at teens, so he combined the concepts of Tinder and Ebay into one application. One simply swipes to purchase items on the app. This idea came from seeing many of his teenage friends buying and selling items using Facebook groups.

Ben Pasternak now lives in New York City, where he runs his $2 million application company. With the success of Flogg, Ben was able to hire seven employees, all of whom are under the age of 35. What started as a fun activity in school has evolved into an innovative application development company. Ben’s ideas can serve as a great inspiration to a young entrepreneur.

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Categories : App, Smartphone, Software, Technology, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Fraser Doherty – SuperJam

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Monday, September 30th, 2019 
· 3 Comments

In 2004, fourteen-year-old Fraser Doherty of Scotland began a remarkable career. It all started when his grandmother taught him her jam recipe, which contained 100% fruit. In 2007 (using his grandmother’s recipe), Doherty took his jam company, SuperJam, to Waitrose – a UK supermarket company. Doherty went on to become the youngest person to ever supply a large supermarket chain.

By the time Fraser was seventeen, he had generated over $750,000 in sales. Furthermore, he has sold millions of cans of jam since the company’s inception. In addition to this, Doherty went on to invest in many charitable projects and organizations. He has hosted hundreds of free “SuperJam Tea Parties” for the elderly and has invested much of his time into community beekeeping projects.

Fraser has also written many books, from business how-to guides to cookbooks. He has also received many awards, such as the “Enterprising Young Brit of the Year” award in 2004 and the “Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year” award in 2007.

In 2013, Doherty co-founded Beer52, the world’s largest beer club. It has become one of the must successful startups in Scotland, with more than 200,000 customers. Beer52 also produces the UK’s top craft beer magazine, Ferment.

What started as a fun experience with his grandmother has radically transformed Fraser’s life. All it took was acting upon a unique idea: a jam made with 100% fruit.

3 Comments
Categories : Business, Charity, Cooking, Food, Great Ideas, Kids, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Hart Main – Man Can

Posted by Payton Walker 
· Monday, September 16th, 2019 
· 3 Comments

In October of 2010, thirteen-year-old Hart Main loved teasing his sister over the “girly” scents of candles she was selling for a school fundraiser. Wanting to buy an expensive Trek bike, Main had the idea of starting a candle company that sold more “manly” scents. He bought the necessary supplies for $100, hoping to sell some candles to raise a meager $1200 to purchase his bike. Not only did Main have the idea of “manly” candles, he also decided to put the candles in “masculine” soup cans instead of the typical glass jars. Within one month, he had sold over 20,000 candles from his garage. Hart recalled the days when his house was covered in cans and candle wax.

Though the idea was very unique, Hart had a dilemma: he had way too much soup. In 2011, he decided to start donating the soup to food banks and homeless shelters in North and Central America. Furthermore, he then decided to donate $0.75 of every candle purchase to homeless shelters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Michigan.

What are some of the manly scents offered by Man Cans? “Fresh-Cut Grass,” “Campfire,” and “Bacon” are just a few of many manly scents sold by Man Cans. Main uses a team of perfumists in New Jersey to scent his candles. They collaborate and share samples with Main until the perfect scent is found.

What started as a means of acquiring some extra cash has morphed into a company that sells manly candles nationwide. Amazon and Barnes & Noble are just two of many major retailers that sell Man Can candles. Just a little joke about “girly” candles sparked (pun intended) an innovative idea to solve a simple problem: the need for the smell of bacon and two-stroke engines filling the air.

3 Comments
Categories : Charity, Creating, Household Goods, Kids, Youngest Entrepreneurs