Oh, hello there. I didn’t notice your arrival. Come on in and have a seat by the fireplace, and I’ll read to you a tale from my most favorite book, “Young Entrepreneurs Who Know What’s Up.”
What were you doing when you were 14? Trying to steal a kiss from your sweetheart? Taking personality quizzes on Facebook? Struggling to cope with puberty?
Hey, don’t feel bad about it. We’ve all been there. That is, except for Christian Owens, who spent his awkward phase starting a successful business.
At 14, Owens launched Paddle, a tech startup offering developers the necessities for online retailing. Owens knew what he was talking about, and earned over a million dollars in angel investor funding. That was six years ago, and Paddle has since grown to include a staff of 20 and earned over a million pounds revenue (I still don’t understand how pounds translate to dollars, but that’s definitely quite a bit of money). Owens has also developed a solid network of other prominent startups he has worked with since his departure from high school at 16. Owens has always enjoyed the fast-paced business life, yet experienced quite a bit of struggle gaining credibility in his younger days.
“But Grandpaaa,” you ask, “what’s the point??” Settle down children, I’m getting there. If you have a business inclination at a young age, jump on it. The earlier you start, the better. Maybe you’re older than 14, but there’s still no better time to take action than the present moment. Put down your lollipops, smartphones, and perceived setbacks. Get out there and change the world. And mow my lawn while you’re at it.
Young age at a startup translates to less risk. If your business fails, you’re probably taking it easy on the Skittles and Mountain Dew for a few weeks, not going into bankruptcy! Sitting here as a nineteen year old, and reading about someone five years my junior in a tech startup makes me want to jump right into something now, instead of thinking about it until it is too late.