Archive for Business::Entrepreneurs – Page 4

Davis Siksnans – Founder of Printful

In the rapidly expanding world of e-commerce, print on demand services have played a key role in helping businesses sell customized products without the need for a large inventory. This also means that young entrepreneurs are able to launch and scale companies with virtually no startup cost. A pioneer in this industry is Davis Siksnans, who co-founded Printful when he was 22. Printful has since become one of the biggest print on demand services and is valued at over 1 billion dollars.

Siksnans started his business as an online store that created print on demand posters with motivational quotes. As his company grew, he quickly realized that there was an opportunity to expand into the biggest category on the internet – clothing. At that time, there was already some competition in the industry, so Printful had to differentiate itself to draw customers away from the other providers. Siksnans achieved this by making Printful user-friendly and easy to integrate with e-commerce sites, such as Shopify. This took the logistical headaches out of print on demand and e-commerce services, which was the key to Printful’s success.

While Davis Siksnans did not start a “0-1” business, he became a highly successful entrepreneur because he looked at the problem differently than his competitors. He didn’t invent print on demand apparel, but he revolutionized the industry by making the experience user friendly so that anyone can start an e-commerce store. As mentioned earlier, Printful has grown to become one of the top competitors in the industry and is valued at over 1 billion dollars. They continue to thrive and explore new possibilities within the print on demand industry. Siksnans story clearly shows how creativity and innovation can create opportunities even when there are already other competitors. He looked at the problem differently, and that resonated with the market.

 

Mirrorless Apparel – Christ Centered Small Business

Mirrorless Apparel is making waves in the fashion industry with its unique blend of style and faith. Founded by a remarkably young and visionary entrepreneur, Mirrorless Apparel stands out not just for its trendy clothing but for its commitment to Christian values. The CEO, barely in his twenties at Texas A&M University, embarked on this journey with a clear mission: to create a brand that reflects his faith and inspires others.

His choice to establish a Christian company stems from a deep desire to integrate his beliefs into every aspect of his business. He believes that fashion can be a powerful medium to express one’s faith and values, and Mirrorless Apparel embodies this by offering clothing that carries positive, faith-based messages. This approach not only sets the brand apart in a crowded market but also resonates with customers who share similar values. The sneakers have Psalm 23 written on them all over the shoe in different areas and come in pink, black, white, blue and red, appealing to all ages of consumers.

Through Mirrorless Apparel, the young CEO aims to make a positive impact on society, demonstrating that business and faith can go hand in hand. His story is a testament to the power of youthful ambition and the importance of staying true to one’s principles, making Mirrorless Apparel a brand to watch in the coming years.

As someone who has a pair of these shoes, they are a great way to proudly wear your faith and start a conversation with someone at any point in your life.

 

Image result for mirroless papreale shoes

https://mirrorlessapparel.com/

– Reagan Thomas

Entrepreneur and High Schooler

The Gen Z entrepreneur who I discovered is a young women named Destiny Snow, raised by business owners she started a makeup business at just 15 years old.


Destiny Snow :: millennialentrepreneurs.com


While covid 19 hindered many from living the life they wanted, Snow didn’t let it stop her. Covid pushed her to find new opportunities for her business. She discovered early on that she needed to identify the target market for her products instead of trying to sell to family and friends. She jumped on the growing use of social media for business growth and learned how to sponsor people and companies who attracted the type of audience who she was looking to sell to.

Setting a good example for our declining society, Snow said she forced herself to learn and read about marketing so that she could implement what she learned along with her passion into her business.

Snow not only has started this business, successfully rolled with the punches but also aims to teach other young people today about entrepreneurship and marketing skills. She has done this through writing and releasing E-books and becoming a social media influencer.

It’s no wonder that Snow succeeded so well in the business industry because her mother, she says, is a successful business owner. Snow advises finding a model who you can be inspired by and who shows you how to succeed in your area. For Snow, this was her mother.

For me, the thing that’s one of the most impressive about Snow’s story is how she educated herself on how to succeed using marketing. She read books and described her house as looking like a library because of all the material she read to learn and continues to learn. Snow’s story is inspiring, and it continues to grow. She’s an example of what each of us is capable of.

Kenan Pala: Founder of Kids4Community

Kenan Pala was only 11 years old when he founded the nonprofit organization Kids4Community in 2017. Growing up in his hometown of San Diego, Kenan was born with a servant’s heart. He loved to volunteer at soup kitchens, beach cleanups, and more. He always looked for opportunities to serve others in his community but soon found out that many places he wanted to volunteer at had age restrictions. To his surprise, many of the local nonprofits he wished to support only allowed people over the age of 18 to volunteer. Kenan’s dream to create a solution to this problem was realized when he founded an organization that not only accepted but also encouraged children of all ages to volunteer and serve in their communities. In Kenan’s words, “All our events are open to anybody of any age. If you have the passion, you can come.” Kids4Community funds programs for a variety of social issues. Two years later, it has raised more than $1 million dollars for homeless initiatives, for example, gathering and cooking meals for homeless shelters. It also strives to promote awareness of other concerns such as educational programs for kids and adults about the dangers of substance abuse. In honor of Kenan Pala and the difference he has made in his city, the mayor of San Diego named January 23, Kenan Pala Day. But Kenan’s influence didn’t stop in San Diego. The organization changed the lives of countless people by preparing more than 8,000 packs of food, beverages, soaps, shampoos and wet wipes for homeless people. They were donated to institutions for the homeless across the U.S. In 2017, he was named one of the top ten youth volunteers in the country by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Kenan Pala has made a significant difference in his hometown of San Diego and communities everywhere. Kids4Community is fostering an eagerness to serve the less fortunate in the lives of children of all ages.

Read more about Kids4Community here.

Monika Dharia- Founder/CEO of EcoRain Poncho

Imagine coming up with and launching a business idea straight from your dorm room based off an issue with ponchos! Well, that’s what Monika Dharia did in 2016 as a sophomore at Duke. Monika Dharia studied environmental engineering, entrepreneurship, and economics during her time at Duke. She first realized that it rains a lot on the campus and went from thinking about renting umbrellas for free to eventually thinking about no plastic-based ponchos. She noticed that there was a problem with disposable petroleum-based products, especially with the ponchos. But how can you make a rain poncho more eco-friendly? And how can you make a poncho that’s different than any other poncho? Well, the answer lies in renewable materials and responsible packaging to help this ongoing issue. EcoRain Ponchos are sustainable ponchos that help to lower greenhouse gas emissions as well as being reusable and recyclable. These ponchos are responsibly sourced from Brazil made from sugarcane ethanol. What else also makes these ponchos unique? It’s that Monika made sure to include that the packaging for the ponchos is plastic free and made from FSC-certified recycled kraft paper. Soy based ink also helps to make their paper packaging easier to recycle. How many other companies that sell ponchos have unlimited uses because they’re 100% recyclable and is great for the environment? Not many other companies have thought of innovative ideas like Monika has! Monika has also won $35,000 in funding for her ponchos, but things started getting tough during the pandemic. Eventually she pulled through after getting a partnership with GreenGear. But it doesn’t stop there, because she also got a partnership with the Eagles and Braskem! So far, her ponchos have made an impact by fulfilling orders with Duke, Yale, North Carolina FC, the Eagles, and even some national parks like Yellowstone and Zion! Monika Dharia’s ideas and innovations towards the poncho market are groundbreaking, and it’s no surprise thanks to her entrepreneurial and environmental engineering skills! From an idea to reducing plastic in ponchos to being “the first 100% sugarcane-based poncho.” Monika has also been featured in Forbes 30 under 30, and in 2023 they have donated $11k to nonprofit organizations. If you still thought that was amazing, their business is also a minority and woman owned small business while also being 1% for the Planet members. So, Monika proves that if you see a need that can be fulfilled and even improved in the process to be more eco-friendly, to take a chance because your idea might be as great as an EcoRain Poncho!

Check out the EcoRain Poncho website here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

Sustainable Rain Ponchos & Bags | GreenGear Supply Co.

Women ‘Green-Sports-Preneurs’: Monika Dharia, Founder of GreenGear – GreenSportsBlog

Forbes 30 Under 30 2024: Social Impact

Matt Mullenweg: The founder of WordPress

Where it all began

Born and raised in Houston Texas, Matt had a seemingly normal childhood to most. He was introduced to the technological world through his father who was acomputer programmer. Eighteen-year-old Matt loved to blog on a platform called b2/cafelog. This site soon was taken down by the owners and this is where Matt decided to launch his own site with the help of his friend Mike Little. In 2003 he and Mike soon built what we know as WordPress, and it was widely received by the public. Matt was only eighteen at the time of founding WordPress and he was still in high school. Due to his chronic migraines Matt was absent from school and this could have kept him from graduating but he was able to push through. After high school Matt continued his education at The University of Houston and chose to study philosophy and political science. During college Matt still worked on WordPress and grew more and more detached from his schoolwork. This lead Matt to drop out of college in 2004 to focus on WordPress entirely.

At nineteen years old Matt was offered a job at CNET in San Fransico which allowed him to work part time on WordPress. He stayed at CNET for only a year as he wanted to work full time on WordPress. Matt began building his team adding former Yahoo! executive Toni Schneider to join as CEO. Over the years Matt has joined several other ventures such as Automatic, GitLab, Global Multimedia Protocols Group, and helped launch Ping-O-Matic. Ping-O-Matic is a mechanism to help notify search engines about blog updates. These ventures led to Matt having an amazingly successful career with WordPress. WordPress powered about 40% of the internet in 2021 so one can only imagine how much it has grown in just three years. Approximately 400 million people visit WordPress sites each month. Overall, Matt Mullenweg is someone that is forgotten by most but as we can see and use in class WordPress is a very collaborative and easy service to use.

 

 

The Sweetest Devotion: Ashley Hetherington’s Journey as a Christ-Centered Influencer

Struggling to find her footing on a path through a season of worldly pressures and broken relationships, Ashley Hetherington was a young woman on the hunt for meaning and purpose, an unconscious search for her Lord burning from a heart of confusion riddled with footholds. But now, standing on the other side of this mountain of turmoil, is an emboldened 24-year-old woman of God whose radiant passion for Christ shines through her efforts as an influencer, author, and content creator. This renewed relationship with God that grew from one of the darkest periods of Ashley’s life has lit in her a fervor for helping other young women come to terms with fighting their own battles, especially concerning faith.

Hetherington has achieved this through business initiatives that, initially, took a leap of faith to pursue wholeheartedly; graduating from Miami University with a degree in interactive media studies and journalism and thus armed to aid in the growth of other companies, she never thought her own writing and social media presence would grow into anything more than a hobby and college pastime. But keeping God central to the trajectory of her life and career has led to a fruition of and full-time devotion to this mission through many outlets.

Ashley’s simple aim has been to encourage her fellow sisters in Christ, citing Proverbs 16:24: “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”  She orchestrates a variety of media to reach her followers, including several bestselling books and eBooks, an online blog called “The Honey Scoop”, social media channel (accessible through Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook), a podcast, and a free email subscription for weekly devotionals called “The Hive.” Additionally, Hetherington has a premium Bible study deemed “The Tree”, which includes a daily Bible reading plan, weekly devotional video, monthly group calls with women from across the globe, and access to recommended worship playlists, podcasts, and book recommendations. Ashley’s content, especially “The Tree”, reaches thousands of women from all over every year, uniting them under the purpose of growing into stronger, faith-filled daughters of Christ.

Notably, amidst this success, Hetherington always offers this glory back to Christ. She stated in an interview with Peer Magazine, “I’ll never forget that in one of the lessons [at Miami University], we were taught we are in the business of effort and God is in the business of result so it’s on us to put in the effort. To put in the work, to do the time, to be consistent, to innovate, to network, to show up every day, but God is in the business of results.” In Zero to One, Peter Theil remarks on “the guiding concepts of business”, among these principles being that “it is better to risk boldness than triviality (p. 20).” Ashley Hetherington is living a life and guiding a mission that testifies to the truth in this notion—whatever the internal struggles and external obstacles someone faces, a heart and business built on the Rock will flourish in His perfect timing for the glory of His kingdom.

College Dropout to Millionaire-Ryan Trahan

A Youtuber and Entrepreneur, Ryan Trahan started at 14 to become an entrepreneur. He started a simple water bottle business that would later help make him into a millionaire. Starting his YouTube channel in 2015, Ryan posted about his daily life at college as a student athlete. However, he quickly gained followers due to his creativity and humor within his videos. Having adopted just 30,000 YouTube followers and juggling his business, Ryan was pressured with his college or his business. His school had set a tight rule with him, as a student athlete, making it so he couldn’t brand himself properly while in college. Because of this, Ryan had to choose between a high-risk endeavor or the college route, and he chose the entrepreneurial side. Ryan had the same mindset Peter Thiel speaks of, saying, “I view creating as entrepreneurial. Creating something from nothing has always been ingrained in me.” Thus, his career rocketed. His small water business became a great part of his revenue. The business, known as Neptune, was built to create sustainable water bottles which would reduce plastic waste. With his social enterprise, Ryan also used his business to support several organizations centered around cancer.

While Ryan had Neptune blooming, he also opened up a clothing line called Hydra Collection, which became his personal merch on his social media accounts, as well as another clothing line, Howdy Howdy, and a candy company, Joyride. Creating innovative videos on YouTube and establishing his businesses across the world has made Ryan Trahan into a wealthy, young entrepreneur. From going on live television to creating television series of his own, Ryan meets every corner around the world to grow and engage with his audience.

Ryan is known for his penny-to-a-house series and simply racing people in airports. Through his creative and entertaining work, he has amassed 17 million followers on YouTube with over 3 billion views worldwide!

Age Is Just a Number

Ava Yuergens (@avayuergens) on Threads

Ava Yuergens

Young entrepreneur Ava Yuergens demonstrates that age is just a number. Ava and her soon to be fiancé acquired 900,000 dollars and residential real estate before she even graduated high school. She is currently 19 years old, married, and has started another business where she helps businesses and entrepreneurs grow and sell on social media. How did she become this successful? The answer is within her daily routine, discipline, and determination. Waking up early in the morning is no problem for her, so she wakes up at 2 am and starts her day. A day in the life of Ava Yuergens is the definition of productivity. You can watch her daily routine here. She works for an average of 15 hours a day and uses the nights to relax and do something fun with her fiancé. Her habits in high school were similar. Before school started, Ava would awake from her slumber at 4 am and read before school started! Ava has a thirst for knowledge, and she lets it consume her. When Ava was in high school, she would read books constantly. She would read about business, marketing, investing, and sales. At age 15 she started a real estate investing company with her boyfriend. The two of them got engaged when they were 16. Ava Yuergens is a fantastic example of where ambition can lead you. Ava’s Instagram profile is packed with business strategies, self-improvement hacks, and hundreds of ideas to help build your business. You can check out her Instagram profile here.  The best part is that Ava isn’t done. She wants to become more successful and read more books. Ava is a model for what young entrepreneurs could be. All you need is discipline, ambition, and determination to prove that anyone of any age can do anything.

Mikey Wren, the 10-year-old Entrepreneur

Mikey Wren’s entrepreneurial spirit came alive to satisfy a very simple and common urge. He wanted snacks. Rather than go to his parents or pantry, Mikey created his own solution, deciding to create his own line of vending machines. He began drawing up business plans and operated a lemonade stand to raise money with which he raised the surprisingly large amount of $1200. His determination to succeed propelled the success of his small business. At the age of 10, Mikey intuitively grasped a key principle of entrepreneurial success: achieving long-term goals requires the disciplined sacrifice of short-term comforts. In addition to working at his lemonade stand, Mikey asked his parents to take his Christmas money and invest it in his ideas rather than buy him presents. After his mother encouraged him to do more research into his ideas, Mikey typed up his own business plan. He printed his own flyers and set up a website called “Mikey Knows Biz” to advertise his growing business. You can visit Mikey’s site here.

Mikey Wren now owns four vending machines in various locations and is a bestselling author of his autobiographical journey to entrepreneurial success. His goal is to encourage his peers to explore and achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. Mikey brings a powerful and inspiring message to the business community: little people can achieve big things too.