Most people had a dream of starting a business while they were in high school. Most of us knew that it was not a realistic one, but that never stopped us from dreaming of being our own bosses, doing a job we love, and making a ton of money doing it. For the founders of JunkTeens, this dream was a reality. At the age of just 17, Kirk jr. and his brother Jacob were already providing their services of junk removal for cold hard cash. This idea turned out to be so profitable that they were able to scale the business such that today, the company is bringing in $1,000,000 a year.
When Kirk Jr. Was 17 years old, he was riding his bike around town with his friends when he came upon a dump. They decided to explore the dump, where Kirk found a set of speakers, that he later discovered, were in great condition. This inspired him to go back more than once to find fun, random items it that he could use. Eventually his mom got tired of the clutter filling his room, and convinced Kirk to get rid of some of it. This prompted Kirk to sell a few of his speakers on Facebook Marketplace.
After his first set of speakers had sold, he knew this was something he could enjoy doing. After many weeks of returning to the dump everyday, the workers there began to not only pick out and find things for him to sell, but they also began to teach him the ropes of junk removal. This gave Kirk a bright idea. What if instead of getting junk out of the dump, he could get it directly from people homes, and get paid to do it? Kirk bought a cheap $4000 truck and got to work removing junk for people for a small price. People loved his hustle, and very quickly his little business became a hit.
At about this time, he brought his brother on board to help him. That first year, with that one old pickup truck, and the drive of two young entrepreneurs, they managed to bring in $120,000 in revenue. Once they saw that they could scale this business, they decided to kick it into a high gear. In 2022, they rebranded what was previously K&J Removal and Disposal, to JunkTeens. With the money they had made that year, they bought their first dump truck, began paid advertising, and invested in physical advertising material. This proved to be an effective strategy, as that year they were able to bring in more than $400,000. Fast forward to today, Kirk is 21, and Jacob is 19, and the company has it’s own warehouse, countless employees, and manages to bring in close to a $1,000,000 a year.
These two Gen-Z Entrepreneurs started a successful company with nothing but hard work, determination, and grit. They put their minds to something and they accomplished it. Both of them are now in college, and the business continues to thrive. There is no substitute for hard work and getting started early, and these two are an example of this. For more information on these two inspiring entrepreneurs, visit JunkTeens.com
Or visit the Upflip podcast to see their full interview.