Archive for Kids

Cary Huang, a Mind Behind Battle for Dream Island

Cary K Huang is a creator whose journey started sooner that most would expect. Cary, in collaboration with his twin brother Michael, created an animated web series called Battle for Dream Island. Their first entry in this series, “BFDI 1a: Take the Plunge”  was released to YouTube, beginning the story of the original twenty living objects and the host and establishing that the contestants would battle to win a beautiful island. It did not receive a wide viewership at first, as it was through the steady persistence of their uploads that their audience would grow. Cary and Michael were twelve when the first episode was released on the first day of 2010, and over the course of exactly two years and twenty-four episodes totaling nearly four hours of animation, they gained more than a thousand subscribers.

The fans of Battle for Dream Island and a similar YouTube show known as Inanimate Insanity would come to be called the Object Show Community. This online community, as is the case with others like it on the net, produces large amounts of fan made content. Some may consider the OSC, especially as it exists today, to be a self-sustaining vortex of inspiration, animation, and creativity. 

The brothers’ journey in online animation had a good early chapter. It was followed by several false starts in the form of sequel seasons that did not get far off the ground. Through most of his time in high school and college education at Stanford, Cary was too busy to focus on animation. During this time, he was able to experiment with code in some interesting projects. It was not until a flurry of new episodes releasing in 2017 and 2018 that Battle for Dream Island was ready to return, this time with a far larger production team and renewed art style. Following a hiatus that can be attributed to a lack of time at the end of Cary’s college career, Battle for BFDI (aka. BFB) was able to release episodes regularly until it reached its conclusion. 

The BFDI team is still active today, and is currently producing the prequel season Battle for Dream Island Again and the sequel season The Power of Two simultaneously. Each new animated episode receives millions of views. Though the world and the scope of their creation has expanded greatly, Cary and Michael’s original vision from when they were twelve years old still persists in their modern efforts.

Kenan Pala- Founder of Kids4Community

Kenan Pala, a fifteen-year-old kid who simply always wanted to help out. Pala was from San Diego, and during his time there, he would spend a lot of time volunteering at soup kitchens, and beach cleanups. Through this time when Pala would help, he would also have the struggle of getting to support these causes due to the fact that these nonprofit organizations were not allowing the kids under the age of 18 to volunteer. After Pala had said this, he was convinced that he could start something that would allow any kid who wanted to volunteer could volunteer. In 2017, Pala founded the nonprofit organization Kids4Community. He said this about his foundation, “All our events are open to anybody of any age,” and “If you have the passion, you can come.” This was unbelievable for a kid like Pala to identify a problem of wanting to help, but due to age restriction he couldn’t always do it. Through this, he innovated in so many ways to create this nonprofit organization to just give back to his community. Also, Pala has raised $1 million so that he can help the local homelessness causes. He did all this while taking kids to help with 5k runs, dinner services, and backpack drives. For Pala this is quite impressive, while he is preforming these events, he is raising a ton of money when doing it. Although, he is getting to the age where college is becoming a decision, and when he enrolls, he hopes to help one last kid, and this is his ten-year-old brother Arden. Kenan Pala, being the inspiration he is, when he goes to college, he would like to hand this organization off to his brother, who is very interested in volunteering, this will leave his brother in the same shoes when Pala started the nonprofit.

Meet 16 Teen Founders Who Are Building Big Businesses — and Making Big Money | Entrepreneur

Kenan Pala’s Organization Website: Kids4Community: A nonprofit organization run by kids for kids San Diego

 

Martinez Brothers – Are You Kidding Socks

Brandon (17) and Sebastian Martinez (15) are the founders of the sock-selling business, Are You Kidding Socks. Their business sprouted from Sebastian’s obsession with fun, patterned socks when Brandon was 8 years old and Sebastian was 6. In 2014, Sebastian started designing his own socks and, with the help of their mom, had them manufactured professionally. Their company has sold well over $1 million worth of socks and continues to grow as they reach more and more of the sock market.

Their purpose for their company now is to help grow awareness for local and national charities like Stand Up to Cancer, Autism Speaks, Amigos for Kids, and more. Their sock designs themselves raise awareness for many conditions and illnesses like pediatric cancer, autism, and breast cancer. They are now in partnership with 13 charities and work every day to make socks that help raise money for people in need.

These kids didn’t come up with a unique, problem-solving product that changes how we live day-to-day. No, their innovation was how they designed their business and their purpose behind it. What started out as just a six-year-old coloring sock designs for fun has now turned into a massive non-profit business that supports many different causes and seeks to change lives for the better. They inspire me with their passion for kids and people with illnesses, mental handicaps, special needs, etc. to look for ways I can support and give back to the community that serves me. They have also shown that you don’t have to make a life-changing technological breakthrough to have an impact on people.

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.

Cassidy Crowley & “The Baby Toon”

Cassidy Crowley was only 7 years old when she identified a problem that sparked the beginnings of her company, “The Baby Toon.” She had entered a Science and Engineering Fair at her school and needed to find a problem in order to enter the fair. At home, she noticed that her baby sister had a tendency of chewing on the hard back end of her spoon. This would always concern her mother; she didn’t want the baby to choke or hurt herself.

To solve this problem, Cassidy came up with “The Baby Toon,” a 2-in-1 baby spoon and teething toy made of soft FDA silicone and designed to eliminate the long, hard spoon back. Instead, The Baby Toon comes in a variety of animal shapes with rounded corners and edges, making it safe for babies to chew on as well as a helpful teething device. This newly-patented shape also allows parents and/or younger siblings to easily hold the spoon and feed the baby without the spoon accidentally going too far into the baby’s mouth.  

Cassidy notes that The Baby Toon is also educational for babies, as it comes in a variety of colors (blue, pink, and green), shapes (rectangle, square, and circle), and animals (elephant, alligator, and koala). The Baby Toon is a new, fun, safe baby spoon and teething toy with various benefits.

At age 10, Cassidy appeared on season 11 of Shark Tank (2019) to pitch her business idea. She received a deal with Lori Greiner for $50,000 and 50% equity. Today, “The Baby Toon” has grown into a successful company with around $1 million in revenue each year. The Baby Toon is now sold through several major retailers, including Munchkin, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

Cassidy Crowley’s entrepreneurship story is truly astounding, especially given that she started her business and appeared on Shark Tank at such a young age. Cassidy should be a reminder to all young entrepreneurs that the key to a successful business is finding a problem or need in an extremely niche area, and then solving the problem in a way no one else has before while providing several benefits.

Debbie Sterling & “GoldieBlox”

Debbie Sterling (now 40) started her business “GoldieBlox,” at age 29 in 2012. GoldieBlox creates toys that introduce children (especially girls) to STEM at a young age. Their website includes categories of toys targeted at various ages ranging from 0-10 years.

As an engineering student at Stanford, Sterling couldn’t help but notice that she was one of the only girls in the department. Even worse, when it came to the hands-on part of her engineering classes, she struggled a lot more than the men did. Sterling realized the problem: boys grow up playing with hands-on, STEM-like toys (such as construction toys), but girls don’t. So, Sterling wanted to find a way to introduce young girls to STEM.

To solve this problem, Sterling created the first-ever girl engineering character: GoldieBlox. The “GoldieBlox” toy included a girl-targeted construction kit paired with a book that told a story about Goldie while guiding in the use of the toy.

Early on, Sterling faced rejection of her “GoldieBlox” toy at the International Toy Fair in NYC. Many people told her that girls “only want to play with princesses;” a STEM-related toy wouldn’t sell. However, Sterling truly believed in her idea, so she posted it on Kickstarter–and it was met with huge support. GoldieBlox received large amounts of funding and media coverage.

As GoldieBlox gained more sales and popularity, it received astounding recognition. GoldieBlox had a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, won a free Super Bowl commercial, and was honored by the President.

Debbie Sterling is an incredible example of a young entrepreneur. She encountered a true problem and realized that it doesn’t just affect her, but also all little girls everywhere. Then, she applied a unique solution that no one else had discovered. Even after facing initial rejection, Sterling didn’t give up; she stayed true to herself and persevered, as all young entrepreneurs often have to.

Mr. Cory’s Cookies

Cory Nieves is a young entrepreneur who’s business aims to make the world better for everyone he knows through treats! This business started because Cory told his mother Lisa that he was tired of taking the bus to school; he wanted to buy a car. He began selling hot cocoa to raise money in his town Englewood, New Jersey. Once his mother saw his dedication to his new business, she encouraged Cory to continue selling hot cocoa to save money for college. To raise this money, Cory began selling lemonade and cookies to expand his options for his customers. Cory and Lisa have spent months creating original cookie recipes and learning how to bake. Cory’s Cookies are made with all natural ingredients. Cory has expanded his line from the original Chocolate Chip Cookie to Double Dark, Oatmeal Raisin, and Sugar. Cory has been able to work with some of the nation’s leading companies and brands. Some of these brands include, Aetna, Barney’s, Bloomingdales, Citibank, J.Crew, Macy’s, Whole Foods, and more. Cory has also worked with nonprofits like Bergen’s Promise in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, and Children’s Aid Society in New York City.

Kiki’s Kindness Project

Katelynn Hardee was just five years old in 2019 when the idea for her now very successful non-profit business came to her. One day Katelynn and her mom were talking, and she discovered that her school in the Vista Unified School District had well over six hundred dollars of school lunch money debt and because of this some kids had parents that were unable to pay for school lunches, so their kids had to skip going to lunch at school. The thought of this upset Katelynn so she decided she was going to do something about it and the idea for Kiki’s Kindness Project was born. Katelynn first decided she was going to try and raise money to pay off the school lunch debt by selling coco and cookies around her town. Eventually by the time she had turned eight she had raised over seven thousand dollars; her goal was reached, and she was able to pay off all the lunch debt for her entire school district! Katelynn did not just stop there she wanted to continue fundraising projects to help people in her community. Since the beginning of her fundraising journey Kiki’s Kindness Project has raised over twenty-five thousand dollars for her community! Katelynn and her story have been featured on CBS Evening News, CNN, The Todays Show, The San Diego Union Tribune, Spectrum News, Kusi News, The List, and Good Morning America. Katelynn is also the recipient of the 2022 Women of Impact Award as well as the Hormel Foods 10 under 20 Food Heros award. Katelynn and her mom have also worked together to write a book called Make Your Own Sunshine. Their intent for writing this book was to brighten readers’ days by telling stories about the kindness of others. Katelynn also speaks on a podcast called Little Kids Big Heart where she encourages listeners to make “Little ripples in their community” and it can end up having a large impact. Katelynn’s main mission is “To inspire people to choose kindness and bring communities together.” Now if you’re wondering ways that you can help your community Katelynn encourages you to Build a small library if you are able, pick-up trash, or just do something nice for others. You can also make donations to your favorite local charities and nonprofits and become a volunteer! 

Mia Monzidelis: Power Pony (posted by Rebecca Svendsen)

Wanting a pony is very typical for little kids, yet not every one of them can have a pony, especially those that live in urban and suburban areas. Therefore, when a young, five year old girl named Mia Monzidelis asked for a pony and received no as an answer, she refused to give up on her dream and instead started up a business that sold big, interactive toy ponies. The business is called Power Pony and in addition to the pony toys, there is also an interactive iOS app. The toy ponies (and unicorns!) could even travel around any area while the child using it was in the saddle, riding it. Her father also helped her with this idea by exploring other toy ponies with her until they got an idea of what they wanted to do.

Source:  https://www.investopedia.com/10-successful-young-entrepreneurs-4773310

Mia on her pony

Kenan Pala – Kids4Community

Kenan Pala is the child of two Turkish immigrants (as of 1998) and was only 11 when he got an idea for a business. On a run at the beach with his father, Kenan saw passerbys trying to help a stranded seal. When he was being driven home, Kenan saw a poverty-stricken person asking for help. No one stopped to help. Struck by the comparison, Kenan researched homelessness in his home city San Diego and found it was #4 in the nation for highest homelessness rates. Kenan wanted to do something.

His opportunity arose in 2016 when he and his friends broke the Guiness World Record for the largest cardboard mosaic to raise awareness for local homelessness. Empowered by his success, Kenan created his charity Kids4Community in 2017.

Kids4Community is a charity that seeks to aid the homeless. Volunteers do things such as make meals for shelters and create programs which educate people of all ages about homelessness and the dangers of substance abuse. Kids4Community also aided hurricane and natural disaster victims with hygiene kids, as well as sending 400 low-income elementary school kids backpacks with school supplies. The charity is also responsible for organizing the cleaning of Mission Bay and supplying a local homeless shelter with 2,000 stockings in December 2017.

Due to this, Kenan was named one of the top 10 youth volunteers in the country in 2017 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Additionally, in 2018, the mayor of San Diego named January 23rd “Kenan Pala day.”

On top of his charity and accolades, Kenan is a fantastic runner who is not easily fazed by success. In 2018, he ran in the San Diego Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon, winning the boys 15-17 age division with a mile average of 5:57. Kenan runs a shocking 40-70 miles a week, often waking up at 4:30 AM to get started. Since he loves running, it’s no surprise he would use it to fundraise for his charity. Kenan hosted a 5k event to raise money to a housing program. He hopes to raise money for Kids4Community by running in the future, as well as run for Stanford University. Kenan even hopes that one day he might run in the Olympics in the 5,000 meters.