Archive for Male Entrepreneurs

Fraser Doherty- Founder of SuperJams

Posted by krummelva24 
· Sunday, November 17th, 2024 
· No Comments

 

SuperJam 100% Fruit Jams + 100% Nut Butters - All Natural & Delicious

Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Fraser Doherty’s successful entrepreneurial endeavors stem from his close relationships with his family, particularly his grandmother. As a young child, Doherty loved to make jam with his grandmother. It was from these sentimental memories that SuperJam was born. At the age of fourteen, he started recreating his grandmother’s recipes himself and selling the homemade jams door-to-door in his neighborhood. He soon expanded his small business by owning a stand at local Farmer’s Markets and making deliveries via his bicycle. Originally, his customers consisted mostly of neighbors and church friends, but as his business expanded, however, he began to receive more jam orders than he could fulfill. When Doherty was 16, he dropped out of school to work on his business full-time. He had to rent a factory for a few days each month to meet the demand of his customers.

Doherty set himself apart from competition in the jam industry by making SuperJam from 100% fruit with no added sugar or artificial ingredients. This caught the attention of many large grocery store chains in Europe. In 2007, for example, Doherty was approached by Waitrose, a high-end supermarket in the U.K. Within the next few months, jars of SuperJam were on the shelves of 184 Waitrose stores across the U.K. and Europe. Many other large companies have since followed in their footsteps. In 2009, SuperJam hit $1.2 million in sales, a 60% jump from 2007. By 2012, Doherty launched SuperJam in Korea and Japan, where they had also become hugely popular.

Doherty’s love of making jam with his grandmother proved to be a very successful business venture. By 2019, Doherty had sold his five-millionth jar of jam. He was also awarded an MBE medal for service to business in the U.K. by Queen Elizabeth II. Additionally, SuperJam is exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland as an “Iconic Scottish Brand.” Doherty’s entrepreneurial spirit has not only led him to become financially successful but has also proved to be a charitable success as well. SuperJam hosts hundreds of free tea parties in Scotland, England, and Wales for elderly people who live alone or in nursing homes. These volunteer-run events are a great way to bring the community together and connect people of all ages through live music, dancing, and drinks.

To learn more about Fraser Doherty and SuperJam, click here.

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Categories : Business::Entrepreneurs, Cooking, Food, Kid Entrepreneurs, Male Entrepreneurs

The ManCan Candles

Posted by bonaquistmr23 
· Saturday, November 9th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

Meet Hart Main, inventor of the ManCan Candles, not to be confused with the Man Can Candles Co. At the early age of 13, Hart was looking to buy a $1,200 bicycle after doing a triathlon on an old bike. After that, he wanted to get a real Trek bike, but his parents told him he had to buy it himself. In response to needing the money, Hart had teased his sister about the girly scents of candles she had been selling for a school fundraiser when he came upon the idea of making masculine candles for men. His mom encouraged him to make scents that would be more alluring to guys. At first, Main didn’t think much of the idea. He made scents he thought would appeal to men, like Campfire, Bacon, Sawdust, Grandpa’s Pipe, New Mitt, and Fresh Cut Grass to name a few. What makes his candles even more unique is that he makes them in soup cans, which speaks for in his name, ManCan Candles. He started in his kitchen, and soon after, found himself making candles at Beaver Creek Candle Co., and selling his candles across nearly 15o stores in the United Sates. He was making 20,000 in no time and has built the number to hundreds of thousands.

While his business is still running 10+ years later, Hart also wrote a small book with his father, encouraging other young entrepreneurs to try new things. Hart showed the power of a young mind by building such a business with little resources. His hard works shows in his ambitions of doing a triathlon at the age of 13, and then creating an entire business of candles. It goes without saying, anyone can be an entrepreneur if they apply themself to their ambitions.

1 Comment
Categories : Candles, Male Entrepreneurs, Young Entrepreneur

TWO FRIENDS- California DJs

Posted by passaroca22 
· Wednesday, November 6th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

Both born in the 90s as hip hop and alternative rock took off, and FRIENDS was the chart-topping show of the decade, two highschoolers interested in music launched their dream together. Eli Sones and Matthew Halper were originally interested in very different forms of music. Halper was focused on alternative rock, guitar, and music theory. Sones took more of a free-flowing approach as a hip hop DJ. Neither of them studied music in college or had much professional training (Halper earned a degree in design from Stanford while Sones graduated from Vanderbilt after studying organization). After graduating from two prestigious schools, Halper and Sones returned home to Los Angeles and pursued music full time.

Operating under a name based on their history together, “Two Friends” launched a new and entertaining style of music. In 2015, they produced hour-long mashups of hit songs, intermixed and altered with their own unique beats. The guys blended humor, nuanced style, and popular party anthems, releasing their “Big Bootie Mixes” on SoundCloud. Gaining millions of fans and becoming viral sensations, Big Bootie Mixes released volume after volume. These ingenious, lengthy productions brought in not only famous songs of all genres, but tongue-in-cheek cameo appearances of famous audio clips, from TV shows like The Office to presidential interviews.

Two Friends are verified and popular Spotify artists doing remixes for big names like Dua Lipa, Charlie Puth, Russel Dickerson, and others. They recently played at Coachella, have garnered a huge following online, and currently possess a net worth of roughly $10 million. You can listen to and learn more about these two highschool producers-turned-entrepreneurial-DJs here.

Two Friends Lyrics, Songs, and Albums | Genius

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Categories : Male Entrepreneurs, Music, Musician Entrepreneurs, Pop

Cary Huang, a Mind Behind Battle for Dream Island

Posted by morganni23 
· Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 
· 2 Comments

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.

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Categories : Animation, Art, Comedy, Content Entrepreneurs, entertainment, Kid Entrepreneurs, Kids, Male Entrepreneurs, twins, Websites, Young Entrepreneur, YouTube
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Ben Francis: Gymshark

Posted by kierajennings 
· Monday, October 28th, 2024 
· 2 Comments

Ben Francis is one of those rare entrepreneurs who didn’t just build a brand—he built a movement in fitness culture. As the founder of Gymshark, he took a simple idea from his garage and turned it into a global brand that’s now competing with giants like Nike and Adidas. But unlike those big names, Francis started as a regular gym-goer who saw an opportunity to make workout gear that actually fit well, looked good, and felt like it belonged to the modern bodybuilding community.

Francis’ journey as an entrepreneur is relatable because he started young, balancing college classes and a job delivering pizza. His days were ordinary, but he had this intense passion for fitness and technology. So in 2012, he and his friends started Gymshark, literally printing t-shirts in his parents’ garage. Their goal wasn’t just to make money; it was to create workout gear that stood out from what mainstream brands were offering. Traditional brands didn’t focus on the tight, fitted clothing that lifters wanted—stuff that would show off hard-earned muscles but also be functional.

What really set Gymshark apart was Francis’ approach to marketing. Back then, social media was just starting to blow up, and Francis was one of the first to realize that influencers could make a brand cool. Instead of spending money on traditional ads, he sent free Gymshark gear to fitness influencers on Instagram and YouTube, making Gymshark gear a kind of badge in the online gym community. Suddenly, Gymshark wasn’t just a brand—it was a symbol of the fitness culture that valued authenticity and dedication over big budgets.

Even when Gymshark blew up, Francis kept focusing on what his audience wanted. He stepped down as CEO for a few years to let more experienced managers lead the brand’s growth. But in 2021, he returned as CEO with a vision to make Gymshark not just bigger, but better, aligning the brand with sustainability and other values important to younger generations.

Ben Francis’ story shows that entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money—it’s about understanding people and culture. His journey proves that a simple idea, driven by passion and creativity, can go head-to-head with industry giants if it truly connects with a community.

2 Comments
Categories : Athletics, Bodybuilding, Bodybuilding, Business::Entrepreneurs, entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Gen Z, Health, Healthy Lifestyle, Influencer, Male Entrepreneurs, mental health, Nutrition

Shark Tank – Ring Doorbell

Posted by thomasre24 
· Sunday, October 27th, 2024 
· 5 Comments

The journey of Ring is one of enterprise and grit. Founded in 2013 by Jamie Siminoff, Ring started off with this one potent idea-to create a smart doorbell that would make homeowners more secure by helping them see and talk to visitors through their smartphones. The felt need for this security adjustment and convenience-one that was getting increasingly prepared well for the product to be received by tech-savvy customers-was there in this case.

Despite the revolutionary idea, Siminoff struggled a great deal to find investors. Shark Tank in 2013 proved to be a turning point. He did not land a deal with the Sharks; however, the show proved priceless exposure. The exposure on a national scale set Ring into motion and attracted investors outside of the show. It was really about overcoming that first significant hurdle: his conviction in the product, and that he could change course on a dime.

And boy, did persistence pay off for Ring. The company continued to grow, and in 2018, Amazon bought Ring for a reported $1 billion. More than the validation of Siminoff’s vision, the acquisition epitomized resilience and adaptability-part of the very tenets of entrepreneurship. This story of Ring reminds one that the setbacks become the steppingstones to success, and with will and innovation, entrepreneurs can turn their dreams into reality.

 

https://www.geekwire.com/2019/shark-tanks-billion-dollar-blunder-startup-ring-went-tv-rejection-amazon-acquisition/

https://ring.com/products/battery-doorbell

Battery Doorbell - Satin Nickel

 

 

Reagan Thomas

5 Comments
Categories : Business, Sales, Business::Entrepreneurs, Male Entrepreneurs, Millennial Entrepreneurs, Shark Tank, Technology

R.J. Duarte- Founder of GreenWorx Landscaping

Posted by Ryan Principe 
· Saturday, October 26th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

R.J. Duarte, a nineteen-year-old talented entrepreneur found his light for work. He was accepted into Colorado State University, although he decided not to go. R.J. at nineteen said “College wasn’t for me” and he said this because he had a landscaping business that was bringing in six figures. He said, “I figured I should stick with this” that is so impressive to have your own business that is driving in six figures at such a young age. R.J. started cutting grass at a very young age, he was eight cutting in Golden, Colorado. At the age of eight, he had a unique work ethic that really made his business successful. He was tripling his income every year even at this young age, and in middle school, he and his friend came together so they could cut more lawns. When R.J. was in high school, he named the company GreenWorx. After high school, his friend went to college, and it forced a split between the two. Although, R.J. just took everything back into control, and he saw a lot of room for growth and innovation. Then, he rebranded his company and made it a premium landscaping and maintenance company. Duarte had said a few things on his decision, “It’s higher margins for more risk,” and “That comes with headaches, but without headaches, there’s no reward.” This shows that he had a mind of an entrepreneur, and he was willing to go big or go home and innovate with his company. Now, GreenWorx is up to twelve to fifteen members on staff that is made up of mostly high school students. R.J. definitely made the right decision considering just as of this year, GreenWorx is bringing in right around $750,000! This is just so amazing to see the innovations that R.J. had to make, and the outcome was exactly what he wanted. Finally, Duarte said, “We’re hardworking, blue-collar people,” and “There’s nothing wrong with that.” This is awesome, he and his crew are very comparable, and they make a lot of money doing what they do.

Link to Article: Meet 16 Teen Founders Who Are Building Big Businesses — and Making Big Money | Entrepreneur
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Categories : Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Environment, Landscaping, Male Entrepreneurs, Manual labor, Millennial Enrepreneuers

Shubham Banerjee: Founder of Braigo

Posted by krummelva24 
· Saturday, October 26th, 2024 
· 2 Comments

Shubham Banerjee - Ringside News

12-year-old Shubham Banerjee’s interest in Braille and Braille printers evolved out of his love for science. While doing research for an engineering project to enter for a science fair in January of 2014, he discovered that less than 10% of blind people can actually read Braille. This was, in part, due to the extremely high prices of Braille printers, costing around $2,000. Additionally, technological advancements such as the development of voice-to-text software significantly impacted the lives of the visually impaired. Banerjee realized that many visually impaired people were not able to afford the extremely expensive Braille printers, or the technology needed to efficiently communicate without one. Therefore, his new goal was to significantly reduce the cost of a Braille printer.

Banerjee worked for weeks to create a working prototype. After seven attempts, he finally successfully created a prototype using a Lego Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit and some small electrical components. Banerjee and his father, a software engineer, would often stay up until 2 a. m. working on the project together. At 13 years old, a high school freshman, Banerjee founded Braigo, the company name combining the words Braille and Lego. Braigo was a low-cost, portable printer and embosser that prints out raised bumps on paper. Banerjee also co-founded the company Braigo Labs to further develop the printer. Banerjee was faced with a lot of criticism and uncertainty because many Silicon Valley startups had tried to undertake the same project without success. He did not let this affect his work and research, however, and persevered through the difficult times. “Some [people] said that the market is not that big, or [that this is] a specialty product,” Banerjee says, unfazed. “I just went ahead with what I thought was right.”

The Braigo printed proved a success even while in its early stages. Banerjee entered his product into the 2014 Synopsis Science Fair and took home the top prize for a science or engineering breakthrough. It was also endorsed by Henry Wedler, a PhD candidate in organic chemistry who was honored by Barack Obama as a Champion of Change for his work leading a chemistry camp for visually impaired students. As Wedler puts it, “Inventors have been attempting to do what Shubham has done with Braille embossers for many years. Sometimes, it takes a young, fresh imagination and a will of iron to be truly innovative. This is the energy and quality that Shubham’s knowledge and passion as an inventor bring to Silicon Valley.” Banerjee and his company, Braigo Labs, managed to bring in venture capital to ensure the success of his company, becoming the youngest person ever to receive venture capitalist investment, according to CBS. Banerjee’s innovative spirit helped to better the lives of the visually impaired, while also encouraging and promoting others to follow in his footsteps.

To learn more about Shubham Banerjee and Braigo , click here.

2 Comments
Categories : Business::Entrepreneurs, Engineering, Kid Entrepreneurs, Male Entrepreneurs, Social Impact, STEM, Technology, Uncategorized

Matthew Shifrin, A Blind Artist Increasing the Accessibility of Lego

Posted by morganni23 
· Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 
· 3 Comments
Matthew Shifrin sitting at a table with several completed Lego sets. He has ginger hair and sunglasses on.

Matthew Shifrin with some of his Lego creations

Matthew Shifrin is a remarkable figure who has been a positive force in the world despite his lack of something that most people take for granted. Though he was born blind and is only 26, he has already written several musicals and acted in a film. He can speak four languages and is learning another two currently, as well as sing and play the accordion. He created Braille for the Yiddish language. Though he has built himself quite the portfolio of accomplishments, the innovation I am here to discuss was not solely his invention.

On Matthew’s thirteenth birthday, he received a Prince of Persia Lego set from his friend Lilya Finkel. With the set came a binder Lilya made containing hand typed braille instructions. These allowed Matthew to build the set despite his inability to perceive the standard instructions. Before this point, he had played with Lego, but he mostly kept to the Bionicle line. He had a lot of fun following the braille guide to put his set together. Matthew and Lilya would proceed to translate more instructions and standardize a method of communicating exactly what blocks to put where. Here is a sample of what these guides come out sounding like.

     9.1. Place a red 1×2 plate, vertically and centered horizontally,

     on the front two pieces from the previous step. 

     9.2. Place an orange 1×1 plate behind the previous piece. 

In 2017, Lilya Finkel passed away from cancer. Matthew has continued the project in her absence, working with other blind and sighted folks to create accessible instructions in greater numbers. The work is done by pairs of people, a sighted translator and a blind or partially sighted tester. They have currently translated one hundred and eighty four sets, and are constantly putting out more. The largest set they have conquered is the Tower Bridge, at a grand 4295 pieces. The tactile experience of feeling every surface of a Lego sculpture can be very enriching for blind children who cannot otherwise experience the world as we would. You could tell a blind child that the roof of their home slants downward at a gentle angle, but that concept becomes far more realized when they can pore over a model of a home and feel it for themselves. Matthew Shifrin was able to speak directly with members of the Creative Play Lab at the Lego Group, and in 2019 they piloted official audio and braille instructions for four sets. There have since been dozens of official blind-accessible Lego instructions released.

I find the story of Matthew inspirational because it demonstrates that through hardship, through perceived limitations, we can become greater than the people others may judge us to be. In addition, Lilya Finkel demonstrated the traits of an excellent friend, and served others the way Jesus tells us to serve: Generously, thoughtfully, and lovingly. 

 

My Sources:

bricksfortheblind.org

Seeing LEGO Differently

Lego Group to Pilot Lego Audio and Braille Instructions

3 Comments
Categories : Accessibility, Cancer, Creating, Gen Z, Great Ideas, Male Entrepreneurs, Positivity, Toys, Volunteer

RJ Duarte: The Founder of Green Worx Landscaping

Posted by krummelva24 
· Monday, October 14th, 2024 
· 1 Comment

Based out of Golden, Colorado, RJ Duarte was only eight years old when his entrepreneurial ventures started. Motivated by his desire to buy himself candy, Duarte started his lawn mowing business in 2008 with one lawn mower, a red wagon, and five weekly lawn mowing clients. He began to take his business seriously by his third season and invested his savings back into his company. Duarte’s dedication, commitment, and incredible work ethic as an entrepreneur are evident as his income tripled every year since he began his business.

As Duarte began middle school, his business had grown too large to handle himself. He chose a friend from middle school, Owen Johnson, to be a partner in his landscaping business. Two years later, Duarte and Johnson decided they needed a name for their company- they eventually landed on Green Worx. Green Worx had grown much larger than the mere neighborhood lawncare service it started as. After working with Green Worx for over five years, Johnson decided to part ways with the company in order to pursue a college education after graduating high school. Duarte and Johnson, however, still frequently meet as friends to discuss Green Worx and life in general. As Duarte was contemplating going to college and running his company from school, Green Worx was pulling in six figures from annual revenue. He decided to focus on growing his company and work on creating a full-scale landscaping business.

One way that Duarte demonstrated he was an excellent, young entrepreneur was through his willingness to take risks. After high school, in 2019, Duarte made the decision to drop Grenn Worx’s small clients and, instead, rebrand as a premium landscaping and maintenance company. This meant that he would be undertaking large-scale, intricate landscaping and construction projects. Green Worx added two construction crews and lots of new equipment to the company. Duarte knew how risky the shift in scale would be for the business but decided to continue with it anyway. “It’s higher margins for more risk,” he says. “That comes with headaches, but without headaches, there’s no reward.”

Green Worx was incredibly successful throughout the years. In 2015, Duarte and Johnson had won first place in the Celebration for Young Entrepreneurs and also won the Young Americans Bank Business Award. In 2016, the newsletter, The Golden Informer, wrote an article about the success of Green Worx and put Green Worx on the front cover. In that same year, Green Worx was nominated and won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award By Ernst & Young Foundation. By the end of 2016, Green Worx was 300% bigger than the year before. Green Worx continues to steadily grow. In 2019, the company brought in $750,000 in revenue. Duarte was never afraid of the workload and was always searching for new ways to expand and grow his business. Green Worx’s success is built off of his hard work and devotion to his craft.

Click here to read more about Green Worx.

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Categories : Business, Small Business, Business::Entrepreneurs, Construction, Kid Entrepreneurs, Landscaping, Male Entrepreneurs, Manual labor, Outdoors, young entrepreneurs
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