Leanna Archer began her entrepreneurial journey at a much younger age than most people. When she was 8 years old, she took her grandma’s recipe for an all-natural hair pomade. She began giving the product away for free inside of baby food jars, but she now sells her products nationwide. The line includes cleansing masks, skin lotion, hair treatments, shampoos, conditioners and more that she is able to distribute all over the world. Her company is called Leanna’s Essentials and Leanna is the CEO. The company that she started when she was 8 years old has now been recognized by popular publications such as Forbes and Success Magazine. She also started the Leanna Archer Education Foundation. The foundation was created to build schools for the underprivileged children that reside in Haiti. Leanna took a route that not many people her age are mature enough. She had a vision from a very young age and it is very rare for an 8 year old to begin a business. What is even more remarkable about her is the fact that she has stayed with it and grown the business into a nationwide project. She also is clearly a kindhearted person given the fact that she created her own foundation to help poor children receive an education. There is no doubt she faced doubters when she was pursuing her vision given the fact that she was so young but she ultimately overcame all of it. I cannot imagine having the confidence at 8 years old to begin pursuing my own business and being mature enough to stick with it. Leanna is certainly a special person given the fact that she is so accomplished at such a young age. Do not be surprised if you never hear of another 8 year old doing what she did because it is extremely uncommon. People like Leanna are unique because even though they have become extremely successful, they still look to help others first. It is important to reflect and realize that not everyone has the ability to pursue their dreams like we do. Leanna is doing everything she can in Haiti to set those kids up for success as they get older. Education is extremely critical. Leanna obviously did very well at retaining what she was taught or else she would not have been able to begin her own business at just 8 years old. Leanna taught that you are never too young to achieve even your wildest dreams; it is simply a matter of desire.
Archive for Millennial Enrepreneuers – Page 20
Every college student at some point in time has a moment where they wish they could create the next best thing and become rich. For Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail that is exactly what happened. These two college roommates came up with the idea for Venmo. Venmo is an app that allows people to give and receive money. If you forgot your wallet, no problem you can ask someone to pay for you and they can Venmo you the money right then and there.
Kortina and Magdon- Ismail developed this idea at first when they were trying to help friend start yogurt shop, they noticed the lacking of traditional sales software and wished they had something new to help fix it. At a local jazz show, Kortina and Magdon-Ismail thought of the idea of being able to buy a MP3 of the show instantly with a text message. Later, the idea was reinforced when Magdon-Ismail forgot his wallet during a trip, and needed to pay back a friend. He noticed how much of an inconvenience, especially compared to the possibility of mobile phone-based transactions it was to repay his friend for the money borrowed. They then started to work on a way to send money through their cell phones. Their original prototype used text messages but then quickly turned into a mobile app that we know today as venmo.
The company is now worth eight hundred million dollars and is growing steadily. These two college student turned a bright idea into a thriving business and now are their own bosses and live their dream lives. Starting as roommates at the University of Pennsylvania to now being business partners this idea was they start of a revolutionary company and the start to a lifelong friendship.
Ben Pasternak, teen genius, is changing the social technology industry at just 19. Born in Sydney, Australia, Pasternak was raised in an average home with parents who supported him greatly throughout his upbringing. One day during a boring high school science class, Pasternak completed his first app, Impossible Rush. Impossible Rush and his second app Impossible Dial were wildly successful, pulling millions of downloads and were both the No. 1 trending app in multiple countries. The success of this young teen was the beginning of his career and lead to him being the youngest recipient of venture capital for technology at just 15 years old. He proceeded to drop out high school to focus completely on his career in technology. It was this decision as well as incredible opportunity that lead him to relocate to a $5,000/month New York City flat. Pasternak’s next project was an Ebayesque app that was specifically made for teens called Flogg. By the age of just 17, Pasternak was worth over a whopping 2 million dollars, but he was heavily restricted by his parents as well as business partners so as to not let the teenager waste it carelessly. He was named one of TIME magazines most influential teens in 2016.
This Australian teen is inspiring because he is true to himself and extremely relatable. He cannot cook anything other freezer-isle pizza, forgets to pay his rent, and refuses to learn how to drive. He believes that cars will be a thing of the past soon enough that getting a license is a waste of time at this point. Pasternak is your every day teenage with a brilliant method behind his success. He claims that the secret formula is truly understanding your target audience. Ben has accomplished this quite accurately because he is his target audience at old 19 years of age. While middle aged individuals try to crack the code and get into the mind of a teen, Pasternak is at quite the advantage. Due to this method of his, Pasternak has comprised his team of extremely young individuals, the oldest (COO) being 30. Ben Pasternak and his now business partner, Isiah Turner, are co-founders of the app “Monkey”. The high school dropout described this new venture as, “a randomized video-chat program for teenagers… Chatroulette, without the pervs”. Funded by $2 million in angel investments, Monkey quickly amassed hundreds of thousands of users who made more than 250 million calls. Pasternak and Turner describe Monkey’s purpose as to, “fill the loneliness void in teenagers’ by helping them make internet friends around the world, who they can then talk to on Snapchat.” Monkey has an extremely strict code of conduct, and prides itself as being a ‘safe space’ for young users.
Ben Pasternak is changing the way young teens are viewing their careers. Their entire perspective on entrepreneurship and social technology is being shaped in completely different ways. All of this and more is being accomplished by your typical teen with yeezys and a hoverboard.
When you were a teenager did you feel a lack of control over your circumstances? Often times when we are younger we put boundaries on our abilities to fix problems, but Rachel Zietz did not. Rachel started her own business at the age of 13, coming up with a solution to her problem: the lack of affordable and quality lacrosse practice equipment.
The one thing most people will note about this young entrepreneur is her age, Rachel is now 17 years old and has a professional business model and making money from her solution to a problem she had when she was 13. The thought process Rachel went through to create this idea is how entrepreneurs think every day. We see a problem and we think of all the different ways we can solve it, but she also found a problem that was effecting others as well. Rachel has also taken great strides pitching her business on multiple scales, including season 7 of the Shark Tank. Rachel has a great confidence in her business, which I believe is a big key to her success. Most young people have great ideas but lack the self-confidence to get over the obstacles and criticism they face along the way. Taking a business from the ground to production can be a rough course, but if you believe in your product you can make it to the end.
Now in their mid-thirties and married, Susan Gregg and Eric Koger began in 2002 with some used clothes and an idea. Susan had always had a love for vintage clothing but eventually came to the point where her passion outgrew her closet. As college students, she and Eric were always looking for ways to make money, and so they had the idea to begin an online vintage clothing shop, naming it ModCloth.
ModCloth had very humble beginnings, with one part-time employee working out of their basement, but over the next couple of years they began expanding rapidly. By the time that Susan graduated college, she realized that ModCloth could be her full-time job. In 2007, ModCloth had one million dollars in sales and raised one million in capital. From there ModCloth continued to expand its sales, bringing in $150 million in revenue during 2014. They grew to the point where they were selling styles from designers all around the world.
One impressive way that they measured demand was through a program called “Be the Buyer.” This program allowed potential buyer to view sample products, vote on them, and give input on each product’s price, style, etc. “Be the Buyer” really helped Susan to understand her customers and what they were looking for in ModCloth.
I think that ModCloth is a wonderful example of a passion made profitable.
Susan and Eric with their beloved pug.
ModCloth has since been sold to WalMart. Their website and YouTube channel can be viewed here.
Creator of DrivenMedia, Ed Hollands (23)
One day, while in traffic, Ed Hollands had a “light bulb” moment. He saw three commercial trucks with completely blank sides and thought about how to utilize that space. The idea he came up with has made him a lot of money, 7,800 pounds per truck to be exact. On an average day in the UK, 55,000 people will view the advertisements that Hollands has placed on commercial vehicles. His startup, DrivenMedia, collects the, already mentioned, 7,800 pounds per vehicle plus VAT for a twelve month package. In addition to that, production costs for each vehicle is around 5,500 pounds. Hollands idea has proven to be very lucrative.
When questioned about his age, Hollands responded, “When making deals there have been some people who have doubted my capabilities because of my inexperience. In fact, the reality is quite the opposite, I am willing to bend over backwards to make opportunities work for my clients and investors.” He has taken on the stigma surrounding young entrepreneurs regarding experience and has flipped it on its head. Instead of focusing on the problem of inexperience, he has focused on his vision of innovating marketing in the UK. Traditionally, advertising done near transportation is on stationary platforms such as billboards. Hollands has innovated that industry by mobilizing advertisements. Companies now have the opportunity to advertise over a larger span of land, allowing for more people to view their advertisement.
Hollands has inspired me to think and work beyond the stigma that young people are too inexperienced. Rather than looking at that inexperience, I see youth as a new perspective to be brought to a situation. Clearly, Hollands displays self-belief in that he believes in himself and what he’s doing. He is motivated and is determined. His flexibility is displayed through his willingness to bend over backwards for his clients and investors. Hollands has found a niche in an industry for himself and has utilized his innovation to make money. His leadership and innovation are both impressive.
Imagine being a junior in high school and hearing your song on the radio. Crazy, right? Not for Daya. Grace Martine Tandon, better known as Daya, was a junior in high school when she heard her hit single “Hide Away” on the radio. She was a teenager with a life long dream of making it big in the music industry. She learned how to play five instruments by the age of eleven, but it was her voice that made her stand out above the crowd.
When Daya was eleven, she enrolled in the Accelerando Music Conservatory in Pittsburgh. After a few years, Daya was invited to Los Angeles to work on her original music by INSIDE ACCESS. She recorded her song “Hide Away” in Paramount Recording Studios. After her debut song was recorded, she took off.
Celebrities, like Tyler Oakley, supported her right off the bat. Soon she was on Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda and grew from there. If people did not know her name after the support she received from “Hide Away,” they would after being featured on The Chainsmokers single “Don’t Let Me Down.” She was with one of the most popular EDM groups on the Top 100 chart at #3.
Soon her debut album came out “Sit Still, Look Pretty” which was also a success for the young super star. Her career took off in a short amount of years and she continues to grow each coming year. She is the epitome of following a dream at a young age and succeeding.
When people think of multi- millionaire estate tycoons, most don’t picture a 19 year old. However, most people aren’t Akshay Ruparelia. This young man has redefined the housing industry, owning the 14th largest estate industry in the UK. His company, Doorsteps.co.uk, makes selling your house easier than selling your car. Furthermore, they take away the steep prices of real-estate agents and help you sell your house from the comfort of your own home.
Ruparelia is the son of two deaf parents and currently is their main caregiver. When he was young, he saw first-hand many business practices that he deemed unfair. He especially saw this in the housing industry. Shocked by the high commissions estate agents charged for such a me
nial task, Ruparelia decided to do something about it. In December of 2016, he launched his online website Doorsteps.co.uk. This site created a network of quality estate agents that could guide customers through the process of selling their house without the steep prices of normal agents. It cuts away the massive overhead pricings, and allows the buyers to be more involved in the process.
Ruparelia found the niche in the stagnant industry by changing the way his company approaches customer service. “Why, oh why, do we give away £20,000 worth of bricks and mortar in our properties to estate agents? For doing what exactly? Putting the house on the internet?” he asked. Instead, he envisioned estate agencies that put their customers first and charged dues that reflected that mindset. Thus, he charges an upfront price and doesn’t get any commission on the actual sale of the house. Ruparelia leads the charge of agents, selling his first house in the middle of his exams, and ensures that customers receive the service he envisioned.
This site is simple to use, and allows people to sell their houses without ever needing to leave their couches. People simply fill out an online survey or call the 24 hour customer service hotline, and they are connected with an experienced, self-employed estate agent. The agent speaks with them and helps them determine the best package that fits their needs. After the package is approved and the listing is official, the agent posts the sale on different online sites. People sit back and watch their dedicated agent sell 
their house, all for less than one hundred pounds. ‘
As the teenager continues to take the industry by storm, he doesn’t forget his goals of a customer centered company. It seems this mindset is paying off, as his company is ranked in the top five for customer service. The press has described his company as the “Uber of the property world.” In an extremely competitive market, Ruparelia’s company has already taken 0.5% of the UK market and is valued at over 12 million pounds. With all of this success, Ruparelia shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to pursue simple selling so his customers can move on.
At fifteen years old, Catherine Cook and her brother came up with the idea of building a social media website that would build an online version of a yearbook. They launched MyYearbook and later merged with another site that allows users to post and complete online quizzes.
At her young age, she did not know how to program, so she worked with a team of developers to help build the website. This process took a lot of dedication and Catherine and her brother sacrificed many things. While attending high school, they worked on the program and stayed up extremely late chatting with the developers, which truly shows their determination. After a lot of hard work, they were eventually able to launch MyYearbook.
Their website grew very rapidly to over 5 million members. Catherine claims that they were successful because they listened to what their users wanted and implemented the new features and changes. It is important for entrepreneurs to get feedback from the consumers and recognize their needs and desires.
Catherine Cook did eventually decide to sell MyYearbook to focus on other new entrepreneurial ideas and school. Unfortunately, the new owners changed the name to MeetMe and also changed the objective of the site. However, Catherine is a great example of a young entrepreneur, who had an idea, implemented it, and became successful within a few years.