Archive for Social Media – Page 8

Brother-Sister Pair Create Multi-Million Dollar Online Yearbook

Posted by murphybm1

· Sunday, October 14th, 2018

· 4 Comments

Who knew that a pair of brother-sister millennial entrepreneurs could create a multi-million dollar business by the ripe ages of 14 and 25? Geoff and Catherine Cook of New Hope, Pennsylvania, built a website called MyYearbook from the ground up – and they did this while Catherine was still in high school. In 2002, when their family decided to make the move to New Hope, Catherine was extremely interested in making new friends at her new high school. One day, she was flipping through the pages of her yearbook when she realized that this was not the most efficient way to make new friends. She thought if only there was an online yearbook where she could reach out to people who did not already know her, but who were interested in making new friends as well. She brought the idea up to her already successful brother who had recently graduated from Harvard and had sold a few of his own companies, and he jumped right on board. He invested a whopping $250,000 and stepped in as CEO. These siblings launched what would become one of the nation’s most-trafficked websites from the comfort of their parents’ home. Within the first week of its launch, 400 users had already signed up and were avidly using the site. After reaching out to investors and focusing on branding their company as “MySpace for high school”, Catherine and Geoff were able to hire a team of engineers to expand their company even further. In 2011, MyYearBook merged with Quespasa – a $100 million deal – that allowed them to reach an even larger Brazilian and Mexican audience, with the new name of: MeetMe. Through this deal, they were able to take their website worldwide and affect millions of people around the globe.

Catherine and Geoff Cook are exemplary millennial entrepreneurs because they started with a simple idea, and through hard work and dedication, they were able to create a world-wide business out of their parents’ home. They were motivated and dedicated, a combination that would drive them to succeed and achieve even more than they could have imagined. Catherine had a vision and at the age of 14 was able to pursue her dreams by pushing every limit and overcoming every stereotype that tried to hinder her. She did not allow her age to stop her, nor did she allow the opinions of others at her new school to impede her goals. She simply worked countless hours, contacted the right people, and most importantly never gave up.

I believe Catherine and Geoff’s story is inspiring and can teach many lessons. Their passion and persistence led them to astounding success and drove them to continually innovate their idea. Catherine talked to other students every day while Geoff networked online to truly see what others though of their site. They constantly critiqued, tweaked, and pivoted their idea based on their target audience’s desires so that MyYearbook became one of the most popular social networking sites in the world.
This has taught me the importance of continuous improvement. I believe that products and ideas can always be improved. As society changes and technology, stereotypes, and expectations change along with it, companies need to constantly develop their products. Even a successful product can always be improved because improvement leads to more success. This is a concept that I intend to bring into the products and businesses that I create both now and in the future.

4 Comments

Categories : Academia, App, Business, College, Communication, Creating, Education, Great Ideas, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Online Companies, Social Media, Technology, Websites, Women Entrepreneurs, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Tags : millenial entrepreneurs, Social Media, websites, yearbook

Your Brokenness is Welcome Here

Posted by stewartlg1

· Friday, October 12th, 2018

· 3 Comments

It doesn’t take long scrolling through social media to feel like you’re missing out on the life that someone else is enjoying. So many girls are left feeling broken and inadequate from a society that thrives off of likes, shares, and comments. Jordan Lee Dooley, 24, is on a mission to change the culture of social media as she helps “everyday girls live intentional lives.” Her hobby turned blog turned business, SoulScripts, has become an online ministry for young women seeking their purpose.

SoulScripts originated in the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at Indiana University, while Dooley was a student in 2015. Her Etsy shop included personally hand-lettered mugs and journals with scripture and Biblical quotes. Eventually, she expanded her business into a blog where she tackled the personal topics behind the scripture, keeping the name SoulScripts as the title of it. It didn’t take long before she quickly discovered that this was the purpose God had for her life and pursued her true passion of writing and speaking full time.

She now travels all over the country speaking at churches and events, while also writing for her blog and Instagram. Dooley is telling her own story one post at a time as she encourages other women to seek Christ first while also giving advice on finance, relationships, self care, faith and more. She tells of her own times of heartbreak and brokenness and how God saw her through to the other side.

With an Instagram following of over 200,000 followers, she turned a college hobby into a full blown business. Dooley has since expanded Soul Scripts into a podcast named SHE, and her book, Purpose, about “breaking through insecurities, expectations, and the pressure to prove” comes out in 2019. She also leads a twelve week Bible Study Boot Camp called Soul Session that includes access to a Facebook group with her and other Soul Session members, 12 Bible study videos, and 12 downloadable worksheets for $97.

Jordan’s mantra of “Your brokenness is welcome here” has become a movement that is being worn by girls all over the country. She is promoting authenticity and encouraging women to pursue their purpose. Her passion turned purpose has led other girls to lead intentional lives of pursuing Christ and knowing their identity is determined by their faith in Christ.

https://jordanleedooley.com/

instagram.com/jordanleedooley

instagram.com/SHEpodcast

instagram.com/soulscripts

3 Comments

Categories : App, Art, Business, College, Creating, Decor, Social Media, Websites, Women Entrepreneurs

Veterati

Posted by ReynoldsAL17

· Wednesday, October 10th, 2018

· 1 Comment

Veterati

is a technological platform designed to provide America’s 1.5 million transitioning veterans as the attempt to enter the civilian workforce. It also targets the 5.5 million underemployed military spouses navigate careers in the civilian world.

Beginnings

The idea came from Daniel Rau, however it was in a very elementary phase. When Daniel reached out to Diana who helped develop the idea to its current state.

The Problem and Solution

80% of jobs are not listed, they are instead they are filled by communication in personal networks. This typically leaves those who served in the military out of the loop so to speak. So husband and wife Daniel and Diana created a social network using algorithms to pair former military and their spouses with successful business people in their area, provide mentors, and help build networks vital to furthering careers. This solution is unique and solves a serious social injustice.

Success

Veterati has become the leading Veteran Service Organization to deliver free on-demand mentoring to the military community. The Raus have made it to Forbes’ “30 under 30” list and are continuing to succeed as they currently have 10,000 members and continue to grow. Their is still a large population of military service members looking to transition to civilian careers who aren’t using Veterati yet who could take advantage of this program in the future.

Personal Opinion

This company is making strides in the world of social entrepreneurship. The Raus identified a problem, and solved it in a convenient way that simultaneously adds value to the world. In my opinion, this is a win-win-win. I see the potential for this start up and it reminds me of a military version of LinkedIn. I am also a fan of the fact that this start up led to Daniel and Diana getting married, it’s a super adorable inspiration.

1 Comment

Categories : Databases, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Social Entrepreneur, Social Justice, Social Media

Evan Spiegel – Co-founder, Snapchat

Posted by SchwarzCE18

· Wednesday, October 10th, 2018

· 1 Comment

Snapchat, the social media app with over 300 million active monthly users, had its humble beginnings in the dorm rooms of three college students. While studying product design at Stanford, Evan Spiegel proposed a temporary message app as part of a class project. The idea was met with ridicule from fellow classmates. However, later that year Spiegel along with classmates Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, worked to create a prototype of the idea. Initially called Picaboo, the project was later renamed Snapchat and received significant popularity in 2012. By the end of 2012 the app had reached over 1 million active daily users. Spiegel describes the company’s mission statement as, “Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. It’s about communicating with the full range of human emotion — not just what appears to be pretty or perfect.” Snapchat seeks to differ from other major social media platforms by reducing the stress of having personal information stored on a profile.

Despite ridicule and discouragement from fellow classmates, Spiegel persisted with an idea that he felt had potential. He acted on that idea and is now the worlds youngest billionaire. His story is inspiring in many ways, but particularly in his passion for something that was seen by others as foolish. While there is certainly wisdom in taking the advice of others, some of the best ideas in history were initially met with ridicule. Perseverance in situations such as these can be inspiring.

1 Comment

Categories : App, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Social Media

One of Our Own, Making it On His Own

Posted by Peyton Brogan

· Monday, October 1st, 2018

· 1 Comment

Grove City freshman and young entrepreneur, Justin Corbin has already made his headway, deep into the political scene. Born and raised just outside of Pittsburgh, Justin was inspired at a very young age by his brother David- who made and sold his own Duct Tape wallets. Justin was initially driven to make his own money to buy what he wanted without the help of his parents. His sense in independency led him to selling 150 para chord bracelets at five dollars a piece which he simply bought for cheaper at local stores. Pressing on to his Boy Scout days, Justin furthered his ability to sell by raising over $5,000 worth of popcorn.

Justin thought he always wanted to be a chiropractor but after a Patrick Henry College political science camp he found his interests shift to getting involved in the political scene. He then discovered a problem, having a hard time as a young American, getting active in the political world so him and his brother created an outlet serving many of his piers getting their voter registration which would later evolve drastically to become his largest company as of now.

Justin’s work ethic and talent with people was prevalent in his senior year of high school when he took a job with Dunkin Donuts (now just Dunkin) in January and by July he was managing the store along a with a Baskin Robbins. Also, by that time he had an internship set up with U.S. Representative Tim Murphy which developed after a random encounter with him at a local Macy’s. That fell through after a short time due to him dropping out of his campaign from a discovered affair he was having. Through another encounter with a customer at his Dunkin Donuts, he got connected with republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Mike Turzai who was soon to run for Governor and gave Justin and his brother David the job of running his campaign social media outlet, Snap Chat. And that was the first job and the beginning of Jumpstart Strategies which exists now to engage Americans as informed voters. Jumpstart quickly spread in awareness as it took over running the social media tactics for many major political campaigns in Pennsylvania. Justin Corbin discussed his success in discovering that, “Every campaign is won online” and later said that he found, “a niche that no one else has covered.” When asked about the potential problem of his age running such large accounts he said, “I actually had a much easier time selling this to politicians as they know my aged people know how to work social media because we are on it all the time.” Jumpstart has found itself facing little competition but heavy opposition from the other side of the aisle as they decided to protect their name serving only the Republican party. Unfazed by these attacks, Justin has discovered traits about himself he picked up from his hostage negotiator father, Brian Corbin who taught him how to stay level headed and non-emotional in high pressure situations. Jumpstart has led him to interactions with President Donald Trump and numerous occasions with VP Mike Pence.

Young and fearless, Justin Corbin is driven to set himself apart from the pack and to be successful at whatever he does. This has led him to coin his company as ‘Winning Decisively’. Justin says he tells himself every morning, “You didn’t wake up today to be mediocre.”

1 Comment

Categories : Millennial Entrepreneurs, Social Entrepreneur, Social Media

Self Made Millionaire at 18

Posted by Eric Dudgeon

· Monday, October 1st, 2018

· 3 Comments

One entrepreneur who made a name for himself in e-commerce and software is Hayden Bowles. At the young age of 12 years old, he began learning about business and traded stocks. In high school, all he did was sit in class on his phone and traded stocks, which his professors either allowed it or sent him to detention. By sophomore year of high school, he dropped out to pursue business. He started to pursue drop-shipping on Shopify and learned how to use Facebook and Instagram ads to leverage himself. He became so good that he generated roughly $20,000 per month just from Shopify drop-shipping alone. At the same time, Hayden worked hard to build his personal brand through his YouTube videos, Instagram page, and Snapchat following. He acquired business partners to help him manage his Shopify stores. At 17 years old, he embraced networking by meeting very prestigious people all over the country. He moved out of his parent’s house at this time in pursuit of his dream for financial independence and freedom. Hayden saw the opportunity to share his knowledge with the world by creating a buy-in mastermind course for drop-shipping where he provides exclusive strategies that he uses to build his own stores. I have personally joined this course when I built my own Shopify store and I can easily say it was worth the investment. Since then, Hayden has scaled his businesses and built new ones from the ground up. He is now projected to generate over $2 million in net income this year at the age of 18, and posts daily YouTube videos where he shares his knowledge and experiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCDSMegL2uI

3 Comments

Categories : Business, Creating, eCommerce, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Online Companies, Social Media, Youngest Entrepreneurs, YouTube

This Australian Teen is Worth How Much?

Posted by fisherkoons

· Monday, October 1st, 2018

· 2 Comments

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.

2 Comments

Categories : App, Creating, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Services, Smartphone, Social Media, Technology, Youngest Entrepreneurs

Tags : resale, Social Media, Technology, teen entrepreneurs

Garrett Gee – Scan

Posted by warricknj18

· Monday, September 17th, 2018

· 3 Comments

In 2011, Garrett Gee saw a need for a simple QR code scanning app. Many of the ones available at the time were clunky and hard to use. The iPad 2 was being introduced in February, and he thought there might be a blog that showed the top ten apps for the new tablet. He wanted to be the first one with an easy-to-use QR code scanner for the iPad 2. A few days after the release of the device, Garrett launched Scan. It found a place in the blog like he was hoping, and gained a large amount of traction. Three months later, there had been over one million downloads of the app, and 25 million downloads by the end of 2012. The app and website were updated often with new features, including the ability to scan different types of codes and make QR codes to link to your Instagram account.

Scan was able to acquire $1.7 million in investments by 2013, including money from Google Ventures. Garrett also presented on Shark Tank in 2013, but did not secure any investments. Their revenue came mostly from advertisements on the app and website, and in May, 2012, their advertising revenue had risen to over $1,000 each day.

Scan was sold to Snapchat in the fall of 2014 for $54 million. Once this happened, Garrett and his wife Jessica decided to take their (at the time) two kids and travel the world, but they also said that they would not spend any of the money made from the Scan transaction. They put the money away, and pretty much started from scratch again. In the fall of 2015, they sold almost all of their belongings, which totaled to $51,500. They were going to live off of that money from August to December, then figure out what to do from there.

At the end of the time period, they decided to keep traveling, but only if they could find a way to have it be self-sustaining or profitable. From the beginning, Garrett had been working on creating a brand for the family (The Bucket List Family) with things like their blog, YouTube videos, and Instagram. They worked hard to find companies to work with who would support them in exchange for promotion. At the beginning, they had trouble breaking even since they were small, but eventually they started making a good amount of money. Now they get paid anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 for a sponsored YouTube video, and $5,000 to $8,000 for an Instagram post. Companies they have worked with include hotels, clothing brands, Airbnb, and GoPro. They have been able to have some amazing experiences on their travels.

The Gee family, specifically Garrett, put in lots of time and effort to become successful. He did it with Scan, then started all over with a new idea to support their family passion for traveling. There is much that can be learned from him and his family.

3 Comments

Categories : App, Business, Online Companies, Shark Tank, Social Media, Travel