Jack Bonneau was eight, he asked his father for a lego deathstar. Jack’s father told him to raise the money himself. It may have seemed crazy for someone to ask an eight year old to raise $400 all by himself, but Jack’s father knew what he was doing, and suggested Jack might start with a lemonade stand. At the Denver farmer’s market, Jack set up his first stand. Within 12 weeks, Jack had raised $900. With his father’s help, Jack set up a website that gave other kids the option to set up their own lemonade stands. But this was just the beginning.

It was sheerly on accident that Jack ended up on the Shark Tank. He was in New York City to see the Tonight Show, and coincidently heard that Shark Tank auditions would take place in Manhattan the next day. Excited about the prospect, Jack showed up bright and early and gave his pitch when it was his turn. He got accepted a few weeks later. His pitch highlighted marketplace building and how other kids would get entrepreneurial experience, and asked for $50,000 for 10% equity. However, the sharks felt that his business needed to grow more, and instead offered $50,000 with 2% interest. Jack accepted.

Jack’s business now offers kids a marketplace where they can sell their products online or through one of his physical locations. As for the lemonade stands, kids and their parents can work shifts to earn money while not having to deal with the hassles and challenges of setting up their own market places.

In addition to his business, Jack had donated to charities and spoke in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. for the annual board of directors meeting event.

Now in his early teens, Jack had taken what he learned about raising and managing funds, and turned it into a thriving business. What makes Jack so inspiring is how he accepted what seemed like a daunting challenge of raising $400. It takes a special mentality to get up and do that instead of just whining about how hard it would be and giving up. Jack story teaches us how facing our giants instead of turning away and refusing to give up is vital to being successful. Hopefully this inspires you to not give in when the challenge before you seems too big to overcome.