“You’re never to old to start learning and you’re never to young to aim high and achieve great things” Asa Hutchinson
A lot of times, we as adults want to think that our children don’t have the capability to succeed until they have graduated high school, gone to college and reached adulthood. But, as you will see in the following profiles of some amazing young people, that in many instances our children are the ones who come up with innovative ideas that can propel them and their families to the next level. As adults let us not be the ones squashing their innovative spirit but rather supporting them in their endeavors and allowing them to be everything that God has created them to be. That is what happened with the young people profiled below—-they came up with ideas, they had support of parents and/or mentors, they pursued their ideas and bought them to reality. The results were accomplishments and recognition beyond anything they could have ever imagined.
When we see such accomplishments in young people sometimes our thoughts are that hey are from wealthy families, they are super smart, they are from a particular ethnic background, or they had to be from a two-parent home. But as you will see in the following examples, these young people came from different backgrounds. What they did have was an idea and also people in their lives who encouraged them and help them implement those ideas.
It’s my hope that the following profiles will serve to inspire other young people, as well as adults and help them know that they too can do amazing things in their lives. Hopefully for all of us, who want to change situations in our lives, the following examples will teach us that we need to look beyond what we currently see and realize the possibilities awaiting.
As I was doing my research for this post, I ran across a number of young people doing extraordinary things. I wanted to profile them all but was not able to in one post. I will, however, do another post which will include some of the additional young people I was not able to include in this one.
Awesome Young People
(Image as appeared in USA TODAY High School Sports)
Her Name is Rachel Zietz and she is from Boca Raton, Florida. She is currently 17 years old and in 2012, at the age of 13, she founded the company Gladiator Lacrosse, LLC. By the age of 15 she had built her company into a $1 million business venture.
Rachel got her idea to start this company from her love of and participation in the sport of Lacrosse. The business was born out of her desire to have high quality lacrosse equipment that she could use to practice her skills in her own back yard. She states that the only equipment she could find, at the time, was not sturdy enough to hold up to the outdoor weather and was also too expensive.
The idea, of creating her own brand of high quality lacrosse practice equipment that was affordable, did not come to her until, at the age of 12, her parents enrolled her in a Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA) program that was being sponsored by the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Florida Atlantic University. As a result of the YEA program, she developed her business plan for Gladiator Lacrosse, purchased her domain name for her online presence and began to seek out and collaborate with professional sports designers on her product design.
In the first year, Rachel’s business had generated approximately $200,000 in revenue. He products are sold via her online store. Recently, she struck a deal with DICK’S sporting good store where her product will be offered through their retail stores across America, which will put her on track to generate revenues over $2 million in 2018.
In 2016, Rachel was recognized as one of Time’s Most Influential Teens. Also during 2016, she appeared on Shark Tank to pitch her business venture to the sharks in hopes of having one invest in her business. She has been featured in New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine and Fortune Magazine.
(Image as shown on CNBC.com)
Her name is Mikaila Ulmer and she is 13 years old. Mikalia is from Austin, Texas and she is the founder and CEO of Me & The Bees Lemonade which is currently sold in over 55 Whole Food grocery stores nationwide. My first introduction to Mikalia came when I saw her on Shark Tank in 2015, at the age of 11, where she and her father appeared to pitch her lemonade business to the sharks for a possible investment. She was successful in getting a $60,000 investment from shark Daymond John.
According to Mikalia, when she was four years old , her parents encouraged her to enter a children’s business competition (Acton Children’s Business Fair) and the Austin Lemonade Day. She also states that during that time she was stung twice by a bee in one week, which made her terrified of bees. Her mother then encouraged her to turn that fear into a project where she would do research on bees and learn more about them. Her research made her aware that bees actually served a very important role for humans and that they were also in danger of extinction in a few years. She then became concerned about doing what she could to help bees survive. So for the children business competition her parents encouraged her to enter, she decided that the best product and business for her would be to make a lemonade using her great grandmother (who lived in Cameron, SC) 1940 flaxseed lemonade recipe. Instead of using sugar or artificial sweetener, she decided to use honey as a sweetener for her lemonade.
The game changer for Mikalia and her Me and The Bees Lemonade brand came once she appeared on Shark Tank. As a result of that, she secured a deal with Whole Foods. In addition to the investment she received from her Shark Tank appearance, she also received, in July 2017, an $810,000 investment into her company from a group of NFL players and business owners.
Mikalia labels herself as a social entrepreneur, as her mission is to save the honeybees by producing a product that requires their input.
Her success with her lemonade has resulted in opportunities such as been featured on Good Morning America, NBC News, Forbes and Time magazines. She was also invited to the white house during President Barack Obama’s tenure and she had the honor of introducing President Obama at the 2016 United States’ Women Summit. She is part of the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network(DWEN) and travels with them throughout the world to speak with other young people on entrepreneurship.
You can learn more about Mikalia and also order her product at her website.
(Image as it appeared on CNBC.com)
His name is Benjamin Kapelushnik but he goes by Benjamin Kickz. He is currently 18 years old, lives in Florida, and runs a sneaker resale business that generates over $1 million a year.
Benjamin states he first became interested in sneakers when his mother bought him a pair of LeBrons 9 Galaxy and students at his school went crazy over them. A couple of years after that he bought a pair of LeBron sneakers and sold them at a hefty profit. That is when he realized that sneakers could be a business venture for him. He then began to study sneaker magazines to get an understanding of what was trending. With the money he received from his bar mitzvah, he made his first bulk order of sneaker from a reseller and began to sale them on his website. His process is to find rare sneakers that you cannot get anywhere else and sell them before they are available to the general public.
A game changer for Benjamin’s business came when the rapper, DJ Khaled, asked him via snapchat “How’s your business” and he answered “Boomin”. Khaled then became the first celebrity to order sneakers from Benjamin which led to an introduction of his products to other hip hop stars and athletes.
In addition to selling sneakers to celebrities, Benjamin also sell his sneakers at his online store.
(Image as in millennialentrepreneurs.com)
Her Name is Leanna Archer. She is the founder and CEO of a hair care company called Leanna Essentials. She is from New York and she is currently 22 years old. At the age of 9, Leanna started a business called Leanna’s Hair where she sold a hair care products made from natural ingredients that her grandmother sent to them from Haiti.
Leanna states that she would always receive inquires from other people asking what products she was using on her hair to make it look the way it did. She states that the product was actually a home-made hair pomade that her mother would make up from the natural ingredients they would receive from her grandmother and the secret recipe that had been provided to them by her great-grandmother. Leanna states that she made up samples of the pomade, put it in baby food jobs, and gave them to friends and their relatives. She then began to receive request for additional samples, and that is when she convinced her parents that the product was something she could turn into a business. In June 2009, she officially started her business.
Leanna product line now includes not only her hair pomade, but also shampoo, conditioner and body lotion all made with natural Haitian products that are sulfate and paraben free. She sells her products mainly at her online store and has customers throughout the U.S. She also sells to a large customer base in Singapore, Europe and the Caribbean. She is currently working on getting her products in stores throughout the U.S. as well as other international locations.
In 2012, at the age of 16, Leanna was receiving revenues in excess of $100,000. It is estimated that her net worth is currently in excess of $3 million.
Leanna has been featured in Forbes, Ebony and Success magazines as well as interviewed on NBC, ABC, Fox Business, MSNBC, and BET. She was also named as Inc. Magazine 30 under 30 list of top young entrepreneurs. In 2008, at the age of 13, she became the youngest teen CEO to rang the opening bell for the NASDAQ stock market.
With the success of her company, Leanna has not forgotten about her Haitian’s roots and has created a foundation (Leanna Archer Education Foundation) where she helps Haitian children with education, food and shelter.
(Image as in CNN Money)
Her name is Noa Mintz and she lives in New York City. She is the founder and CEO of a nanny placement service called Nannies by Noa. Her business currently generates a 6-figure revenue which she states she pours back in her business and does not take a salary for herself.
Noa started her business in 2012 at the age of 12 because of the disappointment she felt with the babysitters and nannies her parents usually were able to hire to take care for her and her siblings. She states that the caliber of sitters were usually ones who were more interested in being on their phone as oppose to providing the one-on-one engaging care that the children, they were taking care of, deserved. After complaining to her mother about the type of babysitters she and her siblings had to endure, she was challenged to take matters into her own hands and find someone better. Noa did just that. She then began helping her mother’s friends find the right nannies for their children and out of that Nannies by Noa was started.
Noa now service over 200 clients in New York and the Hamptons. Her company provides employment for over 150 full-time and part-time nannies and babysitters.
In 2015, Noa hired a 26 year old social worker as CEO of her company to run the day to day operation for her. Turning over that day to day operation to her CEO made it possible for Noa to concentrate on her high school curriculum. Make no mistake about it, Noa is still involved in the daily decision making process for her company.
You can learn more about Noa at her website.
(Image as it appears in Business Insider)
His name is Moziah “Mo” Bridges. Moziah is from Memphis, Tennessee. He is 15 years old and is the founder and CEO of Mo’s Bows, a company that produces hand made bow ties and neck ties.
Moziah started his company in 2011 at the age of 9. The idea for his company was born out of his love for wearing bow ties but his dissatisfaction with the availability of colorful bow ties for children his age. To solve that problem, his grandmother taught him how to sew his own bow ties by hand and via a sewing machine. He created the bow ties from scrap material provided to him by his grandmother. Word soon spread to others about his bow tie collection and Mo’s Bows became a reality.
In 2014, at the age of 12, Moziah appear on Shark Tank with his mother in an attempt to convince one of the sharks to invest in his company. He was not successful in getting a monetary investment but did get a commitment from Daymond John who agreed to be his mentor. That appearance became a game changer for Moziah, as he then landed deals with high end retailers, such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale, to sale his neck ware in their stores.
In 2017, Moziah also experienced another major accomplishment for his company as he granted a licensing deal with the NBA which can proved to be extremely lucrative for his company. In the deal, the NBA has given Mo’s Bows the right to manufacture his bow ties and neckties with the logos of the NBA clubs. The public can now purchase the NBA logo neck apparel at Mo’s Bows online store or at retail outlets that sells his wares.
(Image as in floridatoday.com)
His name is Benjamin Stern. He is 18 years old and is from Florida. Benjamin is the founder and CEO of Nehbo, a company that supplies personal care product such as shampoo, conditioner and shaving cream in a biodegradable eco-friendly tablet format (about the size of a Lindt Lindor chocolate ball) instead of a plastic container. His purpose was to aid in the elimination of the environmental hazard that can be cause by plastic containers.
To bring his product into existence, Benjamin was instrumental in recruiting a chemist (who assisted him with product development) and working with a law firm to obtain his product patent. In addition, Benjamin also worked a job to earn the money need to cover the cost of research and development for his product. All of this was done as he continued to navigate his high school curriculum.
In February 2016, Benjamin appeared on Shark Tank and was successful in getting Mark Cuban to invest $100,000 in his company.
His plan now is to increase the distribution of his product via hotel chains.
(Image as in New Pittsburgh Courier)
Her Name is Gabrielle “Gabby” Goodwin. She is from Columbia, South Carolina and she is the President and CEO of GaBBY Bows.
Gabby’s business was created out of her need to solve a continual problem she was having with her hair accessories. It appears that as her mother would style her hair and attach hair bows, the bows would always manage to come loose and fall out resulting in lost hair bows. According to her mother, Rozalynn, because of Gabby’s constant insistence that they needed to come up with a design for hair bows that would stay on until they were removed, the two of them collaborated together and came up with such a design. The design they created was a Double-Face, Double-Snap barrette that prevents it from slipping of the hair. According to Mrs. Goodwin, even though they knew nothing about making hair barrettes, she could see that her daughter had a dream and a vision and therefore, as a mom, she did everything within her power to help make that dream a reality.
Gabby and her mom launched GaBBY Bows in February 2014. Along with sales at her online store, GaBBY Bows are also in Walgreens in South Carolina and Georgia, BI-LO stores in South Carolina, and also 50 Once Upon A Child stores in 16 states across the nation.
In April 2015, Gabby was recognized, by then South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, as a South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year. She was the youngest person to ever receive the award. Gabby has also been featured in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution as well as The Real TV talk show.
You can learn more about GaBBY Bows at her online store.
(Image as appears in seattlerefined.com)
Her Name is Amber Kelley. She is 15 years old and from Seattle, Washington. Amber is a teen celebrity chef who, at the age of 13, became the first winner of Food Network Star Kid.
According to Amber, when she was in the 2nd grade, she was bullied by other students because of the wholesome home-packed lunches her parent sent her to school with. What she did was to allowed that bullying to become an inspiration to her to prove that eating healthy food can be “cool”. As a result, she started her own YouTube show entitled “Cook With Amber”. On the show she can be seen in the kitchen making wholesome delicious recipes for her family.
By entering and winning the 2016 Food Network Star Kid competition, she has been given amazing opportunities which includes the following:
- hosting her own web series on FoodNetwork.com entitled Kids Menu Makeover
- being invited to the White House by Michelle Obama for the Kid’s State Dinner where she was honored for her work in healthy eating for kids
- serving as the kid correspondent for Food Network’s The Kitchen
- being one of many celebrity chefs on Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube Network.
In addition to the above, Amber also has a cookbook coming out in the Fall of 2018.
(Image as it appears on MSNBC.com)
His name is Cory Nieves. He is now 13 years old and was born in Harlem, New York but now resides in Englewood, New Jersey. Cory is the owner and CEO of Mr. Cory’s Cookie company.
Cory’s mom, Lisa Howard, gave birth to him at the age of 16 and was attempting to raise him in Harlem as a single mom. In an attempt to provide her son with better schooling, she moved them to Englewood, New Jersey. When they lived in Harlem, it was not necessary for Cory and his Mom to have an automobile but once they relocated to Englewood they were dependent on a public transportation system that was not as reliable as what they had in New York. In 2009, Cory informed his mother that he was tired of riding the public bus to school and wanted to come up with a way to make enough money to buy her a car. What Cory decided to do to earn that money was to sell hot chocolate to people in his neighborhood. He then decided to add lemonade and homemade cookies to his product offering.
By selling a product to the general public that was made in a home kitchen, the health department in their area shut them down. Cory and his mother, did not allow that set back to deter them but instead, in 2012, they did what was necessary to open their business according to the guidelines and rules required by their city. A local bakery also allowed them use of his commercial kitchen to make their products and in 2012 Mr. Cory’s Cookie, LLC was opened for business. Cory serves as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and his mother is the COO (Chief Operating Officer).
According to Cory, his cookies are made with top-quality all natural ingredients and contains no preservatives. He market his cookies by being a supplier to major companies such as Aetna, Bloomingdales, Citibank, J. Crew, Macy’s, Mercedes-Benz, etc. He also distributes his cookies through retail outlets on the east coast as well as his online store.
In 2014, Cory caught the eye of Ellen DeGeneres who invited him to the Ellen DeGeneres Show. On that show she presented Cory with a $10,000 check and a car for his mother. The $10,000 has been set aside for Cory’s college fund.
In December 2017, Cory and his mom appeared on an episode of “The Profit” where they were able to obtain a $100,000 investment from the show’s host, Marcus Lemonis, who will also serve as a mentor to help them take Mr. Cory’s Cookies to the next level.
Cory has been featured on ABC News, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, Today Show, Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, etc.
(Image as it appears on coffeewithamerica.com)
His name is Jack Bonneau. He is 12 years old and is from Broomfield, Colorado. Jack is the owner and CEO of Jack’s Stand and Marketplace.
At the age of 8, Jack asked his father for a LEGO Star War’s Death Star set. His father agreed that he could have it only if he paid for it himself. Jack then set up a lemonade stand at their local farmer’s market and during that summer was able to bring in revenues of approximately $2,000.
Since his initial beginning Jack has changed his business model to be able to use his business as a tool to inspire and train other kids to become entrepreneurs. What Jack does now is to help other kids run their own lemonade stand. Jack is creating a chain concept for his business. Through this concept he provides other young kids the opportunity to learn about business, entrepreneurship and financial literacy while at the same time making money for themselves.
Through Jack’s website, kids can sign up to operate a Jack’s lemonade stand in their area. They do have to pay a registration fee as well. Jack’s Stand & Marketplace is then responsible for setting up the location, obtaining the proper insurance and permits and providing the stand and supplies. The young person running the stand will then earn 8 to 10% commission on the products they sell as well as all the tips they receive.
In November 2016, at the age of 10, Jack appeared on Shark Tank to pitch his business venture to the sharks for an investment of $50,000. Although he was not successful in getting one of the sharks to do an investment deal, he was given a $50,000 loan from guest shark Chris Sacca.
According to Jack his goal now is to expand his Jack’s Stand & Marketplace lemonade stand in other locations in and out of Colorado as well as launch his own brand of lemonade that he hopes to have distributed through retail outlet such as Kroger’s, Wegman. and Whole Foods.
(Image as it appears in onwardstate.com)
Her name is Neha Gupta. She is from Philadelphia and is currently 21 years old and studying to become a physician. At the age of 9 she founded the non-profit charitable organization Empower Orphans.
Neha states that as a child, she would travel to India each year with her parents to visit her grandparents and during their trips, she would always accompany her parents to one of the local orphanages to provide whatever assistance they could. During their yearly trips, when she was 9, she began to realize that the orphan children lacked the education and opportunity to elevate themselves from the apparent poverty they were facing. Her concern for those children (many the same age as her) led to a strong desire to do all she could to provide a better way of life for them. That concern lead to her establishing her non-profit, Empower Orphans, at the age of 9.
Neha went about the mission of raising the money she needed to fund various projects by going door to door selling homemade wine charms as well as her toys. She has also been able to receive donations from corporate donors as well. In 2016 she and her volunteers had been successful in raising in excess of $1.7 million and helping 25,000 children in India and the United States. With the money raised, some of the project she has been able to complete are as follows:
- establishing 5 libraries
- starting 4 computer labs
- setting up a science laboratory for under-privilege children
- establishing sewing center to teach sewing skills and entrepreneurship
- sponsoring the surgeries of polio victims
- installing water wells and water purification systems in India.
In 2014, Neha became the first American to win the International Children’s Peace Prize. Other awards she has received include:
- Gold Level President’s Volunteer Service Award
- World of Children Award
- Kohl’s Kids Who Care Award
- Prudential Spirit of Community Award
- Philadelphia NHL All-Star World Changer Award
- Coca-Cola Scholar Award
- Induction into the Caring Hall of Fame
Let Neha help all of us realize what a difference one person can make in the lives of other.
You can find out more about Neha and Empower Orphans at her website.
(Image as it appears in Berkeley Political Review)
Her name is Adora Svitak. She is currently 20 years old and is from Redmond, Washington. She is described as a public speaker, teacher, writer and activist. When she was younger, she was also described as a child prodigy even though she states that she has never taken an IQ test as it is not the best way to determine a person’s literary intelligence.
The amazing thing about Adora is that at the age of 4 she was given her first computer which prompted her to began writing short stories. She had published her first book entitled “Flying Fingers at the age of 7. She followed that with a book she published in 2008 with her sister entitled ” Dancing Fingers”. In 2011, at the age of 13, she published her first full-length novel entitled “Yang in Disguise”.
Her teaching experience also began when she was age 7 as she would visit various schools and classrooms and talk with students about literacy and developing a love for reading and writing. By the age of 11 she had traveled to more than 300 schools and classrooms in the U.S., China, Hong Kong. Vietnam and the U.K. In addition to the travel, Adora was also conducting video conferences for children, adults and teachers commanding a fee of $300 per 50-minute lesson.
Her speaking engagements not only included students and educators but she was also in demand by corporate america speaking about the impact of technology on the creative process. Microsoft hired her, as well, to give demonstrations on educational computing.
Her focus is to advocate for youth empowerment and social change. At the age of 12, she gave a speech on the TED stage on the topic of “What Adults Can Learn From Kids”.
Adora is currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Her Name is Maya Penn. She is 18 years old and she is from Atlanta, GA. Maya is the owner and CEO of Maya’s Ideas, a company that markets fashion accessories that are made from eco-friendly material. She is also an artist, animator author, and philanthropist.
Maya started her company in 2008 at the age of 8 by making and selling headbands that she made out of recycled material. Now she sells her product , which consist of jewelry, T-shirts and scarfs, throughout the United States and internationally via her online store.
As an animator, Maya has created a series called “The Pollinator”, where her focus is on bees and the purpose they serve. She is also the creator of another animated series called “Malicious Dishes”.
As an author, she has written the book “You Got This”.
Maya has given 3 TEDTalks that have been viewed by millions of people worldwide. She has also been featured in Forbes, Time, Huffington Post, Essence, O Magazine and countless others.
In addition to operating her own business, Maya is also giving back to the community and the world through her non-profit, Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet. She currently has partnered with a company called MedShare to distribute eco-friendly sanitary pads (which Maya created and designed) to women and girls in developing countries.
(Image as it appears in NY Daily News)
His name is Blake Pyron. He is 22 years old and he is from Sanger, Texas. Blake is the owner and CEO of Blake’s Snow Shack in his home town. The amazing thing about this is that Blake is the youngest business owner in Sanger and he is also the only business owner in the state of Texas with Down syndrome.
According to his mother, as Blake graduated high school in 2015 the BBQ restaurant he was working at was closing it’s doors leaving Blake without a job. As parents, they were concerned with what would be the next chapter of his life. What they did, along with Blake, was to sat down and explore possible options for him. Knowing that he loved working in the food industry , loved working with the public, and considering the hot days they endured in Texas — what they all decided was that a snow cone business would be the best option for Blake.
In May 2016, Blake opened his first snow cone stand in downtown Sanger. He is the owner and CEO of his company and his parents are co-owners. He has one employee, who is his neighbor. On Blake Snow Shack’s opening day, he served over 1,000 customers with some of them waiting in line for 2 hours or more.
In March of this year, Blake became the first business owner with Down syndrome to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Blake has been featured in TV interviews and various publications. He has also been recognized by the governor of Texas as well as Senator Ted Cruz.
As a means of giving back, Blake and his parents have established the Blake Pyron Entrepreneurship Scholarship in conjunction with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). The scholarship is designed to help others with Down syndrome pursue their dream of business ownership.
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