'TEENPRENEURS' GET A JUMP ON THEIR CAREERS
March 2017
Being young doesn’t have to mean having to wait until you’re older.
The average age of an entrepreneur when they first start their business is 40, according to Forbes. However, there are teens who are getting an early jump on this — they’ve established businesses ranging from a coding nonprofit to a clothing company, all before hitting the tender age of 20. They’re not just teenagers or entrepreneurs — they’re teenpreneurs.
“When I first started I was really nervous being 15 and in an adult’s world, but what it really comes down to is how people perceive you is all about how you perceive yourself,” said Zach Latta, founder of Hack Club, a nonprofit that starts coding clubs in high schools around the world. “People oftentimes want to seek you out because you have a unique perspective, because you were born in a different time then they were, and there aren’t too many people that are young in the industry.”
These teenpreneurs have learned how to make the best of both worlds — their age means they have different perspectives, which can be invaluable in the tech industry where part of the market is teenagers, but at the same time, they attract an invaluable resource: mentors.
Michael Yoo, a senior at Dougherty High and CTO of ContaC, was able to join a team that had already launched their startup, which focuses on trumping traditional paper cards by creating metallic business cards outfitted with a chip that allows people to transfer contact information electronically. They found three mentors at a summer camp his junior year, and attribute many of their opportunities to their mentors.
One of his mentors, Eddy Zhong, is the cofounder of the summer program dedicated to help students get what they need to start companies.
“The biggest struggle would be that teens usually don’t have resources. Most teens, if they want to create something, only have a sketch but not a live product that they can hold in their hand and show to investors,” said Zhong.
Being at the age where most students are in high school, many face the issue of just how dedicated they’ll be to their business. They range from keeping it as a side interest to a full-on career, especially when the question of going to college comes up.
“Although I [no longer do my business], I’m definitely interested in pursuing that path and considering a business major when I go to college," said Liam Jocson, a senior who started Mint Clothing in middle school until retiring it in his sophomore year.
However, there’s another path that’s not as common (but more common in the Silicon Valley, home of the overflowing number of startups) — completely forgoing college. Latta has a history of being involved with coding — after starting a coding club in a school that didn’t offer computer classes came his first job as a lead engineer at Yo, a messaging app, and a stint at a gaming company. That was all before he decided to start Hack Club and was named a Thiel Fellow, which awards people under or around the age of 20 $100,000 to focus on their respective businesses and interests, provided that they forgo college or only attend for two years.
Latta notes that every case is different, and it really comes down to the individual. “I have a bit of an atypical educational background considering the different circumstance that I was in, but the way I thought about it, is how college, no matter how you look at it, is a place to get a job, not get connections. You go to college and you want to see a certain outcome in your life. You need to ask yourself, what are the things that you want? Life is a series of tradeoffs — you choose one thing over the other,” said Latta.
Teenpreneurs have taken their age, which could be seen as a disadvantage, and turned it into an uncommon and desirable quality. Starting a business doesn’t follow the traditional curriculum of high school, but that’s where the magic lies — these teenpreneurs have learned how to forge their own path and are learning along the way. Many don’t know what exactly their future holds, but the skills and lessons they’ve learned already sets them apart.
The average age of an entrepreneur when they first start their business is 40, according to Forbes. However, there are teens who are getting an early jump on this — they’ve established businesses ranging from a coding nonprofit to a clothing company, all before hitting the tender age of 20. They’re not just teenagers or entrepreneurs — they’re teenpreneurs.
“When I first started I was really nervous being 15 and in an adult’s world, but what it really comes down to is how people perceive you is all about how you perceive yourself,” said Zach Latta, founder of Hack Club, a nonprofit that starts coding clubs in high schools around the world. “People oftentimes want to seek you out because you have a unique perspective, because you were born in a different time then they were, and there aren’t too many people that are young in the industry.”
These teenpreneurs have learned how to make the best of both worlds — their age means they have different perspectives, which can be invaluable in the tech industry where part of the market is teenagers, but at the same time, they attract an invaluable resource: mentors.
Michael Yoo, a senior at Dougherty High and CTO of ContaC, was able to join a team that had already launched their startup, which focuses on trumping traditional paper cards by creating metallic business cards outfitted with a chip that allows people to transfer contact information electronically. They found three mentors at a summer camp his junior year, and attribute many of their opportunities to their mentors.
One of his mentors, Eddy Zhong, is the cofounder of the summer program dedicated to help students get what they need to start companies.
“The biggest struggle would be that teens usually don’t have resources. Most teens, if they want to create something, only have a sketch but not a live product that they can hold in their hand and show to investors,” said Zhong.
Being at the age where most students are in high school, many face the issue of just how dedicated they’ll be to their business. They range from keeping it as a side interest to a full-on career, especially when the question of going to college comes up.
“Although I [no longer do my business], I’m definitely interested in pursuing that path and considering a business major when I go to college," said Liam Jocson, a senior who started Mint Clothing in middle school until retiring it in his sophomore year.
However, there’s another path that’s not as common (but more common in the Silicon Valley, home of the overflowing number of startups) — completely forgoing college. Latta has a history of being involved with coding — after starting a coding club in a school that didn’t offer computer classes came his first job as a lead engineer at Yo, a messaging app, and a stint at a gaming company. That was all before he decided to start Hack Club and was named a Thiel Fellow, which awards people under or around the age of 20 $100,000 to focus on their respective businesses and interests, provided that they forgo college or only attend for two years.
Latta notes that every case is different, and it really comes down to the individual. “I have a bit of an atypical educational background considering the different circumstance that I was in, but the way I thought about it, is how college, no matter how you look at it, is a place to get a job, not get connections. You go to college and you want to see a certain outcome in your life. You need to ask yourself, what are the things that you want? Life is a series of tradeoffs — you choose one thing over the other,” said Latta.
Teenpreneurs have taken their age, which could be seen as a disadvantage, and turned it into an uncommon and desirable quality. Starting a business doesn’t follow the traditional curriculum of high school, but that’s where the magic lies — these teenpreneurs have learned how to forge their own path and are learning along the way. Many don’t know what exactly their future holds, but the skills and lessons they’ve learned already sets them apart.