7 Self-Made Teenager Millionaire Entrepreneurs

1. Evan of YouTube Evan and his father Jarod started a youtube channel ‘Evantube’ to review kids’ toys. The channel was a resounding success with other kids – so much so that today it boasts just over 6 million subscribers. Evantube brings in more than USD1.4 million a year from ad revenue generated on the channel. How did it start? With a father-son fun project making Angry Birds Stop Animation videos, and morphed into doing reviews on toys and video games. But Jarod’s dad is aware of the responsibility of Evan’s sudden fame and hopes to teach Evan about the importance of being a good role model for others. “Most recently, we had the opportunity to work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and were able to fulfill the wish of a young boy whose dream was to meet Evan and make a video with him at Legoland,” explains Jared. “It was a really incredible experience. YouTube has definitely opened many doors, and the kids have gotten to do some pretty amazing things.” 2. Moziah Bridges Moziah Bridges started a business when he was 9 years old, and today has 7 full-time employees working for him in his business. Mo’s Bows came about thanks to his love for wearing bow ties and his own struggles to find a selection available to kids. His grandmother taught him how to sew and within a few months had created his own collection of bow ties to sell. Soon, Bridges was selling online through Facebook and Etsy ad as demand increased his family members started to lend a helping hand to the hand-sewn bow tie business. In 2017, Bridges signed a seven-figure deal with the NBA to produce bowties for their professional basketball teams. “They decided I was a cool guy who makes cool ties," Bridges casually explained when asked how the deal came about. 3. Sanjay & Shavan Kumaran of GoDimensions Brothers, Sanjay and Shavan launched a gaming corporation together – all at the tender ages of 10 and 12 -from their bedroom in their Chennai home. The company creates multiple apps that boast over 70 000 downloads in over 60 countries. Now teenagers, the pair were recognised as the youngest Mobile Application Programmers in India and one of the youngest in the World by Apple. "People keep on sending us emails, saying 'you develop this application for me and I'll give you so much money'. So far, we were not looking at it, but now we are planning to entertain such ideas because we want to expand," said Shavan. "We want to make our own office and sit there and programme." 4. Nick D’Aloisio of Summly At the age of 15, Nick D’Aloisio wrote an app while sitting in his parent’s bedroom in the UK. At the age of 17, D’Aloisio sold his app Summly – a mobile news summarisation app to Yahoo for a staggering USD 30 million. As one of the youngest millionaires, D’Aloisio is also the world’s youngest entrepreneur to be backed by venture capitalists – having secured seed funding from Sir Li Ka-Shing, Hong Kong’s billionaire, as well as raising USD 1.23 million from celebrity investors, including Yoko Ono and Ashton Kutcher. “The number one thing I did that I think was wise was to get, through some of my advisers, was a Chairman; basically someone who was a very experienced business person, an industry veteran – Bart Swanson, who had been at Amazon and then Badoo. Then, myself and Bart really started finding people and growing the team.” 5. Alex Balfanz Think gaming is just for lazy teenagers, idling away their hours on mindless games? Think again. Alex Balfanz hit on to a new opportunity, that’s seeing thousands of teenage gaming entrepreneurs making money in a multi-million dollar industry. Balfanz created the game Jailbreak – a cops and robbers adventure game – and within 10 months of its first release had yielded seven figure profits. An 18-year old student Alex Balfanz at Duke University in the USA, Balfour’s typical day is spent at lectures and doing assignments with several hours devoted to developing his game. 6. Erik Finman Erik Finman bought his first bitcoin at age 12. Today he is one of the world’s youngest bitcoin millionaires in the world. He first heard about bitcoin when he went along with his older brother to an Occupy Wall Street protest. The revolutionary potential appealed to him and he bought his first bitcoin for a mere USD10. At the age of 15, he sold his bitcoin for USD 100 000 and used the money to fund his online educational business Botangle, which matches students and tutors through video chat. He sold the business in 2015 for 300 bitcoin – a risky decision at the time as bitcoin had started to dip in value. Finman owns around 401 bitcoins, which at the time was valued at USD5.6 million. “Bitcoin will either be nothing or everything, and I think it will be more everything. Or crypto will, at least,” says Finman. 7. Mikaila Ulmer Although a teenager today, Mikaila Ulmer has been running her business, Me & The Bees Lemonade, since she was four. Her big break came at the age of 9 when she (and her parents who assist her in running the business) won the contract to supply Whole Foods Market. Her lemonade can now be found in over 500 stores across the US and sells more than 360 000 bottles a year. "Mikaila and her company caught our attention on a number of fronts," says Whole Foods Market's Jenna Gelgand."She had a unique product that tasted great, along with a strong, passionate founder and social mission.

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These teenager entrepreneurs have already made their first million and more. How did they do it and what’s their secret to success?

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