Successful Companies Started by Teens!
ModCloth
Susan Greg Kolger, founder of the website ModCloth, realized at an early age what her passion was in life: vintage everything. Constantly thrifting, Susan attempted to find new and unique pieces to add to her wardrobe. In fact, she had such a keen eye that, by the time Susan went away to Carnegie Mellon University, her closet was packed with clothes envied by all the other girls. It was then, at the age of seventeen, that Susan decided to start her own business with the assistance of her friend turned husband, Eric Koger. She combined her fashionista personality and vintage love affair to launch the website we now know as ModCloth. Today, the once apartment-run business, employees over 100 people and the website continues to thrive. It isn’t unusual to find Susan herself out shopping for pieces to put on the website though, which is how she still manages to keep this successful company feeling like a small, loving business.
My Yearbook
Catherine Cook was only fifteen when she and her brother, David (16) launched the social networking site MyYearbook- a site where meeting new people, playing games, and making new friends takes precedence. The idea came to mind when Catherine and her brother David, decided that printed yearbooks didn’t help anyone to reconnect with old friends. They wanted to digitize it! Often described as the junior version of Facebook, MyYearbook has an estimated 33 million people use the site. Recently, the company decided to sell to QuePasa, another social media company based mostly in Latin America. MyYearbook sold for a whopping $100 million! I’d say that Catherine and David have done pretty well for themselves.
MissOandFriends.com
It seems to be the age for young entrepreneurs launching websites for all different interests. But this next story is one that is truly impressive! At the young age of just ten years old, Juliette Brindack had an idea that would ultimately start her now $15 dollar company. MissOandFriends.com caters to young girls everywhere and focuses on building positive self- esteems and self-images! With countless young girls visiting her website each day, Juliette hasn’t only started her own business, but she is making a huge impact on young girls’ lives! Basically, this now nineteen year old is saving the world one self-esteem at a time.
Facebook
You may have possibly heard about it…This worldwide sensation reaches over 800 million users, 50% of which log on every day. This company, started by the then 19 Mark Zuckerberg, has landed this young entrepreneur #52 on Forbes Billionares List. As many have probably seen in the movie The Social Network, Zuckerberg attended and the dropped out of Harvard University; the place where he first got his idea to create a form of media communication that students could use throughout the college dorm rooms. From there, the company catapulted into homes around the world. Zuckerberg is said to have an estimated Net Worth of about$ 17.5 billion dollars which lands him the spot of 14th richest American. I’d say that those where some successful teenage years.
Sources:
"Girls Who Started Their Own Businesses." Seventeen Magazine. Hearst Communication, Inc, 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.
"Mark Zuckerberg." Powerful People 2011: Forbes. Forbes, Inc. Web. 16 Dec. 2011.
"New Jersey Siblings Net $100 Million for MyYearbook Sale." Interview by Reshma Kirpalani. AbC News. 11 July 2011. Web. 16 Dec. 2011.
"Susan's Story." ModCloth: About Us. ModCloth. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.
