They may be young or in their teens but they have distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavor. These young entrepreneurs focused on business ventures ranging from providing financial literacy solutions to establishing trendsetting streetwear and lifestyle brands, a non-fungible token, among others.
Below are some of the most successful young entrepreneurs who caught out attention in the year 2021.
Caden Harris
Caden Harris is an 11-year-old from the metro Atlanta, Georgia area. He was raised by his two veteran parents, one Air Force and One Navy. He is also the younger of two siblings. His parents are entrepreneurs, and so is his elder sibling.
He founded a financial literacy center for kids and recently bought a 54-seat passenger bus that he is raising funds to convert into a financial literacy traveling mobile unit to visit schools and create a money educational experience for area youth.
Harris said his passion for learning financial literacy started when he attended conferences with his dad. He told Medium that he realized money gives people choices, like where to live, the amount of healthy food they can buy and the number of people they can help.
He noted that his first money lesson began when he asked for a video game and his parents told him he could get it but he would have to earn the money. For three weeks, Harris worked in the family business to earn money.
Harris wanted other kids to understand the sweat of earning money too. He, therefore, used his experience and what he learned through a generational wealth academy to start his own business with a $200 investment from his dad.
On his mobile literacy bus, participants will be taught how to walk through careers to earn money. For instance, the program will teach kids how to budget using a mock grocery store experience. There will also be a mock bank where kids will learn how to register and open a bank account and a tablet station where they will learn about investments.
Trey Brown
Trey Brown turned his birthday money of $178 into a successful business and is on a journey to build a seven-figure lifestyle brand. Brown is the founder of SPERGO, trendsetting streetwear and lifestyle brand headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. He started his fashion company three years ago with just 16 T-shirts he purchased from the leftover of his birthday money of $178.
His brand combines luxury and urban activewear with sweatsuits, hoodies, boxer briefs, and accessories. He was inspired to go into entrepreneurship at a young age because he wanted to chart a new course in his community, which had increasingly become violent. His move was to inspire other kids like him and even the older generation to stay out of trouble and follow their dreams.
Since the launch of his company in 2018, his vision has caught on like wildfire, catching the attention of celebrities like Meek Mill, Diddy, and Tierra Whack. Other celebrities following his brand include Eric Thomas, Shaquille O’Neil, Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, GHerbo, Da Baby, and Ed Mylett.
Brown opened his first shop in Philadelphia after receiving a $25,000 business grant from Diddy in 2020, and a second clothing store in The Pentagon City Mall located in Washington, D.C. According to his company’s website, Brown has sold over 30,000 units of merchandise and has grossed more than $200K in sales for several months in a row.
In November this year, he landed a $300,000 investment deal with Daymond John, the founder of apparel company FUBU, on Shark Tank.
Nyla Hayes
Nyla Hayes is the creator of the Long Neckie Collection, a non-fungible token (NFT) collection worth about $3.4 million in digital currency. Hayes said she started drawing at the age of four and when she was 9 years old, her parents got her a smartphone to make digital art.
She made drawings of people with long necks and called them Long Neckies. Her drawings feature diverse women with elongated necks inspired by her favorite dinosaur, the Brontosaurus.
Hayes was introduced to NFTs by her uncle. She also watched YouTube videos to learn how to create and sell them. Soon, people were buying NFTs of her Long Neckies. Since March, she has sold more than 960 ETH, that is, $3.4 million in digital currency.
Lily Adeleye
Lily Adeleye is a six-year-old CEO making big waves in the business world. She is the CEO of Lily Frilly Company that is into children’s hair accessories, clothing, and more. In May, it was announced that her children’s accessory brand was launching into over 1,000 Walmart stores and on their website.
The six-year-old hails from Orlando, Florida. Launching on Walmart is the second of her retail launch. She and her mom had launched at Target only last year.
According to Lily Frilly’s website, Adeleye loves to learn about investments with her parents. She, however, never forgets to watch Saturday morning cartoons with her older brother and sister.
William L. Roberts III
William L. Roberts III is the son of rapper-turned-businessman Rick Ross. He is a franchise owner of Wingstop, which was a birthday gift to him by his father.
Rick Ross recently became a franchise owner of more than 25 Wingstop locations and also launched Thighstop in response to the pandemic-related chicken shortage in America.
