Teen advocate makes positive impact on community through “good intentions”

How did your journey of becoming an entrepreneur start?

At a very young age. My parents are in the business field, so I often got a glimpse of what exactly it was. I loved everything about owning a company. I would sit at the dining table and pretend to be a CEO. That dream has now become a reality.

When and how did you start your own company?

My company Start-upper is a weekly newsletter on start-ups, delivered to subscribers’ inbox every Sunday. We write articles such as “A start-up made a billion dollars”. The target reaches are obviously entrepreneurs, who won’t have time to pull out such articles from the Internet. We make it brief and informative. I founded it during the course of the pandemic. Within the first week, we had about 10,000 subscribers. We now have about 16,000.

Start-upper has been acquired. Did you expect that to happen?

When you’re starting a company, you need to have an idea of what you want to end up with. Start-upper sealed up drastically, and there was a need for an acquisition. I had a vision that we were going to have a merger.

How do you get business ideas?

I have many ideas, but pick only the ones that will work. The key that drives these ideas is reading. I read 10 to 15 business articles a day. It helps me decide what kind of ideas I should work on.

Who is your source of inspiration?

Primarily my parents. They are executives, and are very dedicated and hard working. After them, my inspiration would probably be Elon Musk. All his ideas are so innovative and unique. I strive to be him.

What kind of support did you get from your parents?

A lot of moral and financial support. I have many ideas, and always want to turn them into companies. And my parents never say no to any ideas. Whenever I give them an idea, they try to pitch in and advise me in the right way. I know a few friends who also have great business ideas. But comments such as “You’re too young for this” or “This is just a waste of time” from their parents stop them.

Did you face challenges because of your age?

I am 14 years old. A lot of people I meet with are at least 20. It makes you stop for a second and think, “What am I doing? I am 14 years old. I must be playing outside.” But I have to overcome that by saying, “This is what I want to do. Nobody is forcing me to do it. Pursue it. Don’t let it stop.” I am still the youngest member in the room. People do underestimate me sometimes, but nowadays student entrepreneurship is becoming a thing, so people are mostly used to it. Lots of teenagers have really good business ideas. Student entrepreneurs are always open to new ideas and marketing strategies, whereas older companies stick to old-school methods. When it’s your passion, you must never let people stop it.

What are your future plans?

I am working on Debater, a social debating app. I want to sell it, and make it more successful. In the future, I would be happy to look at private equity, venture capital, and investment banking. And I will still continue start-up on the side.

Picture Credit : Google

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