6 MORE TEEN ENTREPRENEURS WHOSE SUCCESS STORIES WOW AND INSPIRE
More startup stories to inspire budding kid and teen entrepreneurs everywhere.
Success comes at any age. We compiled the stories of six more outstanding teen entrepreneurs whose empire-building achievements and enterprising ways among their five businesses are sure to impress. And like their young entrepreneurial peers, these teen girl bosses prove that there are no age limits on who can become successful business owners.
Photo Credit: Da Bomb Fizzers
Caroline and Isabel Bercaw, Founders and Creators of Da Bomb Bath
Sisters Caroline and Isabel started making bath bombs with special surprises inside when they were 10 and 11 years old back in 2012. With encouragement from their parents, they joined an art fair in Minneapolis and sold out all of their handmade bath bombs in a day. Since then, the sister entrepreneurs have grown their bath bomb business into a multimillion-dollar business. They hired their parents to fulfill CEO and CFO roles and employed 150 workers. In addition, they closed licensing deals with Disney and Mattel and started a sustainability mission focusing on clean water and women’s hygiene. And there’s more: Besides making it to the 2019 Forbes 30 under 30 list, the teen entrepreneurs are published authors! Their two books, Good Clean Beauty and Fizz Boom Bath!, teach young readers how to create beauty elixirs from kitchen pantry items and bath bombs from natural ingredients.
Photo Credit: Ava’s Pet Palace
Ava Dorsey, Founder and Chief Pet Officer of Ava’s Pet Palace
Ava, who has always loved animals, came up with the idea to make and sell pet treats using only the safest, most natural ingredients for cats and dogs. She even crafted a business plan for this idea when she was only six years old. Two years later, in 2018, Ava’s Pet Palace was born. And thanks to social media buzz and her loyal customers all over the country, Ava grew her business, moved her startup from her home kitchen to bigger kitchens, raised over $20,000 on Kickstarter, and secured the USDA Organic Certification. She also won the 2020 WDB Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
Photo Credit: https://time.com/collection/long-neckie-women-of-the-year/6108607/nyla-hayes/
Nyla Hayes, Artist behind Long Neckie Ladies NFT Collection
13-year-old Nyla Hayes is a young artist and creative entrepreneur with a bright future not just in the art world but also in the cryptocurrency world. She started the first female-led, all-women generative art collection on the Ethereum blockchain. Her whole collection of hand-drawn, computer-generated collectibles of women with long necks, popularly known as Long Neckie Ladies, is now worth almost $3.4 million. Nyla has been named NFT. NYC’s Emerging Artist of the Year and has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for representation. She also joined Time magazine’s web3 and NFT initiative and created the “Long Neckie Women of the Year” collection for 100 different women with Beyonce, Frida Kahlo, Michelle Obama, and other iconic women featured.
Photo Credit: Theme-NYC
Ariella Maizner, Fashion Designer of Theme
12-year-old Ariella is living the dream. Her passion for fashion design has become a thriving business in just four years since 2018. With her custom tie-dye pieces, Ariella caught the attention of TikTok influencers, including Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, and partnered with Walmart for an apparel collection. She also had a runway show as the youngest designer at New York Fashion Week in 2019. In addition, she was honored by Thrive magazine as a “Young Social Impact Hero” for her business’ efforts to give back and donate money to non-profit groups.
Photo Credit: https://entrepreneurs.princeton.edu/news/2021/zietz-gladiator
Rachel Zietz, CEO & Founder of Gladiator Lacrosse
Rachel launched Gladiator Lacrosse after participating in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Program, an after-school youth entrepreneurship program, when she was 13 years old. She based her business on her disappointment with expensive lacrosse equipment that would regularly break after routine backyard practices. So, she made it her mission to provide customers with high-quality lacrosse equipment that can withstand the outdoors and improve one’s skills at an affordable price. To this day, Rachel is still personally involved in her company and its products, from conceptualization to production and even packaging.
Real-life success stories are helpful resources for all budding entrepreneurs, especially girls who need encouragement to strive toward their entrepreneurial dreams. These startup stories also allow girls to imagine what it’s like to go through what the featured teen entrepreneurs experienced and what to expect in business planning and budgeting. Plus, stories like these can help girls retain the lessons learned, reaffirm their passion for entrepreneurship, and persevere for the long haul.
