THE ENTREPRENEURS OF GEN Z
Business
Raquel Gottlieb
Entrepreneurship isn’t just for adults. The number of businesses started by children has increased greatly in this decade. From skin care businesses to websites for scholarships, to cookie companies, kids today can achieve anything. Here are just some of the many brilliant child business founders.
1: Mr. Cory’s Cookies
At just five years old, Cory Nieves, from Englewood, New Jersey, started his business by selling hot chocolate to help his mother buy a new car. He added homemade cookies to his business, which grew quickly. Nieves sells the cookies in pop-up shops found in New Jersey and Manhattan, and on his own website, MrCorysCookies.com. Mr. Cory’s Cookies has worked with large businesses such as Bloomingdales and Macy’s and collaborated with nonprofit organizations like the Children's Aid Society in New York City.
2: Maya’s Ideas
When Maya Penn was eight years old in 2008, she founded her eco-friendly clothing line, Maya’s Ideas. A few years later, she created a nonprofit organization, called Maya’s Ideas 4 the Planet. Its mission is to combat climate change and promote diversity in STEM and tech. The nonprofit supplies food and personal care items to the underprivileged in the Atlanta area, distributes face masks for the Covid-19 pandemic, and sends eco-friendly sanitary pads for women in need in less fortunate countries such as Haiti, Senegal, Cameroon, and Somalia. Penn has gone on to be a three-time TED speaker and has received many awards for her outstanding achievements.
3: ScholarMe
When Nigerian-born Femi Adebogun was applying for financial aid and scholarships for college, like many of his peers, it was a confusing and stressful experience. So, Adebogun created his own scholarship website, ScholarMe. ScholarMe is a free platform that makes applying for financial aid simple and tells students how to work the financial aid process, step-by-step. Through the website, students can apply for scholarships all at once. Since its start in 2018, the website has helped over 100,000 students fund their college tuition.
4: Luv Ur Skin
Created by Isabella Dymalovski at thirteen years of age, Luv Ur Skin is an Australian company that sells natural skincare products specialized for teenagers. It all started when Dymalovski’s mom wouldn’t allow Dymalovski to use her mother’s products due to the chemicals inside of them. This led Dymalovski, with the help of an expert team, to create skincare products made from completely natural ingredients specifically for teenagers. The products are all made from the plant extract Plantolin, an Australian native plant that has been proven to be safe and effective. Isabella’s mission is to encourage teenagers to live healthy lifestyles and to learn to care for their faces, body, and mind.
5: iCoolKid.com
When he was just eight years old, Jenk Oz created iCoolKid.com, which is a digital publishing, media, and production company. Renamed Thred Media in 2020, the website contains articles and videos on music, sports, and culture. iCoolKid’s purpose was to create content to inspire and motivate the children of Generation Z. At age fourteen, Jenk Oz became the UK’s youngest CEO. The website has won many awards and has allowed Oz to move further with his career and create many more companies and websites.
These young and impressionable children teach us that this generation can do anything. Young entrepreneurs are key factors in creating products and businesses that pertain to us and benefit the lives of children from all over the world.
Works cited
Facebook.com/legendsmotivation. “Meet These 16 Teen Founders Who Are Building Big Businesses and Making Big Money.” InsiderBLM, 21 Aug. 2019, https://insider.legendsmotivation.com/meet-these-16-teen-founders-who-are-building-big-businesses-and-making-big-money/.
“13 Amazing Teenagers Who Became Self-Made Entrepreneurs.” Real Leaders, 12 July 2021, https://real-leaders.com/13-amazing-teenagers-who-are-self-made-entrepreneurs/.
Engler, Sarah. “How This 10-Year-Old Launched One Sweet Business.” Oprah.com, Oprah.com, 14 Jan. 2015, https://www.oprah.com/food/cory-nieves-mr-corys-cookies.
“Mr.Cory's Cookie's.” Mr. Cory's Cookies, https://mrcoryscookies.com/.
About Maya. https://mayasideas.com/about-maya.
Falen Hardge March 04, 2021 06:47 PM. “Gen-Z Entrepreneur Maya Penn on Launching Her First Company at Age 8: 'Explore All the Passions You Have'.” PEOPLE.com, https://people.com/human-interest/entrepreneur-maya-penn-on-launching-her-first-company-at-age-8/.
News, The Brighter Side of. “ScholarMe Aims to Make Funding College Tuition Much Easier for Students.” Brighter Side News, 29 Sept. 2020, https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scholarme-aims-to-make-funding-college-tuition-much-easier-for-students.
“In the Know Honors: Femi Adebogun.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, https://news.yahoo.com/know-honors-femi-adebogun-120000669.html.
“About.” ScholarMe, https://scholarme.com/about/.
“Luv-US ( Builder ).” Luv Ur Skin, https://luvurskin.com/pages/luv-us-builder.
“London: Entrepreneur.” Jenk Oz, https://www.jenkoz.com/entrepreneur.
ICOOLKID Ltd. | Linkedin. https://www.linkedin.com/company/icoolkid-ltd.