Food For Business

Mark Zuckerberg

He created Facebook when he was 19. The social media wizkid is rank by Forbes #158 on the list of richest Americans, estimating his net worth in the neighborhood of $2 billion at the current age of 25.

Sean Belnick

Belnick was 14 years old when he launched BizChair.com. Now that he’s old enough to drink, his company is bringing in nearly $50 million a year and is ranked by Inc. 500 as #37 in its list of top retail companies. The business model was straightforward: buy office chairs from China and sell them. By negotiating exclusive rights with his manufacturers and providing top-notch customer service, he carved out a niche that landed him prominent clients like Google and Microsoft. Proof that successful business ideas can (and probably should) be simple. (Interview with Belnik)

Juliette Brindak

Who said doodling in class was a waste of time? Juliette’s drawings of “Miss O” were fun when she was 10, but by the time she was 19 and put her characters online, they were big money, part of a $15 million enterprise at missoandfriends.com. The bread and butter of her brilliant business idea is simply to stick with what interests you.

Cameron Johnson

To be fair, Johnson went into business well before his teenage years—the dude was 9 when he launched a greeting card business. And he was only 12 when he started raking in the cash as a beanie baby eBay salesman. But Cameron Johnson started pulling in the big money—six-figure checks on a monthly basis—when he and some friends launched his Surfingprizes.com business, which paid both advertisers and users who added scrolling advertisements into their browsers. He sold that business, made his first million before high school was over, and then kept on going in college. His student venture,Certificateswap.com, sold gift cards online, and he sold that business for another big payoff. Johnson’s brilliant business ideas revolved around the middle-man principle, and they paid off big time.

Martina Butler

At the ripe old age of 15, the podcaster behind Emo Girl Talk had become the first teenager to draw major corporate sponsorship for a podcast. It didn’t hurt that emo music was surging in popularity in 2005, but by incorporating her own personal take and teen drama into the mix, she connected with an eager audience, lured in big sponsors, and watched her net worth break the million-dollar barrier. It’s, like, awesome. The lesson for all of us is, there’s a lot of money to be made in being you.

Matt Wegrzyn

Not many 17 year olds become master of their domains quite as successfully as Wegrzyn, whose domain investment business has developed into a million-dollar hit at Bodis.com. It’s a domain parking service that also buys and sells domains as well. The secret to his success has been being realistic, patient, and determined. By building gradually using a tried and true method of flipping domains (and a lot of them)he’s put a lot of older, more experienced entrepreneurs to shame.

Adam Hildreth

At 14, Hildreth started Dubit Limited, a UK social network for teens—it went on to become one of the biggest sites of its kind and the de facto resource for researching the teenage market. By the time he turned 20 he had launched another business in an entirely new realm—online child protection technology and was worth nearly $4 million. Sometimes it just pays to be an enterprising tech wizard.

Ephren Taylor

Taylor’s success is all over the map. He achieved success at age 12 creating video games. Then he went on to web design, and by the time he reached 17, his job-posting company, GoFerretGo.com, had grown to multi-million-dollar status. Now he runs City Capital Corporation, making him the youngest African-American CEO of any publicly traded company in history. His focus is now on alternative energy and church/nonprofit financial consultation. His business ideas are diverse and motivated by a belief that he could do it all.

Olivia Bennett

Starving artist? Not so much. Bennett sold her first painting at eight years old and has been doing very well for herself ever since. But she didn’t just conquer the business world—she also battled childhood leukemia, as told in her book, A Life in Full Bloom. It doesn’t hurt that she is immensely talented, butBennett’s success also depends on her persistence and determination. No business idea ever succeeded without confidence.

Catherine and Dave Cook

The Cooks created MyYearbook.com, essentially Facebook junior, or MySpace for high school. Their site is a huge success, although one of their best business ideas was getting a quarter-million investment from their big brother. The real stroke of genius, though, was partnering with another site, Zenhex.com, bringing in user-generated quizzes and twice the Web traffic. Nevertheless, the younger Cooks started at ages 15 and 17, and their net worth has shot past the million-dollar mark.

At 20 years old, Sean Belnicks business chair website brought in $38 Million Dollars! At 14 years old Sean Locked Himself in his bedroom and 3 days later, Bizchair.com was born! He started out with just a few office chairs and eventually one employee, he now sells over 25,000 products and sold chairs to Microsoft, Google and Abercrombie and Fitch.

First question, What inspired you to createBizChair.com?

I was inspired to create BizChair.com through my fascination with selling things on the internet. Before selling office chairs, I would sell Pokemon cards and other things on eBay. Over the summer, I worked with my step-father and saw how simple the business model that he was involved in worked. I was able to capitalize that business model and use it to sell office chairs online. I started with $500 advertising and $100 for website hosting and I designed the original site myself. I was 14 at the time it was created.

You are just 20 years old and in 2006 your revenues were $24 Million. What are your ambitions for BizChair.com now?

In 2007 our revenues grew to $38 million. This year our goal is to reach $50 – $54 million in sales. We have very ambitious sales goals and are expanding our wholesale and retail programs aggressively. By maintaining our position as a market leader, we are able to focus on our growth and continue to expand our business with an excellent selection of products and customer service.

Tell me, what does a 20 year old entrepreneur spend his money on?

I like to think that I live a relatively modest lifestyle. My one splurge was a 2008 Range Rover Supercharged. Other than that, I don’t spend much money (other than for college tuition). I enjoy trading stocks with what money I have left.

You have over 75 Employees, What do your employees think about working for someone so young?

I think most employees think that it is “cool” to have a young boss. We have a more relaxed work environment and it is not as stressful. Employees are also less intimidated with a younger boss and are more likely to come to me with ideas and their true feelings which ultimately help the company.

I understand that you study business at Emory University and at present your stepfather oversees day-to-day operations – seems like a very good arrangement to me. Tell me, how does the THEORY of business compare with the practical side of business that you have experienced creating BizChair.com?

It’s a great arrangement–but don’t think that I don’t spend any time working while I’m at school! Much of the theory that I’m learning deals more with aspects that I don’t really know. For example, I never knew how to properly read and create a balance sheet or income statement or how to create pro-forma financial statements. These are all things that I’ve come across while in school those have helped me ultimately run the company better. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll be taking the entrepreneurship class!

I first came across you on the INC.com Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 feature. I was very impressed. Tell me what has the feedback been about this feature? How did INC.com "discover" you? Has it created any new openings / opportunities for you?

This brought great publicity to the company. I had been featured on CNN about a year and a half ago, but this was a welcomed increase in publicity for the company’s sake. The publicity has been a domino effect—stemming from an article in Emory’s school newspaper. The Atlanta Journal Constitution picked up the article and then CNN saw that one. Presumably INC saw the CNN segment and so on. The increased media coverage has brought many customers as well as new business opportunities such as investments and board opportunities.

If you could go back in a time machine to the time when you were just getting started. What business related advice would you give yourself?

Wow, wouldn’t that be nice. Most likely it would be to expand our product selection faster than we did. We really stayed in the office chair market for a while before expanding into office furniture and home furniture as well as some other segments. If we had done that faster, we could have cemented a larger position as a market leader.

Do you think that entrepreneurialism is something that is in your blood? Or is it something that can be learned?

I think it’s a bit of both. You have to have the desire to succeed and take risks to get there–It’s not for everyone. I love the excitement and the future growth prospects as well as watching the company grow and prosper. You have to have ambitious goals.

Is there anyone that you look up to and model yourself on?

Instead of one person, I’d rather model myself from various, successful entrepreneurs and business people and blend them together. Some of them include the “Google Guys” (Larry and Sergey), Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Always have a backup plan in case something goes wrong—because it will.

What advice would you give to a Young Entrepreneuer setting up their first business?

Don’t’ be afraid to take risks. It’s your first business and you have your whole life to succeed. Make sure they are calculated and not careless risks.

What are your plans for the future? Do you believe in goals (for example anything that you want to do before age 30)?

Immediate plans are to finish college and come and work full-time at BizChair. I believe in goals, but if you were to ask me what my goals were just 7 years ago, I don’t think I would have said anything like I have now. I’m just trying to make this business the best that it can be and 10 years is a long time away!At 20 years old, Sean Belnicks business chair website brought in $38 Million Dollars! At 14 years old Sean Locked Himself in his bedroom and 3 days later, Bizchair.com was born! He started out with just a few office chairs and eventually one employee, he now sells over 25,000 products and sold chairs to Microsoft, Google and Abercrombie and Fitch.