Teen Tycoons: Big Changes Fuel Growth

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Back in 2012, we held a video contest to recognize and reward teen entrepreneurship, dubbed “America’s Next Teen Tycoon.” Jason Li, our grand-prize winner who nabbed $4,000 in cash, impressed voters and our judges the most with his electronics-recycling business, iReTron. Second-place winner Jack Uesugi, who earned $2,000 in startup capital from VerticalResponse, also captured tons of attention with his t-shirt design business, a1000x.

What are these teen tycoons up to now, almost two years after winning benin whatsapp number database our entrepreneurship contest? We caught up with Jason and Jack to find out where they’re at and how business is going.

JASON LI, iRETRON

Jason, who’s now a senior at Saratoga High School in the San Francisco Bay Area, had a banner year after nabbing the official title of “America’s Next Teen Tycoon.” He was recently named one of the world’s 50 smartest teenagers and was selected to be a 2014 Global Teen Leader by Three Dot Dash, an organization that recognizes teens all over the world who are doing extraordinary work. He and his company also are currently slated to air on national television soon! (Details about his primetime debut are still under wraps as of press time.)

1. How is business so far?

Business has been great. We’re currently earning six figures of revenue, and we’re slowly expanding. Days now have just been taking care of operations, keeping up with organic search engine optimization (SEO) and speaking at local fairs.

2. What have been some of the biggest changes for you since last summer?

The biggest change since last summer, professionally, was that we recently received an investment offer from a major venture capital firm. Most of the information is non-disclosable, but it’s been a huge step for us. Personally, I attended a summer business institute at the Wharton School of Business, at UPenn. It’s the first form of business education I’ve ever received and it reinvigorated me with not only new ideas, but the other students there also inspired me to work even harder.