It’s never too early to start your own company. No matter how difficult you think it may be or how outrageous you feel your idea is, you have the chance to build something great that you truly love and are proud to be a part of.
The four young entrepreneurs below have overcome many obstacles to build their startups. From dropping out of college to funding a start-up by returning clothes to a retail store, these young entrepreneurs are a source of inspiration to anyone out there with a start-up dream.
I know each one of these entrepreneurs personally. If you are proactive and reach out to them, I promise they’ll write you back and teach you a thing or two about start-ups.
Jessica Mah
Jessica Mah is currently the founder of Indinero.com and a student a UC Berkeley. Though she looks young, her work ethic and maturity surpass the majority of the entrepreneurs that I know. Her previous company was InternshipIn, which she built over the course of two weekends and helped thousands of undergraduates find an internship with a startup.
Jessica is only 19 years old and has already built 3 companies. If you ever doubt that you can build a company as an undergraduate, just take a look at her achievements and you’ll get a kick in the rear full of motivation.
Neil Patel
Neil is currently the founder of Kissmetrics.com that is set to launch in about 30 days. He was also the Founder of CrazyEgg.com (which I personally use and greatly recommend) and ACS which he founded as an undergrad at Cal State Fullerton.
He’s the exact same age as me and is already an Angel Investor for multiple companies and on his way to make it big with his new start-up. If you think you need to graduate from an Ivy League school or get an MBA to make it big as an entrepreneur, take one look at Neil and realize that grad school is way overrated.
Greg Rollett
Greg is the Heart Surgeon for Endagon Innovations and the Founder of Rockstar Lifestyle Design. He has put a lot of time and energy into combing his passion for music and his desire for social change. By combining his passions, he has developed Rock for Hunger, an organization that helps feed the homeless and provide good music to those in his community.
Greg Recently launched his Under 30 Rock Star course that will teach any millennial how to build his or her personal brand in under 4 weeks. If you feel there is no way that you can say goodbye to the corporate world to chase a dream that you’re passionate about, take a look at Greg and realize that the only thing holding you back is yourself.
Andrew Warner
Good’ol Andrew is probably one of my favorite entrepreneurs! He was the founder of Bradford and Reed where he funded his startup by returning all of his J.Crew clothes. I’m not even joking! He is currently the Founder of Mixergy.com where he interviews other successful internet entrepreneurs to educate young entrepreneurs about how to build a successful startup.
If you think that you need angel or VC funding to get your startup off the ground, think again! Just take one look at Andrew Warner and you’ll realize that it’s not funding that makes a startup successful, it’s sheer desire, passion, and hustle.
Now that you know who they are, reach out and say hello. You’ll be glad you did.
Author:
Jun Loayza is the President of SocialMediaMarketing.com and the Co-Founder of Viralogy.com. Reach out to him to chat about startups, fitness, relationships, or pretty much anything else that floats your boat. Blog and Twitter