Companies Founded by Amazing Young Entrepreneurs

15 companies started by young entrepreneurs

1. Aline Morse — Zolli Candy

At age 7, Alina Morse went on an errand to the bank with her father. The teller offered her a lollipop, but she reluctantly declined — her parents had taught her that candy would damage her teeth. The experience sparked an idea: why not make candy that tastes great and is good for your teeth? Zollipops were born, and before long, Zolli Candy was sold in stores across the country. Since then, Morse has expanded the vegan, sugar-free, tooth-friendly candy line to include taffy and drops. Now a teenager, Morse is the company’s CEO and has been featured in a variety of publications. She launched the Million Smiles Initiative, which encourages schools to discuss dental hygiene by donating Zollipops to them.

2. Toby Brown — Beem

As a child, Toby Brown enjoyed creating things, making alarms and coding math games for his teachers. He built Beem, an AI platform, in his bedroom. In 2025, at 16, he convinced San Francisco-based venture capitalists South Park Commons to invest one million dollars into his new business. Brown hopes to launch his product, an AI native computer optimized for human interaction, next year.

3. Maddie Rae — Maddie Rae’s Slime Glue

Slime has taken the kid world by storm and Maddie Rae has been on the forefront of the trend. As the slime craze took off in 2017, Rae, an avid slime fan, began having a hard time finding glue (a necessary slime ingredient) in stores. She took matters into her own hands and worked with her dad to develop their own glue, optimized for slime production. Soon, Rae expanded her online store to feature a range of slime, slime glue and slime accessories. Since 2017, she has broken world slime records and held a slime conference called “Slime Bash” in addition to making content on YouTube and TikTok. Her products can be found online and in stores.

4. Josh Feinsilber — Gimkit

Gimkit started as a high school project. Josh Feinsilber liked Kahoot!, an online educational platform that uses quizzes to aid learning. With the help of other classmates, he created his own learning application, which helps students review classroom topics through gaming. Teachers can produce quizzes and assignments on the platform, and then get reports on their students’ results. Feinsilber’s innovation is now used by more than 100,000 students.

5. Mikaila Ulmer — Me & the Bees Lemonade

At age 4, Mikaila Ulmer needed an idea for a children’s business competition she had entered. Two serendipitous events inspired her: She was stung by a bee and, around the same time, a family member sent Mikaila her great-grandmother Helen’s recipe for flaxseed lemonade. Ulmer decided to create a product that would help the honeybees and that utilized her Granny Helen’s lemonade recipe. She added honey to the mix and founded Me & the Bees Lemonade. For over a decade, the company has produced delicious lemonades and donated 10 percent of profits to bee conservation. The young entrepreneurs’ products can be found at Costco, online and at other retailers. Ulmer also authored a book called “Bee Fearless, Dream Like a Kid,” which discusses her journey as the young founder of a purpose-driven brand.

6. Alphonse Coleman — Bubbles and Blaze

A homeschool project led to 14-year-old Alphonse “Fonzi” Coleman starting an eco-friendly vegan candle business, Bubbles and Blaze. His coconut soy wax candles are poured into hand-made, reusable concrete containers that sell throughout the U.S. The company is committed to environmentalism and donates to Water for South Sudan.

7. Maya Penn — Maya’s Ideas

Maya Penn founded Maya’s Ideas in 2008 when she was just 8 years old. The company sells sustainably produced fashion accessories and has been ahead of the curve with regard to the “slow fashion” movement. Penn is not only the company’s designer but also its CEO. Today, Penn has become an environmental activist, writer and speaker who has given several TED Talks. Penn is the author of “You Got This! Unleash Your Awesomeness, Find Your Path and Change the World” and has given speeches across the country. In 2011, she founded Maya’s Ideas 4 The Planet, which has a holistic approach to fighting climate change. She’s also an animator and has created several short films.

8. Evan Moana — EvanTubeHD YouTube Channel

Evan Moana was named YouTube’s youngest millionaire in 2016. He started his channel, EvanTubeHD, when he was in the fourth grade. His first videos were reviews of popular kids’ toys. Since then, the channel has grown to earn almost seven million subscribers. Moana’s whole family started making content for YouTube and on TikTok. Moana has several channels of his own, his sister has a channel and features prominently on his and they have a channel with their parents featuring family adventures and challenges. Moana currently attends Loyola Marymount University, and still posts videos on EvanTube, but not as frequently when school is in session.

9. Moziah Bridges — Mo’s Bows

Moziah Bridges started Mo’s Bows in his grandmother’s kitchen when he was 9 years old. Bridges says his desire to find a sharp-looking fashion accessory was the inspiration for his business, which produces stylish, colorful bow ties in a variety of styles and prints. The internationally recognized brand has motivated Bridges to study fashion design in college. In addition to bow ties, Bridges’ Memphis, Tennessee-based company sells neckties, pocket squares and apparel. He’s also published a book for children called “Mo’s Bows: A Young Person’s Guide to Startup Success” to encourage other young people to follow their business dreams.

10. Andrew Glantz — GiftAMeal

Using a “food for photos” concept, Andrew Glantz urges people to take images of food whenever they eat at GiftAMeal’s more than 1000 participating restaurants to help end food insecurity. Every snap and selfie leads to a food donation, and gives each restaurant a boost on social media. Glantz started his app at 20 while attending Washington University, and now GiftAMeal has donated over 2.5 million meals to 150 food banks in 44 states. 

11. Joosep Seitam — Icecartel

Before co-founding his men’s jewelry brand as a college student in 2019 Joosep Seitam had already created several businesses, including a lawn service at age 16. Icecartel, an e-commerce site, offers high-end jewelry, from diamond chains to luxury watches, as well as customized designs. The company generates revenues of six figures.

12. Gabby Goodwin — GaBBy Bows

When Gabby Goodwin was 7 years old, she and her mom, Rozalynn, noticed a problem. Goodwin’s favorite barrettes slipped out of her hair during the day, so she kept losing them for good. The mother-daughter pair worked together to design a new type of hair clip, the Double-Faced Double Snap Barrette. This one stayed put no matter how hard Goodwin played during the day. They patented the design and founded GaBBy Bows. Now, Goodwin is the company’s CEO. In addition to her unique barrettes, Goodwin has founded Confidence by GaBBy, a plant-based hair care system designed to make it easier for moms to do their daughters’ hair. Goodwin and her mom also offer mentoring services on both business and haircare. Goodwin is also the author of the children’s book, “Naturally Me at the Confidence Salon.”

13. Nic Bianchi — Bianchi Candle Co.

Nic Bianchi started Bianchi Candle Co. when he was 12 years old. He combined his love of math, science and candles to create wonderful-smelling, all-natural, handmade candles. Each batch of Bianchi’s candles are hand-poured in small batches and made of all-natural soy wax that burns longer and cleaner. Bianchi has expanded into products like diffusers and a variety of designer candle lines within his brand. All candles are still handmade but can be purchased in small shops across the country. Bianchi also donates proceeds to a number of causes, including the American Cancer Society, Partnerships 4 Kids and the Angels Among Us Society.

14. François Reihani — La La Land Kind Cafe

As a 20-year-old, François Reihani had already started a successful poke bowl business, Pok, and a cocktail and bites establishment, Bar Stellar. But he wanted to challenge himself to do something more. So, he started the coffee chain La La Land Kind Cafe in Dallas, a business with an unusual premise: hire teens and young adults exiting the foster system and help them become successful. His idea has evolved into 11 cafe locations in California and Texas, and the La La Land Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to help the community through volunteering, mentoring and advocacy.

15. Bunim Laskin — Swimply

Staying cool in the New Jersey heat each summer was difficult for Bunim Laskin, so he proposed a plan to his neighbor: If you let my family use your pool, we’ll help pay for its expenses. The idea worked so well, Laskin created a website and mobile app to rent nearby private swimming holes. After striking out on “Shark Tank” in 2020, Laskin raised more than $51 million in funding to expand his business. The company now allows Swimply users to find not only pools, but pickleball, basketball and tennis courts.

What can we learn from young entrepreneurs?

Business people of all ages can learn from these intrepid young founders. They think outside of the box, motivated by passion and imagination. People who want to start a business but don’t know where to start need look no further than their interests. Young entrepreneurs like Rae, Bianchi and Moana built their enterprises around the things they loved, which gave them unique insight into their customers’ needs. Others like Glantz, Reihani and Ulmer identified causes that matter to them and incorporated those passions into their business plans, with admirable results.

Young business owners likewise have the courage to approach ordinary problems with creative solutions. Goodwin, Laskin and Morse all created their products after grappling with a problem, without concern for status quo solutions. This confident creativity is crucial for new business ideas to thrive. Finally, young entrepreneurs display tenacity and dedication to their goals. This attitude, combined with their natural adaptability and willingness to embrace emerging technologies and social platforms, creates a powerful foundation for business success.