Ever meet teenage disruptors? They are aspiring entrepreneurs under the age of 19 with plans to change the world.
Twenty of these budding business leaders came to UCLA Anderson School of Management this summer to participate in Founders Bootcamp, a partnership with the business school that offers the world’s first startup accelerator and venture capital funds for teenage entrepreneurs. The program was started in 2017.
Of 1,100 applicants representing 26 countries, five teams were selected to take part in the 12-week intensive summer program, which provides teens with access to starting budgets, essential resources and experienced Anderson student mentors who work to empower teams to bring their ideas to fruition. Already, one team, the Trill Project, has received a substantial investment commitment for its anti-bullying idea and has been showcased on TechCrunch. Two other teams are being considered for inclusion on ABC’s Shark Tank reality series.
Among other ideas from this 2018’s bootcamp participants: ending thirst worldwide with a machine that creates potable water from humid air; using smart, stylish jewelry to help deter assault and make safety fashionable; and reforming corrupt agricultural trade systems with an accessible, online marketplace called Agronet.
The UCLA Anderson mentors provided assistance to the teams in various ways, according to Aadhar Jain (’19), who worked on Agronet with a UCLA Anderson alumnus. Together, the two assisted Agronet’s young entrepreneur with streamlining technical development of the company’s online marketplace, connected him with external design and development resources to accelerate the development process, and helped ready his presentation for venture capital pitches.
Agronet and the other bootcamp teams will present their final pitches to top venture capitalists at a Demo Day in San Francisco in October. “This would, we hope, go a long way in helping them attain the next round of investment,” Jain said.
An entrepreneur who is working on a lab equipment manufacturing company, Jain also noted that VC funds are typically only available for college students and beyond.
“However, numerous successful startups, including Facebook and Microsoft, were founded by individuals at an even earlier age,” Jain says. “The idea of Founders Bootcamp is to find and nurture such high school entrepreneurs who may not get much support in terms of business guidance and financial support to make their dreams a reality. This goal, to me, is both ambitious and exciting, which is why I chose to be a part of this program.”
Agronet co-founder Samuel Lungu says he is grateful for the help. “I’m happy Founders Bootcamp is here, as it is fueling teens’ dreams,” says Lungu, 19, who hails from Malawi. His goal is to connect farmers directly with crop buyers to “improve the lives and economy of my country,” he explains.
“Our UCLA Anderson mentors worked long hours helping us refine our ideas to meet the market standard and encouraging us to become the entrepreneurs we aspire to be. In addition to helping us build successful companies, their efforts will be instrumental in helping us become leaders of our generation. I'm just thankful to be part of it. I give special thanks to Aadhar and all the members who provided support from the day of arrival to the final pitch day.”
The mentors say they learned from the experience, too. “It was truly humbling and grounding to witness the amount of progress the entrepreneurs have made at such a young age,” says Jain. “Across the board, the young entrepreneurs are primarily concerned about having a positive impact on their communities by solving problems they have personally experienced. In the process, they have, commendably, built viable businesses.”
Even as professionals, he and his peers “sometimes lose sight of the big-picture social issues around us,” Jain says. “It has taught me to be more socially responsible.”
Here are the companies that will be making their final pitch in Silicon Valley this October:
Waterpoint is a portable machine that inexpensively delivers water where it is needed most by extracting potable water from moisture in the air.
Trill Project is a safe, anonymous social network that curates content and battles bullying with machine learning algorithms.
HERO is smart, stylish jewelry that deters assault by alerting friends or police when activated.
Agronet is an accessible online marketplace that connects farmers directly with crop buyers, circumventing predatory middlemen.
Loop is a mobile platform that makes party hosting worry-free.
Meet the Founders Bootcamp participants, interviewed by KTLA News
A great investment for a great cause - we we're in a similar position last year and had similar luck, look at us now! https://citaorguk.com/
Posted by: Daniel | 11/13/2018 at 10:31 AM
Young entrepeneurs in the US should consider looking at SBA loans ( https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans ), they have proven particularly useful for tech startups ( https://xxxbios.com/news/a-brief-history-of-vr-technology/ )
SBA loans are "a legal way to steal money from the government" according to one old entrepeneur I heard talk recently lol. All 5 of those companies making their pitch at Silicon Valley should consider looking up SBA loans
Posted by: Amber Sophie | 11/12/2018 at 08:24 AM
If you’re young, and you are entrepreneurial, your single greatest asset is your age. I have absolutely found this to be true.
Posted by: Jorge O. Karpinski | 10/25/2018 at 06:10 AM
Strongly support this initiative, love their passion for entrepreneurship. All the best for their final pitch.
Posted by: Jasmine | 10/23/2018 at 08:03 AM
This makes me so happy to see. This world needs more young entrepreneurs, as I believe they are the ones who will change our world for the better.
Founder Bootcamp sounds like a great resource. Keep it up.
Posted by: Jonny Nastor | 10/02/2018 at 06:59 PM