http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...ef=topbar&utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false Few entrepreneurs can say they've grown their business into multi-million dollar enterprises in just a couple years. Far fewer can say they've done so all before even graduating high school. Jaylen Bledsoe, 15, of Hazelwood, Mo., however, is just that rare breed of high school sophomore. He started his own tech company that specializes in web design and other IT services, Bledsoe Technologies, when he was just 13 years old and worked to expand it into a global enterprise now worth around $3.5 million, Fox 2 in St. Louis reports. The local news station followed up with Bledsoe on Monday after first interviewing the teen back in March 2012. Since that first interview, Bledsoe has grown his company from two workers to about 150 contracted employees in order to meet demand. Meanwhile, Bledsoe has pursued other, more traditional goals for a high school kid. He's held leadership roles in a variety of student organizations, such as president of the Student Council and the Parent Teacher Student Association. Outside of school, he's served as the chief technology officer of St. Louis Volunteen, a program to promote teen volunteerism, according to Patch. He was even partly responsible for bringing vegetarian options to his former middle school's cafeteria. “I don’t see many eighth graders do the things that he does but it’s all his doing,” Curtis Bledsoe, Jaylen's father, told Patch in 2012. “I’m very proud of him.” Jaylen said an interest in web design, which he first discovered while attending classes at his school's gifted-education program, was the foundation for his business. But he says it's taken a lot of hard work and courage, too. His most important advice for young entrepreneurs? "Take risks," Bledsoe, who plans to attend Harvard University before becoming a copyright lawyer, told Fox 2. "As a minor, there's nothing you can do that will shoot you down for too long. You can always jump back up and keep going." [YOUTUBE]nL0XdhrRb7k[/YOUTUBE]
evidence that if you cut health insurance and retirement plans that even a 15 year old can become rich. am I right?:smt042
Great story. This only shows you through hard work and dedication, anything is possible. Good luck to this young man with his business and all his future endeavours.
Oh yea you will. It's an absolutely amazing story. And flies in the face of everyone here that claims institutional racism holds the young black male down. When in fact, it's cultural. He probably has two still married parents who stressed education and self independence. Institutional racism. The biggest fucking boogeyman of why the black community will always be "repressed."
Good for him! He's on his way! :smt023 His fortitude reminds me of these two sisters who started at 10, also http://www.whitewomenblackmen.com/forum/showpost.php?p=811573&postcount=5
You seriously have no clue about what you're talking about do you? Anyway very inspiring story indeed. I wonder if he's hiring lol
This is amazing. Wake up America, there are perhaps hundreds, maybe thousands more like this young black male out there who can make a difference rather than what we always see as the derelicts among us. America, you are squandering an opportunity to make this nation even greater with young black "wonderkids" who could be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. I hope the corrupt culture do not kill off these extraordinary kids. Where in the hell are the so-called black leaders who can pool these talented kids into special schools and academies?
They are doing exactly what you yourself are doing now. Bitching & whining and blaming other people rather than being proactive......
There is so much wrong with this post I don't know where to begin. How about this since you care so much why don't you start rounding them up. Aren't you in tech anyway?
They are not doing jack shit represented by the likes of yourself. Being here 24/7 I sometimes wonder if you have a damn job.
We are fucked by the dumb, and uninformed among us. We need a revolution among us to cleanse the race. "We" (ten of us here watching this on screen) are doing our parts in many different ways whether it's mentoring, teaching, seminars, lectures etc.... That is all I'm going to say.
Why is it your conceited ass assumes that you & who ever these other "ten" are the only ones doing anything proactive? So focused on shitting on others here you don't even bother to find out exactly who we are or what any of us are about. But I digress, since you obviously care so much about ALL our people.....
When Bill Gates and Steve Jobs built their companies, they provided retirement plans and healthcare. This was and still remains their model. This kid(through no fault of his own) was shown how to cut health care and retirement plans to make a profit by hiring only contracted employees. Not your usual employee but contracted employees. Some of the folks sitting here have to really think what they are applauding. Are you really for teaching kids this face of business. A face where it is only about profits? Would you like to be in that place where you received no retirement plan and no health care. No benefits what so ever. That's basically what he was taught to do. There is a reason why I am trying to leave the tech world. This is one of them. The american public applauds this business model but doesn't sit and think about or know the terminology being used. America has been going down hill for a long time and if this is what is happening where people are applauding this kind of business model. I think I will simply move to another country. You have to think how this affects everyone. I love that the kid was successful but he didn't do it in a fashion that would assist the employees.
