We have heard of early entrepreneurs and teen entrepreneurs are the earliest of this kind.Here are a few interesting stories from India...........
Story One: In Bangalore, Suhas Gopinath is getting ready to address his Korean, Swiss, German and American employees who are here on an exchange programme.Employees are routinely sent to overseas offices so that they get a better understanding of operations. Gopinath founded his company Globals seven years ago when he wasjust 14. Coming from a modest background,failing was simply not an option."I got Rs 30 as pocket money at atime when an hour at the cyber cafe cost Rs 120. I requested the cafe owner to allow me to work for him during lunch time and let me use the Internet for free," he says. He may not be articulate,but he is determined. Today,the company which implements Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions for educational institutions and web and software solutions for corporates,has around 250 clients.Gopinath's India office-he won't disclose his turnover as he is about to divest a stake to a London-based company-alone brings in revenues of around $2.5 million (Rs 9.8 crore). It kick started last year. Askhim to count his achievements and Gopinath lists his entry into the Limca Book of Records in 2006 as the world's youngest executive. "It made my family proud."
Story two: When brothers Bhavin and Divyank Thrakhia were 15 and13, respectively, they made money by finishing their classmates' computer projects. They also started a job portal, did consultancy for companies like Orion softand set up intranets for many a corporates. In 1998,they borrowed Rs 25,000 from their parents to pay for server lease fees. Within a month, they had not only repaid the loan but ploys close to 400 people across 230 countries. They have traded the Santro they had bought in 1999 for a Mercedes C200and Porsche BoxsterS.Their sights are now set on the skies.They want a private jet. The good Gujarati boys (mention that and they squeal in unison "we don't want to bebranded that") get little time to party- "we work till nearly 4 a.m. everyday"-but are into extreme adventure sports like hot air ballooning. Indian entrepreneurs are on the rise,teenage entrepreneurs are a rarity. "In the US,kids are enterprising right from their early days. They do summer jobs and part-time jobs. How many youngsters here do that?" asks Professor V.Chandrashekhar, executive director,Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at the IndianSchool of Business, Hyderabad.
Courtesy: India Today
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