The Rise of Entrepreneurship Among Youth
Author: Maneesh Vallurupalli
In this article, Maneesh Vallurupalli, the 17-year old, 2x CEO of The Entreprist and Vultum Corporation, discusses the importance of youth entrepreneurship and its rise among many teenagers across the globe.
In today’s generation, known as Generation Z, there has been a sharp rise in startups founded by youth below the age of 18 years old. If we look back 100 years, many children below the age of 18 barely even attended school, but now everyone has the opportunity to start and grow a career at a very young age. Why is this? It is because of the evolution of education, rise in technology, and maturity of the current generation. Many teenagers these days understand and embody the growth mindset and competitive nature, which is driving their goals and vision. They understand more at a young age, are able to set high expectations, and effectively learn and educate themselves to grow.
In the past decade, youth entrepreneurship has been growing and self-started initiatives have been becoming even more abundant. This is why there are now many incubators, or competitions, that allow these young individuals to create and expand upon their innovations through a mentorship program. The projects created in these programs build both technical and business skills that can be used beyond the project and can help the young entrepreneurs build upon financial, development, and even management skills.
Due to the growing number of youth entrepreneurs, Forbes, an American Business Magazine, started their Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2011, which recognized young entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who created sensational innovations, made some of the best discoveries, or even become successful in a particular industry. It is an annual list that is similar to the Forbes list of billionaires or the Fortune 500. Since its inception, the Forbes 30 under 30 list has accumulated more than 5000 nominations and has editors and researchers searching for the best fit individuals for each industry.
Throughout this past decade, many youth entrepreneurs have been focusing on innovations that can solve problems such as telecommunications, social media, computer technology, etc. Now, this next generation is focusing on artificial intelligence, cancer, healthcare, blockchain, etc. The youth entrepreneurs of tomorrow are creating technology and are diving deep into advanced subject areas to learn more and follow their passion which will take them to success.
Bill Gates of Microsoft. Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. Evan Spiegel of Snapchat. Sergey Brin of Google. These were all young entrepreneurs who made the Forbes list of billionaires in their mid 20s. A common characteristic between them is that they all followed their passions and expanded on their knowledge to do what they loved. These young entrepreneurs had a vision for the future of their business. It is what brought the next generation of computing and the next generation of media.
Let me give you a direct example - myself! I may just be 17 years old, but I started two companies, a nonprofit organization, and a worldwide community service initiative. I am also a keynote speaker, activist, advocate for youth entrepreneurship, and author of a book titled “The Growth Mindset”. Where did I get my inspiration? When I was just 12 years old, I was exposed to the word ‘entrepreneur’ and after much research, I became obsessed with that word. After that, I started meeting entrepreneurs, looking into the latest technologies and businesses, and explored many industries. Today, I run a technology and a media company, and I heavily advocate for youth entrepreneurship through various keynote speeches. Looking around, I see many entrepreneurs like myself who are trying to build businesses, and many are just in their early 20s.
In this generation, entrepreneurship is important. With the emergence of the latest technologies, anything can nearly be built, and the execution is done by entrepreneurs themselves. My belief is that there will be a massive technological revolution in the upcoming decades with an emergence of artificial intelligence, robotic automation, future technology, and heavy advances in industries such as healthcare. These advances can only be done by entrepreneurs, so the rise in youth entrepreneurship during this generation is heavily important. We will change the world.
So is youth entrepreneurship beneficial? When is the right time to become an entrepreneur? If a person has a passion or a strong urge to research and create what they imagine, they should. Youth entrepreneurship is nothing but taking an idea and bringing it to the market at a very young age. But what many don’t understand is innovation does not have an age. Entrepreneurship does not have an age. Anyone can follow their dream and become an entrepreneur at any age as it can help build skill and creativity while creating inspiration and building an innovation.
Now is the time to become an entrepreneur. Now is the time to innovate. Now is the time to be a leader. Now is the time to work hard. Now is the time to imagine. Now is the time to dream. Now is the time to change the world.
About The Author
Maneesh Vallurupalli
Maneesh Vallurupalli is a 2x CEO, author, nonprofit leader, activist, and advocate for youth entrepreneurship at age 17! He is the founder of The Entreprist, an entrepreneurship magazine to inspire youth in leadership and entrepreneurship through articles, interviews, and the BizX podcast, and the founder of Vultum Corporation, a technology company developing the next generation of technological products. He is also the founding president of the Combine Together and Create Action Foundation, one of the largest youth-led activism platforms, and a published author of a book titled “The Growth Mindset”. As a keynote speaker, activist, and advocate for youth entrepreneurship, Maneesh aims to impact youth all around the country to find a passion and take action. His final goal is to make a global impact!
More by Maneesh at The Entreprist