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13-Year-Old CEO Steals the Show At TiECON
An anonymous reader tells us about a 13-year old Silicon Valley CEO with a plan to change the way kids learn chemistry. Yesterday he stole the show at TiECON 2007, the big entrepreneur conference held in Santa Clara, CA. VentureBeat has the story and a video interview. The company's VP of sales is the CEO's sister. She's 11. They're looking for $100K to ramp up production and distribution.
One of my Many, Many, many majors was Chemistry, So I can sort of see where you are coming from. However, as the parent of a teenager who just doesn't have ANY interest in chemistry, I have to say this is a good idea. A quick check before typing this reveals that while he has no idea what a noble gas is, he can tell you everything that is written on any Pokemon or Digimon card ever made. If you make the things that you are required to have a basic grasp of into a game, you are going to make a lot of kids initial foray into science less of a nightmare, without so much risk of building a hatred of the subject that will cripple their learning for the rest of their lives.
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
I was also making money before I was 13, and Elementeo doesn't surprise me. It is much more easier for children to be engaged in business than adults. First, children have lots of imagination, while in general few adults retain it after they turn 22-23. Furthermore, children are usually free of debt and get free food and financial support from their parents, and children normally have no responsibilities; compare that to an adult who is indebted, needs to work in order to eat, and has a family to support. Moreover, children have more free time than adults. Another important factor that is in children's favour is that they usually have good health, while many adults do not. Lastly, laws in general seek to protect children, an advantage mature entrepreneurs cannot have.