The USA’s best entrepreneurs 25 years old and younger for 2009
As mentioned by Business Week in October 2009:
Jamail Larkins, 25 of Ascension Aircraf: aircraft sales and leasing. After earning a first degree in aviation business admin, rather than going to work for Boeing or Lockheed Martin, he decided to go on his own in 2006. He has 4 employees and had USD7 million in revenue last year.
Aaron Levie, 24, and Dylan Smith, 24, Box.Net: an online collaboration tool founded 2005. They dropped out of university to pursue their dream. It now has 3 million users representing 50,000 businesses. The company has 50 employees and has raised USD14.5 million VC. “It will be profitable soon.”
Shama Kabani, 24, Click To Client, online marketing agency. Founded in 2008: builds websites, handle SEO, create and manage social media campaigns. Now has 6 employees, and takes on 25 projects a month. Also acts as online marketing department for 6 clients. Revenue in 2008: USD120K.
Jesse Gossett, 23; Jayson Uppal, 23; Chris Jacobs, 21, Emergent: renewable energy consulting. Now has 30 clients, mostly municipalities. Last year they had USD108K in revenue.
Becky Stockbridge, 25, I Bec Creative, web development & graphic design. Started in 2006, now has 4 employees. Last year scored USD225K in revenue.
Lauren Berger, 25, Intern Queen, internship placement consultancy. Launched 2008, it matches interns with more than 500 companies from across the USA who pay to be listed on her website. In 4 months, she had USD100K in revenue.
Eric Koger, 25, and Susan Koger, 24; ModCloth, online marketplace for independent designer fashion and decor. Perhaps you can get an artificial christmas tree there?
Launched 2002, has 104 employees. Their website gets >1.25 million unique visitors a month. Sales in a month: USD1 million.
Sean Conway, 25; Justin Miller, 21; B.J. Stephan, 24; Fadi Chalfoon, 23; NoteHall: Online marketplace for class notes. Launched 2008, last year had USD40K revenue.
Joanna Van Vleck, 26; Trunk Club: online clothes shopping service for men. Launched November 2008, the site uses webcams to meet clients, then assess their needs, then ship a box of clothing to them. They’d pay for items they liked. She bought marked brands wholesale from suppliers then sold them retail. Now has 6 employees, 36 independent contractors, actually fashion consultants who work remotely, and about 2,000 members. She says the company is good for up to USD2.5million in revenue this year.
David Karp, 23; Tumblr: microblogging platform. Launched 2007, the site now has 1.8 million users and received USD5.5 million VC. 10 employees. Not making money yet, but “will be experimenting with revenue-generating features this quarter.”
