Companies Founded By Teenagers

Believe it or not, some of the famous and successful companies in the world are founded by teenagers.  While many of us were still dreaming about building a successful career at such a young age, these successful entrepreneurs were working hard to turn their ideas into reality.  Here is a list of 5 such companies founded by teenagers.

Companies founded by teenagers

1) Subway

This widely popular restaurant franchise was founded in 1965 by a 17 year old Fred DeLuca.  In an effort to make extra money for medical school, DeLuca decided to start his own sandwich making business.  He took a $ 1,000 loan from a family friend and nuclear physicist Peter Buck and opened Pete’s Super Submarines in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  They renamed the Company to Subway in 1968. Since its inception, the Company has grown to become one of the largest fast food chains in the world and has 41,512 stores in over 100 countries.

2) SuperJam

This UK based jam company was founded by a Scottish school boy Fraser Doherty in 2003.  Doherty was only 14 years old when he started making jams and selling them at local markets.  By the age of 16, Doherty left school and started working on his business full time. SuperJam became a successful company and sells millions of jars of jam every year.  The success of his Company also made its founder a millionaire, whose net worth is estimated to be around $ 10 million.

3) Yankee Candle

Michael Kittredge started selling homemade candles to his neighbours at the age of 16 for just $ 2.  After an increase in the popularity of his candles, Kittredge started creating and selling a larger quantity of his candles out of his parents’ basement.  The Company slowly expanded. In 1998, Kittredge sold his Company to a New York based private company, Forstmann Little, for $ 500 million. Yankee Candle is now one of the most famous candle manufacturers in America and sells over 200 million candles a year.

4) Oculus VR

A 17 year old Palmer Luckey created a VR set of his own called PR1 out of his parents’ basement.  Luckey thereafter launched his own company called Oculus VR with fellow video game enthusiasts. He then went on to sell his Company to Facebook for $ 2 billion in 2014 and then launched a defense technology company.

These successful entrepreneurs and the companies they founded are proof that age is just a number.  Did we miss mentioning any other companies started by teenagers?  Comment below and let us know.