Game Changers – 5 Entrepreneurs Under 30 Who Are Paving The Way

When you think of entrepreneurs, you might not think of young people, but, in reality, entrepreneurship and youth are intrinsically linked. Still, it’s seen as a sign of major success if you can be a young entrepreneur who thrives. After all, it’s not easy to take an idea and turn it into something that will make you money, especially for people who may have just earned the right to rent a car. The following are some of the most interesting entrepreneurs under 30 who are changing the world and making lots of money in the process.

Jamal Edwards, 24

Edwards grew up in the UK and flexed his entrepreneurial muscles at the age of 16 when he started SB.TV, a web-based music and entertainment outlet. In its early days, SB.TV featured videos of Edwards himself rapping freestyle. As of 2013, he had turned that basic model into a YouTube channel with 360,000 subscribers and over 150 million views. He parlayed his success into interviews with celebrities and politicians like Prime Minister David Cameron.

In October of 2013, he secured funding from equity firm, Miroma Ventures. He is now looking to branch his business out into e-commerce, mobile apps, merchandising, and more.

Brian Wong, 23

Wong’s life seemed practically set up for success. He skipped four grades in elementary and high school, graduated college at 18, and started working at news aggregator, Digg, shortly after. He lasted at Digg for only 5 months and his storybook rise to success hit an impasse. He didn’t let that deter him, though. During his months of joblessness, he was continually looking for new ideas. While watching people obsess over mobile smartphone games on a plane ride, Wong developed a brilliant idea—why not incentivize in-game rewards rather than just slapping an ad on the screen?

That idea morphed into Kiip (pronounced “keep”), a mobile rewards network that integrates into Android and iOS apps to provide tangible rewards for securing achievements in mobile games. For instance, instead of seeing a basic banner ad for a restaurant, Kiip might offer a coupon for that restaurant. Kiip has also branched out into other fields like fitness and cooking. Annual revenue for Kiip is somewhere between $10 and $20 million.

Esra’a Al-Shafei, 28

Al-Shafei is a Bahraini national who has worked hard to amplify often marginalized voices in the Middle East. Al-Shafei recognized that the internet was an ideal platform for communication and organization, and she founded Mideast Youth in 2006. The non-profit organization was designed to help Middle East voices of dissent find a safe space. She also founded other organizations like CrowdVoice, which uploads photos in real-time to one single online database. Although relatively young, Al-Shafei is a senior TED Global Fellow and an Echoing Green fellow.

She’s also responsible for MidEast Tunes, a platform that allows people to look for political artists and songs from the Middle East and North Africa.

Tom John Light, 27

Light’s name is probably appropriate considering how bright his business career has been thus far. He started out at age 19 as an intern at Infosearch Media, a publicly-traded online marketing company based in Los Angeles, California. At Infosearch, he worked on an online business named Answerbag that allowed people to ask and answer questions. The concept was sold to Demand Media in 2007 and, thereafter, it was rebranded to the famous eHow.com. Although you might not know Tom Light, you have probably used his brainchild at one time or another.

After becoming the Director of Marketing for Infosearch at age 21, Light ventured into the world of consulting and online casino gaming. He has offered his consulting services to numerous large corporations as part of his Tom Light Consulting firm. He also founded two online casino gaming companies, 7Red and 1King. If that weren’t enough, Light is also the Vice President of Business Development at FashionTV and a board-level consultant and chief strategist for Hit d.d.

Jane Lu, 27

At only 27, Lu has become a big name in the fashion industry. Her fashion retailer, Showpo (originally ShowPony), is a $2.6-million business with over 350,000 Facebook followers. But, Showpo isn’t her first business. In fact, her initial foray into entrepreneurship failed miserably and many people scoffed at Lu for quitting her job. But, she didn’t quit. She got back up on her feet, founded Showpo, and has been a resounding success since then.

Her business is now looking to branch out internationally, and Lu has also entertained the idea of entering the manufacturing field.

Game Changers – 5 Entrepreneurs Under 30 Who Are Paving The Way