While their friends were out to make mistakes, these young talents making money.

Always in search of the secrets of successful companies, we looked at the sources of inspiration of five young prodigies who have built companies worth a million dollars before age 20. While some have joined forces with friends, siblings and mentors, others have done the work alone. Three of them are from the United States and the other two were British. They all started at the age of 15 years or younger, and one of them had less than 10 years. Their common denominator: a business sense out of the ordinary and an incredible desire to make their ideas a reality.

In pictures: The companies of the (very) young people who have succeeded (Forbes.com)

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While four of five small geniuses were doing business in or on the Internet, Fraser Doherty did things the old way. In 2002, at age 14. Neighbors and friends of the church to love. Through word of mouth, Fraser Doherty started receiving orders faster than it could produce at home. He therefore spent time at a food factory of 200 people several days a month.
Be guided by his instincts
At age 16, Fraser Doherty left school (with the blessing of his parents) to devote himself to his jams full time. In early 2007, the British supermarket Waitrose Premium contacted Fraser Doherty, hoping to sell its products in its stores Superjam. Within a few months, pots of jam Superjam have appeared.

Fraser Doherty has borrowed $ 9,000 to a bank to cover its overhead. Tesco followed suit, putting the products on the shelves Fraser Doherty of 300 stores in the United Kingdom. The month of March will see the launch of Tesco Superjam in Ireland.

Last year, Superjam recorded a turnover of $ 750,000 and is poised to double that figure in 2008 (about 50,000 jars a month). Based on a reasonable assessment of multiple equal to one times revenue – the manufacturer of jams JM Smucker is a multiple of 1.2 times sales – the only action participatory Fraser Doherty is about 1 to 2 million.

Not bad for a young man of 19 years. Counsel for Fraser Doherty to other young entrepreneurs: “Adopt an attitude of adventure and enjoy the journey.”
Coup double
Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, it has continued to link the success. In 1994, when he was barely 9 years old, Cameron Johnson has created his first business in his home in Virginia, making invitations for a party organized by his parents. At age 11, Cameron had already saved several thousand dollars selling greeting cards.

But this little guy did not stop there. At the age of 12 years, Cameron has proposed the sum of $ 100 to his sister in exchange for his collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies that were very popular at the time. The young entrepreneur quickly multiplied this sum by 10 by selling the dolls on eBay.

Within a year, Cameron has won $ 50,000 which enabled it to embark on his new project, My EZ Mail, a service that sends e-mails to a particular account without revealing personal information of the recipient. He hired a programmer to realize his vision and, within two years My EZ Mail was generating nearly $ 3,000 per month in advertising revenue.
Be fearless
Cameron Johnson but did not stop there. In 1997, he joined forces with two other youth entrepreneurs, Aaron Greenspan and Tom Kho, to create an online advertising called Surfingprizes.com, which provided scrolling advertisements on the top internet browsers users. Those who downloaded the software received 20 cents per hour (a tiny fraction of the value to the advertiser) for the inconvenience caused by the appearance of advertisements on their computer screen.

The boys used a classic pyramid strategy to extend their services. Users who managed to induce a new customer to use Surfingprizes.com harvested 10% of times this new person.

But Cameron and his partners were not only selling software, they wanted to have a share of advertising revenue also juicy. Their solution: partnering with companies such as DoubleClick, L90 and Advertising.com that could sell the advertising for them. Under the contracts, parties intermediate recovered 30% of all advertising revenue sold, while the three boys split the remaining 70%, which they used to pay a portion of these costs referencing.

“I was 15 and I received checks for a value between $ 300,000 and $ 400,000 per month,” says Cameron Johnson. At age 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Cameron Johnson adds, “Before getting my undergraduate degree, my assets totaled over a million dollars.”

Today, just 23 years and with other projects in mind, Cameron Johnson spends his time making speeches and promoting a new book. “Go for it!” He advises. “Do not be afraid of rejection. Do not be afraid to ask. ”
Sticking with his idea
At age 15, Catherine Cook and her brother Dave, 17 years, while leafing through the newspaper of the year of high school, had the idea to develop a free interactive version online. In 2005, they convinced their older brother Geoff, himself a web entrepreneur booming to invest the sum of $ 250,000 and his time to help them launch MyYearbook.com, a social networking site based in Skillman ( New Jersey).

Shortly after, the Cook merged with Zenhex.com, a Web-based advertising where users post a variety of homemade quizzes, they have more than doubled the number of their site. But when they tried to develop further, they have encountered some obstacles. Potential investors wanted to relocate the company’s headquarters in New York (Cook wanted to stay where they were). They wanted ads that appear on the profile pages of users (but not the Cook).
There are seven digits

Fortunately, Cook have stuck to their idea. In 2006, MyYearbook has raised $ 4.1 million for companies such as U.S. Venture Partners and First Round Capital. Since then, the site has attracted such advertisers as Neutrogena, Disney and ABC. It now has 3 million members worldwide and annual sales records in “seven figures,” says Catherine. How to be competitive in an industry dominated by MySpace and Facebook? Find a niche market. “[Our site] is specifically designed for high school and we listen carefully to the suggestions of our members,” says Catherine.

While Cook refused to discuss the value of their stake in the company, a MyYearbook investor (who agreed to speak to the only condition to remain anonymous) said that Cook is part of “well over 1 million dollars. “There are seven figures represent a lot of money for anyone, let alone a teenager. Yet despite their heady success, all these young fighters appear to keep their child’s soul. “I do not drive luxury cars,” says Fraser Doherty. “What interests me is the adventure.”

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