This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alby Churven, the 14-year-old founder of Clovr, who lives in Wollongong, Australia. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
When I was younger, I started an e-commerce grip socks brand called Alpha Grips. It failed, but that’s what got me interested in business. I was 12.
A lot of kids’ first businesses is always something to do with e-commerce, like drop-shipping or clothing brands. Social media does saturate you with that “get rich quick” idea with drop-shipping or crypto. Although 90% of the time it’s a scam, it still ignites an interest.
Then I came up with the idea of Finkel, the startup I applied to Y Combinator with. I sent a cold email to Frank Greeff who’s a pretty big founder here. He recommended I started building in public on social media, so I started doing that. X is full of startups.
Social media played a big role, seeing other people building brands and businesses. That’s what got me into it. I used to do code camps when I was younger, so I’ve always been interested in tech and entrepreneurship.
I applied to YC. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to do this big video with all the editing. It’s supposed to be, you sit down and turn on the webcam and talk. I didn’t actually read the instructions when I did it, but I guess that’s what made it pretty viral.
There’s a new social media ban in Australia for people under 16. All these great things have happened for me with it, but the social media ban is taking that away. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is.
I’m young. I think my advantage being a teenage entrepreneur is I’ve got time. My goal right now is to build as many things as possible, learn as much as possible, and see where it goes.
You decide you want to do maybe when you’re 18 or 16. But I know what I want to do. I want to be in startups and tech.
The benefits of starting young is that you don’t have as much pressure on you financially, so you can just build things.
In the future, I’ll have had experience. It’s about learning. I have time on my hands, and I enjoy it.
The younger generation thinks a bit differently. Some older people may not even know how to use AI.
I’m in the US right now, and I’ve been meeting with a lot of really cool people. When you’re young, you can utilize your age to make a lot of connections. It’s more rare. It’s crazy you’re doing it this young.
My age is a wow factor, but it also limits legitimacy.
It also can be a negative. People might not take you seriously if you’re really trying to pursue something. All the things I’m building are bootstrapped, because it’s impossible to raise funding when you’re young.
I’m getting to stages in my projects where I do need some money. I’ve applied to these accelerators. I had a very low expectation for Y Combinator. I got an interview about my other startup, Clovr, but then I got rejected.
I’ve heard you have to get in the system early, so when I’m older and I apply, I’ll already be in the system and have experience with how the process works.
I do think grants are a really good opportunity. You won’t raise nearly as much, but you’re not giving away any equity. I think giving away equity young is not a good decision. It gives pressure to perform and deliver, and when you’re young, you want to build stuff.
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