I think this thread might’ve been done before here, but maybe not with the latest crop of casters 🫡 How many of you have started something entrepreneurial before? No matter how small 🔥 Don’t feel weird about “bragging” plz - I’m trying to encourage someone to shoot their shot.
Since I was 16 I always had a „startup“ thing going on, but I think project describes it better
I had a small record label when I was 18, and a dog apparel business when I was 22 lol
Sold newspapers on the beach to rich people at prices way above those allowed by the newspaper companies. I always invited folks who complained to walk back on the hot sand to save a dollar. I was 14.
Started a software development agency when I was younger. Also ran a SaaS startup for a couple of years. Neither went super well but experience was amazing and very valuable! Onto the next one at some point
Over the past 6 years, started a dev and design agency, learned to code, had a couple e-commerce brands, saas startups (none too successful) and now building back in fintech. Love what you do and who you help and the rest is good.
Started a merchandise business back in 2014 when I was 16. It was a good run for a couple of months, and then decided to shut it down. Made enough cash to get a smartphone for myself. So it was a win overall ✌️
In middle school, I secured the school locker list and sold extra lockers to my classmates
At college in 2004 I sold custom hats: graffiti on trucker hats (groan I know) and beanies my grandma hand-knit for me
Sold a print of a car from a home printer to a guy at school at age 7 😃 Then all the time since I was 18, always had something on the side when I was working on something. Hard at times but fulfilling.
first business i ran an on-campus vintage clothing market (2019), second business i did youtube automation (2020), third business i made a chrome extension to view nfts on twitter (2021), and a bunch of smaller failed projects in between
Started a small business customising metal plates and signage for others in 2016 which only accepted crypto as the payment method. Held on to every bit of it until late november 2021. Truly life changing for me.
Tried making bitcoin mining powered home heaters/radiators circa 2016. It turned out to be wildly unprofitable, and i ended up selling one ethereum mining rig type heater at a loss. A loss that grew larger and larger as the next year's spike came.
When I was 12 years old, I stole plants from my neighbors and sold them at the market (sorry 🥲) Now building a next-gen crypto aggregator Mobula.fi: Trustless, Interactive and user-owned 🤌👽
When I was 10, I had a gum and candy business that I would sell under my desk during breaks. My mom gave me an allowance of $10 a week and I would save the money up every month to go to Sam's Club with her. Buy all the whole sale candy and gum/candy and sell for $1 each.
I started making iOS apps in junior high school when the app store came out. My first app that did well was I Like Turtles, where u bet on virtual turtle races... it's since been removed from the app store due to simulated gambling reasons but here's some info https://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/i-like-turtles
Created an e-commerce/social media ecosystem SaaS. Mobile app + web app. Out of box ecom store w design tools, POD merch (sourced locally & delivered), social media elements w feed/DM for your store to communicate directly w customers.
My first thing was being a tech YouTuber in Romania! I wanted to find a way to get gadgets for free (couldn't afford them!) and it worked for a while. https://www.youtube.com/user/voievoziitehnici
Was a freelance developer in school and college. Successful enough to pay for college and also have enough spare money to travel and have fun.
Post 1st job, I was frustrated by lack of precision tools to design custom clothing, mugs, etc. I designed a flash based tool for CAD like precision end to end. Even had a personalized gifts company and I experiment with inks and t-shirt suppliers. Folded eventually.
I once started a project to get strangers to sign up for in-person conversations Wouldn’t call myself an entrepreneur but the experience of “building” motivated me to go into tech (vs academia)
I’ve done it a few times before, with varying levels of success (none, meaningful exit), but this time, I’m doing it solo, and it’s the most ambitious project I’ve ever set out to do: It’s a declaration of war — - war against PaaS deplatforming - war against surveillance - war against censorship And I in
@vm could prob answer this 100 different ways 😆 one of my faves: he used to flip/monetize large twitter accounts - including a Minions account & a teen girl meme account (ridiculous, but it was how I learned to do ombre nails so not complaining 💅)
Been doing biz stuff since high school, I think because I'm unemployable and don't do well with authority 😅
I built a few websites back in the early 2000s on the side but nothing earnestly entrepreneurial until… literally right now. Starting a tech consulting company to help organizations adopt modern practices (devops, lean, agile, etc)
-eBook Bundle project (heavily discounted eBooks on health & fitness) -co-founded business at intersection of hunting, mindfulness, at meditation (stepped away after launch) -failed attempt at a small business operations consulting firm -currently incubating ideas for DAO service shop, esp wrt writing services
In my early teen years I'd sell TCG Packs. Ran a social media consulting business for 5 years. Launched a clothing business ( theme: Local memes that gained relevance )
yes! I bootstrapped my first co to 8 figures in rev, bootstrapped second co to 7 figures in rev and now building Tari + Yat :) Also an investor in 50+ cos
First gig was in primary (elementary) school - creating my own bootleg Nintendo-themed magazine, photocopying it and selling it. Was filled with cheat codes and clippings from books and magazines. Few other since then, but that was the first and probably funniest! Some links to what I’m doing now at unjumble.xyz to
I’ve been doing slightly entrepreneurial most of my life. I just left a business I started 2 years ago to start something new and now I’m starting a hot sauce biz this month with a friend (a chef) and figuring out e-commerce after spending most of my life in software
Have built so many things in so many industries but always realize half-way through I’m really just building a dream team and that makes things easier