Spoiled Kid Entrepreneur
“Yes! I can get the new Hinamori Amu figure now!”
I thought, while counting the money I made in sales last week.
I was only ten years old, and had created my own Facebook page to show off my collection of anime characters. I would list the older ones for sale so I could buy the newest models for myself. For me, business was a simple transaction: money in, product out, just as uncomplicated as my ten-year-old world was then.
During my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to start a company with my friends in our new club called Launch X — MIT’s high school entrepreneur sponsorship. As we struggled to come up with an idea, my mind drifted to conversations I had, had in the past with my roommate.
We had recently ranted about how difficult it is to come up with a business idea and during one conversation, my roommate, a girl from Afghanistan who had come on a scholarship, shared her experience of her trying to get a good education.
It shook me that we were the same age and, even with similar interests, had such drastically different backgrounds. I shared my clothes, and even an extra cell phone with her. She arrived to school with a comparatively simple wardrobe and didn’t have a phone capable of video-calling to keep in touch with her family back home.
I thought about how my roommate’s eyes lit up when she had the chance to wear new and trendy clothing or shoes. And so, we decided to create a clothing company named “Topped.” We agreed that this clothing store would be affordable for everyone and that we would only use materials that are sustainable to the environment.
As I thought back to what I did when I was a child, opening an online business for the purpose of earning extra cash, I couldn’t believe how funny it now seemed to me.
If you were to ask 10-year-old Kaitlyn about the purpose of business she would answer, to make profit. Now, I see business as more than just a company.
Definition of Entrepreneurs
Being “entrepreneurs” means that we have the ability to think of a solution to a problem that is occurring in the world. Maybe it is poverty, animal-rights, or the environment; anything that desperately needs to be addressed. And from that we create a solution, by creating a company.
Topped has been one of them. We used second hand clothing and redesigned it to make it sustainable and affordable to everyone. Even though my group did not get chosen by the judges at the Demo Day event, I think I have gained a much more valuable perspective of the real world. As Topped continues for its second-year of existence, I am excited to take on more challenges as a young entrepreneur.
The encounters I had over the past few years changed my perspective of the world as being both bigger, and smaller than before. Knowing my roommate’s struggle has inspired me to do more that benefits the most people, instead of just thinking about benefiting myself. Most importantly, I realized that being successful doesn’t depend on how much money you could make.
The reason why entrepreneurs create is that they see a problem in the world and want to fix it. I grew up wanting to sell things merely to build my own collection, but I’ve realized along that way that there is more to this world than just accumulation.
While affordable, fashionable clothing might seem insignificant, it’s only just the beginning.
