community
Who's Next
They are transforming the Web, empowering other start-ups, and turning your conference room into one big whiteboard. A sneak preview of the latest generation of ambitious entrepreneurs
Mike McGregor
Elliot Bisnow
Mike McGregor
Jamail Larkins
Highflier
Jamail Larkins, 25
Founder of Ascension Aircraft, an aviation sales, leasing, and consulting firm
"I took my first flight lesson when I was 12 and just got hooked. When I was 14, I petitioned the FAA for an exemption to fly solo before my 16th birthday. When they said no, I wrote to over 100 companies to see if they would sponsor a trip to Canada, where the age limit is lower. I had the opportunity to meet some major players, including John and Martha King from King Schools, which makes flight training products. I told them I wanted to start up my own company to help pay my flight costs. They eventually said, 'Well, you could become a distributor for us.' I started off selling instruction books and videos and grew into avionics and pilot supplies. A couple years later, I started to broker aircraft transactions and then began leasing them. To be honest, I'm not 100 percent sure how I got corporations to buy from me, because most of them knew I was 16 years old."
Bringing the Web to Life
Tristan Harris, 25
Co-founder of Apture, an online platform that helps websites add music, photos, and other media
"We had one meeting with Jim Brady, who was then the executive editor of WashingtonPost.com. Just a few days later, we received this long, involved e-mail from their head of business development. It basically said, 'We'd like to start this with our largest property.' It felt really good that a credible industry leader not only liked the technology but was serious about implementing it in a big way. In the beginning, I was concerned about how customers would view our youth. I'm younger looking -- if I completely shave, I look 18, but if I have a little stubble, I can pass for 29."
Fashion Forward
Susan Gregg Koger, 24
Co-founder of ModCloth, an online emporium featuring new and vintage clothing from more than 300 designers
"I've always loved vintage clothing. I would find stuff that didn't fit me or wasn't quite my style, but I would buy it anyway. Eric, my boyfriend at the time and now my husband, had a background in Web hosting. He said, 'You should sell some of this stuff. I can help you set up a website.' It was the summer before we went to Carnegie Mellon. We launched during winter break and had a sale our very first day. I will never, ever forget that moment -- I feel like it was my birth as an entrepreneur."
Organic Growth
Emily Olson, 25
Co-founder of Foodzie, an online marketplace for artisanal food producers and growers
"After college, I took a job as brand manager at a specialty-food store. I learned the process of getting products on the shelves and noticed it was really hard for small food producers. That was when the idea came about. Being in the food business is not as glamorous as it seems, but everyone we work with is doing it because they are very passionate. The producers get really excited about how they make their chocolates or their olive oil, and it's inspirational to know we can help them sustain their business, grow it, and continue doing what they love to do."
Playing Hard
Adam Rich, 29
Co-founder of Thrillist, an e-mail newsletter for "dudes"
"In college, we were deadly serious about hanging out. My co-founder Ben Lerer and I used to run around Philadelphia to find whatever the city had hiding in it: jazz clubs, open-mike night, whatever. No matter where we've launched, there are dudes there, and dudes need to clothe themselves, get themselves drunk, and feed themselves. That's universal. I don't care whether you are in L.A. or Atlanta or Boston; those are needs we can be serving. We approach readers the way you would talk to a college friend: 'Yo, check this out.' That intimate, friendly, trustworthy tone."
Let's Get Together
Elliott Bisnow, 24
Founder of Summit Series, a conference organizer for entrepreneurs
"My father and I founded Bisnow Media about two and a half years ago. Summit Series started because as a young company founder, I had a lot of questions, and I wanted to meet and get advice from other young founders. Now, we have a really loose interpretation of the word entrepreneur. The criteria is that it's someone at the top of his or her field who is doing something amazing, inspires people, and is fun to be around. Our goal is to create a TED or Davos, but for young people. Instead of buying Ferraris, we're working with nonprofits to leverage our resources."
Read more:
Since being featured on our 30 Under 30 list, Mint.com founder Aaron Patzer sold his company for $170 million, College Hunks Hauling Junk founders Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman faced off with investors on national TV, and Phreesia founders Chaim Indig and Evan Roberts raised close to $12 million in venture capital. How are some of our other previous honorees faring? We asked them to share the latest developments about themselves and their companies. Here's what they had to say.
