The entrepreneurial journey is not a competition—but if it were, these young CEOs would be nailing it. When picturing a CEO, you may have the image of somebody with grey hair and a few wrinkles popping into your mind, however, this reality has been changing. In the past few years, there’s been a new wave of young entrepreneurs leading successful companies around the globe.

If you already follow our blog, you have probably read the story of Hillary Yip, one of the youngest CEOs in the world. At the age of 14, Hillary is the Founder and CEO of MinorMynas—a social and language-learning app that creates a safe place for children to learn languages and make friends around the globe. 

Hillary Yip is not alone in this journey; there are numerous inspiring stories of young entrepreneurs finding success at an extremely early age. Ready to find out who are the youngest CEOs out there? Check out this list!

1. Mikaila Ulmer

When Mikaila was four-years-old, she was stung by two bees in one week, an occurrence that actually turned what could have been a trauma into curiosity. The little girl started studying bees to understand their importance in the ecosystem and how pesticides are killing these insects. This is how she developed her great plan to use local honey to sweeten her grandmother’s lemonade recipe.

During summer, Mikaila would prepare the lemonade in her kitchen and sell it in the front yard.  At the age of 11, the young entrepreneur took the challenge to pitch her brand on Shark Tank and got an offer of $60,000 for 25% of Me & The Bees Lemonade.

Three years have passed since Shark Tank, and the numbers are impressive. Mikaila went from squeezing lemons in the kitchen to become one of the world’s youngest CEOs. Me & The Bees is now a national company selling more than one million bottles in big chains like Whole Foods and Macy’s.

2. Shubham Banerjee

In 2013, twelve-year-old Shubham Banerjee came across a fundraising flyer for the visually impaired, leading him to question how blind people read. This inquisitiveness revealed a whole new world for the young Shubham.

Shubham started researching braille and found out that a printer could cost up to $2,000 USD, so he decided to act.

The young entrepreneur started working on a low-cost braille printer project and used Legos and electrical wiring to create a prototype. After seven attempts, Shubham managed to print six dots of braille. With the help of his father, he perfected the design, shared it online in an open-source format, and launched the first product of Braigo Labs for less than $500 USD.

In November of 2014, Braigo Labs was funded by Intel, and Shubham became the youngest tech entrepreneur to ever receive funding from a venture capital firm. Five years later, Braigo Labs is continuing to develop new braille printers from its hub in Palo Alto, California. 

3. Isabella Dymalovski

For Isabella Dymalovski, a business idea can come up from the most unexpected situations. After getting home from a concert, Isabella wanted to use her mother’s products to clean her skin, but her mom said that they would be too harsh for her and recommended using baby products instead. 

Unhappy with the recommendation, Isabella started developing beauty products that were suitable for young girls. 

Youngest CEOs around the world: Learn mroe about Isabella from Luv Ur Skin Company
source: Herald Sun

In 2016, Isabella appeared on Shark Tank Australia with a line of products but didn’t get any investments. All of the sharks thought that she had a great idea but was too young to have her own business.

What was apparently a fail on the TV show didn’t stop the teenpreneur. In 2017, she launched Luv Ur Skin in the US, selling a wide range of products. Today, at the age of 16 and one of the youngest CEOs in the world, Isabella plans of expanding to Europe and Asia.

Are you ready to be the next youngest CEO of the world? Find out more about EIA’s entrepreneurship programs!