Business name: Cardnap
Age: 18
State: WA
Despite being just 18 years old, Lachy Groom has launched and sold three businesses. His fourth start-up, Cardnap, allows users to search for discounted gift cards and resell their own.
Groom also runs a consulting company called TheWP.Co, which uses WordPress to provide clients with a hands-on development process.
In addition, Groom has been handling all the PR, marketing and rebranding efforts of Dev Bootcamp, a nine-week apprenticeship program held in San Francisco.
Dev Bootcamp isn’t Groom’s only gig in the United States. He also works at Stripe, an online payments processor.
Earlier this year, Groom told StartupSmart Cardnap will not remain his main project, saying he’ll probably sell it off and turn his focus to “something in education or something else”.
It appears not only are barriers such as technology and start-up capital coming crashing down for young Australian entrepreneurs, but also attitudes. In compiling this year’s Future Makers – our annual selection of the most promising Aussie entrepreneurs aged under 25-years-old – one message came through time and again: Investors, business partners and customers just aren’t that bothered about age any more. Maybe it’s the ‘Facebook effect’ of continual publicity of the fresh faced billionaires in Silicon Valley. Or maybe we are just ditching unnecessary prejudices regarding age. Maybe both. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that it’s not startlingly unusual for someone to start a business while at university, gain a legion of customers via social media and raise seven-figure sums in investment before they are out of their teenage years. So which tyros are at the vanguard of Australia’s young entrepreneurs? We’ve picked out 10 start-ups we believe are destined for great things based on their innovation, passion and success to date. To meet the class of 2012, click on each of the profiles below:
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