YOUNG & TRENDY
15-Year-Old Jaylen Bledsoe Builds $3.5 Million Tech Startup By Hayat Mohamed
“I don’t see many eighth graders do the things that he does...”
Curtis Bledsoe, Jaylen’s father
14 SEPT/OCT 2013
ow many people can say they earned their first million before being old enough to drive? Jaylen Bledsoe, 15, of Gazelwood, Mo., is among the lucky few. The high school sophomore founded his own tech company, which specializes in web design and other IT services, Bledsoe Technologies, at the ripe age of 13 years old. In just over two years the tech titan managed to expand his small business — run by two people — into a global venture worth $3.5 million, employing 150 contracted workers. Bledsoe credits a web design class, offered as apart of his school’s gifted education program, as the foundation for his business idea. When he’s not busy running a global technology company, you can find Bledsoe partaking in more typical high school roles such as being president of the Student Council and the Parent Teacher Student Association. In the past, the young CEO has served as the chief technology officer of St. Louis Volunteen, a local program that focuses on promoting teen volunteerism, according to Patch. He was also responsible for bringing vegetarian options to his former middle school’s cafeteria. You know, typical teenage behavior. “I don’t see many eighth graders do the things that he does but it’s all his doing,” Curtis Bledsoe, Jaylen’s father, told Patch in 2012. “I’m very proud of him.” Bledsoe’s advice to young entrepreneurs such as himself is simple: take risks. “As a minor, there’s nothing you can do that will shoot you down for too long. You can always jump back up and keep going.” Bledsoe plans to attend Harvard University before going on to study copyright law. This child is nothing short of impressive. •
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