Three teen tech entrepreneurs in total control

By Matt Brady 

British teenagers are "out of control", screamed the Daily Mail this week.  Our young people, explained the think tank Institute for Public Policy Research, are more likely to binge-drink, start fights and take drugs than their European counterparts.

Calum Brannan, Adam Hildreth and Mike Welch, however, get their teenage kicks in a very different manner.  An article published in the FT two days ago, From a classroom to the boardroom, told how this tremendously talented trio founded successful internet companies before leaving school:

• Brannan was 15 when starting a social networking website for clubbers, PPLParty.com.  He spent just £200 on marketing and the site now numbers more than 332,000 members.
• Hildreth was even younger when he set up a chat website for teenagers, Dubit.  The 14 year old developed it properly two years later when leaving school (and became the youngest MD in the country).
• Welch, like Brannan, was 15 when embarking on his venture, Black Circles.  His business, a website selling tyres, now employs 22 people and turns over more than £10m a year.

Good job, lads!

If you're now thinking that you would like to emulate their achievements, we have two articles on Small Business Centre that you may find useful:   

• Don't just build a website... build one that works for you
• Ten online mistakes to avoid when setting up a website