Livestream: Catch them young, watch them turn CEOs

Maya Penn is one of those kids who could send a bolt of inspiration surging through almost anyone she meets. Completely at ease dawning the hats of a designer, animator, activist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, the youngster’s Ted Talk session is a literal call to arms to wake up the dormant ‘doer’ inside you and unleash your full potential.

At the age of four, her dad showed her how to take apart a computer and put it back together again. That was the beginning of her love affair with technology. “I built my first website myself in HTML, and I’m learning JavaScript and Python. I’m also working on an animated series called The Pollinators,” she tells her audience at the talk.

She was all of eight years old when she decided to start her own business called Maya’s Ideas, and a non-profit, Maya’s Ideas for the Planet. So how did she go about setting a start-up? The entrepreneur who is now 19, says, “I make eco-friendly clothing and accessories. Although I started my business in 2008, my artistic journey started way before then. I was influenced by art, and I wanted to incorporate it in everything I did, even my business. I would find different fabrics around the house, and say, “This could be a scarf or a hat.”

Maya says she would sit and make little headbands out of ribbon and write down the names and the price of each item. She then started making more items like hats, scarves and bags. Soon, they began selling globally, and she had customers in Denmark, Italy, Australia. Of course, success came knocking in a big way as Maya tells the audience, “Soon, my business really started to take off. Then one day, Forbes magazine contacted me when I was 10 years old. (Laughter) They wanted to feature me and my company in their article.” Maya feels she’s part of a new wave of entrepreneurs that seeks a successful business and a sustainable future. Her goal is to meet the needs of customers without compromising the ability of future generations to live in a greener tomorrow.