I came across an interview over on GigaOm with teen entrepreneur Daniel Brusilovsky. Seems Daniel is the 15 year old founder and CEO of TeensInTech, a social media site for, not surprisingly given the name, teenagers. He’s got Loic Le’Muer and Robert Scoble on his board, and has picked up a plum role as evangeliser for Qik.
Check out the video below, I came away thinking that Daniel is a nice guy, but I was also a little uncomfortable – I get a bit of a sense that Daniel is being manipulated rather than helped by his apparent mentors. He spoke all the right start-up words, but his patter seemed a little scripted to me.
I think the concept of a teen entrepreneur is great, but I wonder if Robert and Loic would be anywhere near him if he weren’t a teen? I can’t help but think that TeensInTech is a concept not unlike iYomu (Diversity coverage here) – which never would have got backing from anyone actually in the know about Web 2.0.
What do others think?
I work with Daniel, and also count him as a friend (even if he sometimes get mistaken for being my son). He’s a smart kid, and always considers my words carefully when I warn him about this or that person. In the end, Daniel – like all of us – has mistakes and triumphs in front of him. What form they take is a mystery for now. All I can say is, he’s a star of a friend and colleague.
Thanks Jackie – I’ll watch this space with interest!
High-level managers right up to board-level in companies all around the world typically get all sorts of management coaching/training to help them pitch/manage/present/whatever better. Some of this training gets pretty detailed and expensive, especilly for investor-relations work, and pitching for business for example (I know some of the people who train the CEOs, etc.).
Hey, even 25% of them could do as well as this guy (adjust for age/experience) then I think even if he has had quite a bit of coaching this young chap is doing damn well. Yes he stumbles a bit but whatever – he’s 15.
There wasn’t anything there that suggested any harmful manipulation or advantage-taking. Yes, there is something in it (cachet?) for LL’M and RS but they have reputation exposure there too …
@robin – I wasn’t criticising the fact that he’s been coached, more whether he’s a puppet or not – time will tell what happens with this one – watch and wait I guess ….
Hi all,
Robert Scoble and Loic Le Meur are not on my Board of Directors, but Board of Advisors. I have asked them to join because of their experience. Seeing that I am 15, I don’t know everything about the market, and I don’t have a lot of entrepreneurial experience. There are other Board members like Daniel Ha, Florian Serioussi, Cali Lewis, etc, and in the end, the final decision is always mine.
On that note, I am not a puppet, nor will I ever be a puppet.
Daniel Brusilovsky