17-year-old Korean CEO earning $ 1 million in sales

At just 17, Sukone Hong has realized his business dream by building not one, but two businesses.

The former, a South Korean fashion brand of which he is CEO, has earned more than $ 1 million in sales this year and has earned recognition from Harvard University. The second, a smart watch in braille for the visually impaired, has advanced in thousands of orders.

This is a way to get back to the bullies.

“It was hard for me to commit to school. I was intimidated. I had to find something that could change my life,” Hong told CNBC Make It.

Teen Hong began her entrepreneurial journey four years ago, when she was only eighth grade.

Struggling to fit in with his classmates at his Seoul school, he was eager to find a distraction and devoted himself to reselling branded clothing to the South Korean search engine Naver.

But with just $ 150 in his pocket, which quickly “flew,” he realized he had to change his tact.

Hong needed a single point of sale. So, with a $ 5,000 loan from her grandparents and the help of a printing business, she set to work creating her own clothing site that offers unisex casual clothing with simple, fun designs.

With this, Olaga Studios was born, Korean to “go up”.

“Nothing happened for a week,” Hong said. “Then, Monday morning, there were 15 orders. Fifty at lunch. Eighty in the evening. That week I sold 300 shirts.”

The three-year-old brand has become a regional hit, accumulating $ 1.2 million in annual sales in six Asian markets and ranking No. 1 in the Style Share t-shirt category.

This has allowed Hong to employ a team of 12 people to help manage the site. But he has also been allowed to pay his parents the tuition fees at the Seoul International American School where he moved.

And it was there that he was inspired by his latest adventure, which according to him is his true vocation.

“Before, I thought the business was just making a lot of money,” Hong said. “But after changing school I had a good education.”

“My teacher said my experience could be used to create a company to help others,” he added.

With Paradox Computers, the company behind its braille smartwatch, aims to do just that.

Braille smartwatches, which allow visually impaired people to receive real-time information such as text messages and phone messages, have been on the market for several years.

But the exorbitant cost of these products (typically more than $ 300) can make them inaccessible to many people with disabilities.

After working on a school project on disabilities, Hong realized the inequality and decided that there had to be another more affordable option.

“I found this to be so unfair,” he said. “And at the same time, it’s a good opportunity for business.”

Therefore, it was proposed to understand the market, talking to visually impaired people to know their needs and engineers to find solutions.

Then, with a contact book of his existing fashion business, Hong put together one to support his vision with a $ 300,000 investment for a 30% stake.

“My training as CEO helped me,” he said. “I learned that even though I have no technology experience, I could hire all these people.”

Six months later, Paradox Computers ’$ 80 smart braille watch has sold for hundreds, with a pre-order of 3,000 from China currently underway. But amidst his success, Hong said he remains committed to pursuing his studies.

“When the business was growing fast, I thought about quitting my studies. But I met a lot of CEOs and they all told me I should go to college,” he said.

And who knows, as a guest speaker and mentor at Harvard and Stanford, it may be worth the effort.

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