Transcription
Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am, how old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> I think 18 or 19.
>> What line of business are you in?
>> The safety industry. I unfortunately had a friend who had her drinks spiked. And few weeks later, I thought of the idea when I was sleeping of a scrunchie that doubles as a drink cover. We went on Shark Tank. We worked with Lorie Grineer and Julia Michaels.
>> How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> 17.
>> What have you learned so far gaining all that money so young?
>> Don't spend it.
>> How many followers do you have, for example? How much have you grown so far since you first started?
>> I'm like 1.7 million now on TikTok, which is crazy.
How old were you when you became a millionaire?
22.
>> I think goal setting is really important. When I was young, I was like, I want to be Forbes 30 under 30. So, like I photoshopped my face on a Forbes magazine cover. And then I got it right. And then I was like, okay, the next next goal is I want to sell a company.
>> If there's a woman out there right now who is sitting on a business idea, she's too afraid to start, what would you tell her?
You know that saying, everything is bigger in Texas. And you know what's also going faster here, too? The amount of young women who are becoming self-made millionaires. That's why I'm here in Austin, one of the fastest growing cities in America, to find out who they are. From teenage founders to viral creators to women in their 20s building milliondoll brands, I'm here to ask them one simple question. How old were they when they became millionaires?
Excuse me. How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> I'm working on it.
>> I can't tell that secret. Unfortunately,
>> I'd love to know. Yeah, I would love to know. You have 60 seconds.
>> Not good today. Maybe next time.
Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am, how old were you? Excuse me, ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am. How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> Oh, I'm not a millionaire. I wish I was.
>> No worries. Have a nice day. We need to find some young millionaires right now. As you guys can tell, they're kind of blending in right now, but we're going to go find them. Just watch.
Who am I here with today?
>> Evangelina Petraus.
>> How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> 17.
>> What line of business are you in?
So, I started first as a social media creator and then I launched a jewelry brand in 2021 about a year after creating videos and my community turned into customers.
>> A lot of creators end up monetizing themselves and starting businesses. Why did you choose jewelry?
>> One of my first viral videos was actually my jewelry collection video that I posted on YouTube. So, not only did I have a passion for it from a very early age, but I saw that my audience also resonated with that and showed the same love and interest for it. So, when I was deciding what brand I wanted to launch, I knew that the right category would be jewelry.
What have you learned so far gaining all that money so young?
>> Don't spend it. Invest back into your business. There's a lot that you learn, you know, through the process. There's a lot of trial and error. Not everything is going to go the way that you plan. So, it's just important to keep pushing. Wake up every day motivated, work, and set your goals. Strive to succeed them. And it's okay if it doesn't happen in the timing that you want. Just trust the process.
>> So, a lot of creators tend to monetize themselves and start the business, but a lot of them don't are not becoming millionaires because of it. So, what did you do differently in order to be so successful?
I have a show don't tell approach with my content where I'm not speaking or trying to oversell a product. Instead, I'm always wearing jewelry. As you can see, I'm wearing tons of it. And within my content, you're naturally seeing how I stack pieces, how I mix my metals, how I style my pieces, and I incorporate, you know, an initial ring or a necklace to have a personal element within my stack. And that I think will make a viewer realize how they can also incorporate it into their everyday life instead of trying to push it or oversell something because that doesn't always work.
>> How old are you now?
>> 22. So you've been in the game for quite a while. So that means that you have a lot of marketing strategies that you've tried and learned, failed and then learned and then succeeded. What is working for you right now in marketing?
>> The same things. Show don't tell. Let the video speak for itself. You don't have to have a pitch or a certain, you know, hook that's always trying to captivate or turn and translate a view into a sale. Instead, let it flow organically and your viewers will really see what it is that they like about that video, what it is they like about your style. And if they convert, then great.
What type of marketing are you doing to scale your business?
>> So, we've never done paid ads in the 5 years or coming up on 5 years of my brand, but we do a lot of gifting. We love to give to creators, you know, other friends, other brands for room drops, for brand trips and stuff of that nature. I love to have my brand and my designs worn by other people, but no, never in a paid way.
>> What is the biggest tip you can give to someone right now who is starting their own business and they're struggling right now to work organic reach right now and not paid ads?
>> Build community. Community is everything. I think at the end of the day, followers are just a number. But if they're actually people that ride for you, that want to support you, find you as to be an inspiration, whether that be for your fashion, for your routines, for your style, they will become part of your customer base. So, it's all about having that community first and really engaging and interacting with them in many ways. Respond to their comments, understand what they want to see more of, and just overall engage with them daily.
>> You were 16 at the time. That means you were still technically with your mother and your father. I would love to know what have they taught you so far about being a woman in business in general in a successful business because they had to be by your side the whole entire time.
>> Yeah, they're the biggest supporters. They've taught me a lot, but one of the most important things I would say is that there's no such thing as failing. I would say it's all a learning process. Nobody has the secret sauce to knowing what it takes to run a business. So, you really just have to go through the steps and go and be in the environment to know what you like, what you don't like, what's working, what's not working. There's no like right or wrong way to go about it. Mistakes are all just learning experiences and you nobody would be where they are without them. And my slogan that I always say is don't wait for the perfect timing. Just perfect it as you go. There's no such thing as perfect timing.
>> So you think with the right parenting skills, you're at where you're at today because of your parents and how they pushed you to be successful. So you really kind of give it all to them, right?
>> Yes. In the sense of like they've always been supportive of me, weren't pushing me to go to college or do things that were more stereotypical at a 16, 17year-old's time of my life. So definitely I give them a lot of credit for the support that they showed me. But as far as me being as motivated as I was to put the work in and put the effort into building my brand, posting every day, that really was me at my core. Me wanting to do that, me wanting to stay, you know, motivated, grow an audience, grow a following, and just stay consistent with it. I don't think you can push that on anyone.
>> A lot of 16-year-olds are dealing with insecurities, mental barriers, mental health. How did you break through that to be so successful? Did you ever deal with that yourself?
>> I would say don't care what anyone thinks. I know it's so cliche and it's so much easier said than done, but nobody cares. Like you can walk into a room, nobody's looking at you. You are who you are at the end of the day and like whatever you are going to do during your time on earth is really up to you. Like don't worry about what other people are thinking of you, what they might be saying behind your back. They're behind you for a reason. Like you just have to put yourself first always. As selfish as it sounds, you are your biggest motivator. And you have to wake up and look at yourself in the mirror and be like, I can do it. That's it.
If there's a little girl right now who's sitting on a business idea and maybe she's like, "I'm too young. I'm not ready yet." That's a big thing for women, what would you tell them?
>> You'll never be ready. It's just you have to go for it. And again, as cliche as it sounds, you just have to start. There's so many missed opportunities for people out there where they always just wait for the perfect timing. Imagine if we all just were to start on the business venture that we're we've been sitting on and dreaming about and how much potential is out there for everyone. So, look at me as someone who's done it and what anybody can be capable of doing because if I can do it, so can you.
>> That was amazing. Thank you so much. It was so nice meeting you. Did you guys hear that? She was 16 years old when she made her first million. And what's so fascinating about her story is that she gives it all to her parents because they let her freely try and fail and become successful. Parents, take notes. Your daughter can be the next millionaire in your family. Let's go find more.
Who am I here with today?
>> Guys, I'm Kennedy Urick. I'm a Tik Tok creator. I'm an internet personality.
How many followers do you have, for example? How much have you grown so far since you first started?
>> I'm like 1.7 million now on Tik Tok, which is crazy. Probably like under half a million on Instagram. It's been a crazy ride over like the last 5 years.
>> How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> 22.
>> So, what have you learned so far about growing your content? Do you think it's all luck or do you think it's more of a strategy for you?
>> I definitely think both. When I started, I'm not going to lie, I always have to say it was kind of luck. I started at the time on Tik Tok when a lot of people were just still using it as a dancing app when people thought it was too cringe to post. And now we're kind of in the day and age where like everyone posts, your friends post, but when I started, everyone was like, "You're posting on TikTok? That's embarrassing." But thank god I did. It's a lot harder now than it was 5 years ago.
>> How are you able to monetize yourself to become a millionaire?
>> To be honest with you, I think it's all about making yourself marketable. I think having followers is great, having engagement is great, but that doesn't always equate to being a marketable person and being able to actually monetize off of it. So, I think that's what's super important if you're creating content to make sure you're marketable, right? because your audience is very important. You know, being a woman, having a pretty much allwoman audience is so important to me and it's something that has benefited me so much. It's a little bit harder if you're a girl with mostly a straight male following cuz you can't really get those brand deals. A lot of the money is in skincare, in makeup, stuff like that. The beauty industry is huge and if your audience, you know, is all straight men, they're maybe not investing in that as much as women are. I think things like that are super important. Getting to know your audience and
>> community building, right?
>> Community building. Absolutely. Getting on your phone, talking to the camera. I think a lot of people miss out on that. Something that a lot of people are scared to do. They'd rather just post day in the lives, do voiceovers. But talking to your audience and speaking to your camera is something that is huge for me. And I know a lot of the time when I work with brands, that's one of the main reasons why they work with me is because I talk to the camera.
Do you think everyone can truly be a viral creator monetizing themselves?
>> I think so. I think as long as it's authentic to the people that are posting, I think sometimes people try to emulate too much of what they see online and we're like, "Well, I have to do X, Y, and Z because they're doing that and it's working for them." That's not the case. If you're not someone who can sit down and talk to the camera and you're not capable of that, I don't think you should create those types of videos, right? You got to do what speaks to you, what's easy, what comes naturally. And yeah, I think that's really important.
>> So, everyone wants to be a creator, especially in 2026. You grew so fast and so quickly. So, what advice would you give them?
>> It's okay to be cringe, to be honest with you. Like, I think now looking back, are there some things that I'm like, "Wow, I wish I really didn't post that." But it's easy to say now that I've made the career off of it to be like, "Oh god, I wish I didn't have to go through those couple bumps in the road." But to be honest with you, I would be nothing without the millions of cringey videos that I posted and still post today.
Let's talk about being cringey and fearful. Do you think that's like a big mental barrier that a lot of women are facing right now getting into content creation?
>> For sure. I think we're very aware of what goes on online now, how people treat influencers, the fact that the DMs and the comments can get kind of crazy. The Reddits, people get very terrified of that and are like, "Well, I don't want to do that." Like, that makes my anxiety spike. I would do it a million times over again. I'd get the hate a million times over again if it meant like I ended up where I am today. I'd deal with the embarrassment of what I was doing a million times over.
>> How do you deal with hate?
>> Girl responded to it. No, I'm I'm I'm reeling it back in. And I don't do that as much these days to be honest with you. I think it's kind of a journey, right? At first when you like want to respond back, you want to get super defensive. And now it's kind of gotten to the point where you're like I've hit my I think my peak max out on the hate where you're like, "No, it's it's not that serious. It's never that serious. I still go out. People are very nice to me when I'm out." Like I think in your mind you think people have like pitchforks and daggers, but that's just not the reality of it.
What are you thinking about strategy-wise and pivoting to make yourself stay in the game longer
in the, you know, the grand scheme of everything. Not every brand is a fit for you. It's okay to say no to the money. It's okay. Maybe in a couple years it will be the right fit. But I think just like really knowing who you are, like that is going to be your greatest strength always in this industry is like knowing you, knowing what you identify with, knowing what you don't. Also, just like being able to pivot at all times. That's something that I think I'm kind of right now in this process of of like I don't want to be doing brand deals forever. Like I I love being a creator, but I I'm like, okay, what's next? Maybe getting into more traditional media, starting a brand, stuff like that's always on the top of my mind.
What's the most amount of money you've made in a single year?
Probably like 1.7 million. Where is that all coming from? Is that just completely brand partnerships? Like where are you getting all of this? Cuz I feel like a lot of people are so curious how creators are making so much money online.
>> 95% of all of my money I think is made from my brand deals. Kind of scary to think about. You know, at any given moment that could all go away, but so far it's been amazing.
>> Are you investing your money currently?
>> My brother does all of my financial stuff. At the end of the day, I know it's a good thing because god forbid in this industry anything were to happen, I would hopefully be safe.
>> Yeah, it's definitely a fast-paced industry. You just always have to constantly be pivoting at all times. So you think financial literacy is super important for creators, right?
>> Oh my god, absolutely. If there's one piece of advice you want to give to the younger generation of women, what would it be?
>> Once you I feel like are so independent, especially financially, your life just opens up. And especially like the treatment that you accept from others is the biggest thing that I would say that like because I make my own money, nobody can tell me anything. Sometimes it gets a little bit like toxic independence I would say, but it's changed the trajectory of my life, especially when it comes to dating and friendships. And what else do you need? Hard work. Consistency. I definitely think that consistency is super important. And I do think the algorithm favors people that can be consistent on the apps. Am I the best at that? Absolutely not. I will say like when I first started posting, I was posting probably like a lot of times a day for the most part. But I would also like get on these posting highs that now it's a little bit harder for me to get in that mindset, get in that energy. And now I kind of just do it whenever I'm feeling it. Once you build a great enough platform, your audience comes back for more no matter what. You don't have to be stressing yourself out constantly overposting.
>> Thank you so much. It was so nice meeting you,
>> y'all. We just met Ken Urick, one of the biggest Tik Tockers in 2026. And you know what she had to say about making her first million? She was just being herself and she makes it through brand partnerships only. That is something to be inspired by. Let's go find our next young millionaire.
Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am, question for you. Hi.
>> How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> 26 years old.
>> 26. That's amazing. What line of business are you in?
>> I build apps for influencers and my company is called Ivy.
>> So tell me about that. How did you get into that?
So, I lived in LA for years. I saw a lot of my influencer friends were monetizing through like merch companies or makeup lines. Yeah. I think the easiest way to make money in the background is through technology. So, I built and sold my last consumer tech company and then recently founded this.
>> Wow, that's amazing. How many businesses do you own?
>> Four or five right now. To be fair though, there are different like joint ventures with these content creators. My whole idea is if you have tens of millions of followers and we convert a fraction of that, let's say you have 10 million followers and I convert 2% of your following to download an app that costs $9.99 per month. It's going to make more than $20 million by end of year one. So, the economics are kind of fun.
>> And how many followers should they even have to be able to monetize themselves?
>> I've met fitness influencers who have, you know, 200,000 followers and they're making millions of dollars a year in revenue. I've met creators who have like millions of followers and they're making like tens of thousands a year. So, I think the main idea is it's less so about how many followers you have. It's more so how you engage those followers. So niching down is really important and then yeah creating a really strong community. I think like especially amidst AI product is super commoditized. It's never been easier to build a thing. So your wedge is community. The stronger your community is the better you're going to do in a post AAI world.
>> And how can someone go about building a really strong community that will go funnel all the way into an app.
>> Being authentic, creating as many channels like in touch points. One of the underutilized ways to reach people is like having a close friend story where you're like posting with like your evangelists or maybe your broadcast channels. just staying like as engaged as possible across platforms. Show up on like Tik Tok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat. I think my my point of view is especially since the world is changing a lot with AI is to decide what sort of creator you want to be and then just like really commit to building a community. I've been building companies since I was like 10 years old. So this is we're just getting started.
Girl,
>> you you're born and raised into this, which is fantastic. I have to know that. What is your biggest accomplishment?
>> Goal setting is really important. When I was young, I was like, I want to be Forbes under 30. So like I photoshopped my face on a Forbes magazine cover and then I got it right and then I was like okay the next next goal is I want to sell a company. So I founded this company called Bits. We scaled it up over a couple of years and then it was acquired. The next goal is really with this creator venture. I want to hit at least like 10 million users across these app portfolio projects that we're doing in the next 6 to 12 months. So that's my next goal.
>> That's actually insane. You are awesome and you're so you're so young and you have so much knowledge. If there's a woman out there right now who is sitting on a business idea she's too afraid to start, what would you tell her?
>> DM me. My name is Alex Pacenti. I love to give back and help young female founders. So, any way that I can be of service to you all, I will be.
>> Thank you so much for taking the time out for me. It's so nice to meet you. Did you guys hear that? She made her first million through fintech. And now what she's doing, she exited and now she's helping creators monetize themselves through making apps for them. How insane is that? She is on her way to becoming a serial entrepreneur and she's just in her late 20s. That is something to look up to. Let's go find another millionaire.
>> Excuse me, ma'am. Ma'am, question for you. How old were you when you became a millionaire?
>> 18 or 19.
>> What line of business are you in?
>> The safety industry.
>> I need to know your story behind that.
>> I unfortunately had a friend who had her drinks spiked and few weeks later I thought of the idea when I was sleeping of a scrunchie that doubles as a drink cover. And when I woke up, I just made it out of my mom's stockings and a scrunchie for my room.
>> It's an amazing invention. So, how did you go from literally just having the scrunch to your room all the way to a million dollar business?
>> A lot of steps along the way. When you have a vision and a mission, you do everything that you can to make it happen. And today, we've sold over a million unit.
>> Did anyone ever tell you no?
>> Oh my god. So many people told me no. So many people said, "Why are you starting a drink cover company? Why are you dropping out of school?" I mean everything I did literally people said no to pretty much most of the things that I did.
>> What was the biggest factor in you making this something that actually can exist and people want?
>> I think education. Telling people that they should protect themselves no matter who they are or what they're drinking and just letting people know that it's actually a big problem out there and that safety should be normalized. It should be accessible.
>> What's the best piece of advice you've been given by your mentor?
Just watching her move throughout her decisions has been really cool. And she's just always herself and never pretending to be anyone else. And I think I can take a lot from that. I think that any female entrepreneur should just stay in touch with their intuition. You're around female entrepreneurs all the time. What is the biggest issue they see with female entrepreneurs starting their business?
>> Female entrepreneurs struggle with a lack of self-confidence. I wish that every female entrepreneur knew that like if I could do it, they could do it, too. Imposter syndrome is a huge problem. And I think that if we realize that all of us deal with it, then we can move through it easier.
>> So, you've dealt with imposter syndrome yourself. What did you tell yourself in order to break through from that?
>> Knowing that everyone goes through it, even the people you look up to have imposter syndrome. Understanding that something Emma says is you're no better than everyone else and nobody's better than you.
>> What's the most amount of money you've made in a single year?
>> $2.5 million.
>> You are a millionaire. That's amazing. Congratulations. I I'd love to know, did you bootstrap this or did you find investors for this?
So, we found investors. We went on Shark Tank. We worked with Lori Grineer and Julia Michaels, a singer and songwriter. So, those are our two iconic lady investors.
>> Okay. So, if there's a woman right now who's sitting on a business idea, she's too afraid to start it cuz maybe people are telling her this is not she's not they're not taking her seriously. What would you tell her?
>> I would tell her that if she envisions it for herself, that is her future self calling and she has that desire because that is meant for her.
>> If you can go back in time, what's one thing that you would change about building this business?
know where every dollar is going. Make sure those dollars are making you at least another dollar back.
>> Do you think women have to portray themselves in a certain way to gain those investors trusts?
>> I think just be confident and believe in your product and they'll see through it. When I got a deal with Lori on Shark Tank, I was 17 and I was very delusional, but I I knew that this product could save lives. And I think if you know and are confident in what you're building, they will see that.
>> You're passionate and you're driven. And I love that about you. You're so inspiring. Thank you so much. You're the best.
>> Thank you.
All right, guys. That's a wrap in Austin. And this one was insane. We just talked to some really young millionaires who are creating bands, going viral, and building real businesses. And the one thing we could take away from this is that you just need to start. Don't forget to like and subscribe because we have some crazy content coming up with some amazing women around the world. I will see you in the next.