16 Entrepreneurs Age 20 And Under Are Making Their Mark

The founders of the future are getting a major head start. Meet 16 entrepreneurs age 20 and under who are making their mark on today’s business world.

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“Being an entrepreneur means doing a little bit of everything.”

Caroline Bercaw, 17, and Isabel Bercaw, 18 Cofounders and co–chief creative officers, Da Bomb Bath

Caroline and Isabel Bercaw were once obsessed with bath bombs. This was back in their middle school days, when their peers were equally obsessed with the bombs—powdery, fist-size balls that, when dropped in a tub, release an eruption of fragrance and color and fizz. And because the Bercaw sisters were student athletes, they’d spend a lot of time soaking after practice to soothe their sore muscles. Which meant even more time with bath bombs.

And that led to a giant mess.

“A lot of times the bath bombs would stain our tub, or even our skin, which was kind of scary for us,” says Caroline, now 17. So she and her older sister started experimenting at home, creating their own bath bomb recipes and adding a surprise in the center, like a small toy or piece of jewelry. They took a batch to a local art fair in Minneapolis to see if people would buy them. “We were definitely aggressive salespeople for 11- and 12-yearolds,” says Isabel, now 18. “We sold out that first day and went home to make more until 1 a.m.”

The girls spent the next year perfecting their recipe. They returned to the annual art fair the following year, this time armed with twice as much product. They sold out again. When a local salon owner asked if they did wholesale, the sisters started to see their bath bombs as much more than a hobby. “We realized it could become a real business,” Isabel says.