6. The Alchemist
Anshul Samar, 14
Like Quizlet's Andrew Sutherland, Anshul Samar began his entrepreneurial career by seeking an alternative to soporific study techniques--in this case, mastering chemistry. So he created Elementeo, a card game based on chemical elements in which players battle to reduce their opponents' electrons (and ultimately their in-game IQ) to zero.
Anshul started his company with a US$500 grant from the California Association of the Gifted and is shooting for revenues of US$1 million by the end of this school year. As founder and CEO of Alchemist Empire, Anshul says he spends most of his time "designing, engineering, R&D, corresponding with designers and artists, giving pitches to people that are interested, marketing, testing, and doing a lot of brainstorming." That's in addition to chatting up venture capitalists and lawyers, giving talks to parents and teachers, doing presentations at conferences, talking to the media, and finishing his homework. Because, after all, he's only 14.
Last May, Anshul was the hit of TIEcon, an annual gathering of tech entrepreneurs, outshining such luminaries as Salesforce.com's Marc Benioff and eBay's former CEO, Meg Whitman.
"Living in Silicon Valley, I have seen all of these people starting their own businesses, showing the world their product, and being entrepreneurs," says Samar. "Since 4th grade, I've dreamed of being the CEO of my own business. And now, in 8th grade, I am finally one."
If Elementeo doesn't catch on, Anshul says, he's not worried. "If this business fails, I can still come home and have a nice dinner. I will still have my basketball hoop in my backyard and my skateboard in the garage."
7. The Chair Man
Sean Belnick, 20
At age 20, Sean is the oldest wunderkind in our group, but he takes a back seat to no one. And why should he? Six years ago, he started an online furniture business that grossed US$38 million in 2007.
At age 14, Sean Belnick was already making US$1000 a month selling Pokemon cards and other collectibles on eBay. He figured that the same model could work with almost anything. And with a stepfather who worked for a furniture maker, that market seemed like the most logical place to start. Investing US$600 in Web hosting and online advertising, he launched BizChair.com to sell office furniture direct to businesses. Now, six years later, Belnick occupies the number 2 spot on Inc. Magazine's list of America's "30 coolest young entrepreneurs," and his customer list includes Microsoft, Google, and the Pentagon.
Now at university studying business (naturally), Belnick leaves the day-to-day operations to his stepdad, Gary Glazer. After graduation, he plans to climb behind the CEO's desk once more. And when he does, he'll be sitting on more than just his laurels.
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Q&A: Gates' role as innovator, deal-maker, philanthropist 08 January, 2008 12:17:29
Microsoft co-founder says PC industry has had greatest impact in the past 30 yearsMicrosoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates has been giving keynote speeches at Las Vegas conventions, including the Consumer Electronics Show and the now-defunct Comdex, for decades. Before his last CES keynote speech as a full-time company employee, he talked with the IDG News Service about his legacy as an innovator, the background behind some of the deals announced at CES this week and directions for Microsoft. - +
P&L Management 101 04 February, 2008 13:09:05
Now that you find yourself in charge of a revenue line, it’s time to start thinking about how to manage your new businessCIOs often yearn for new worlds to conquer. For many, the first step on that journey is to earn the right to manage a P&L. In order to achieve that goal, executives listen to their external customers, engage with the business, focus on innovation and look for new revenue opportunities. These CIOs build new business models and sell them to their CEOs. In return, they receive the keys to P&L management - +
Six Reasons Not to Get an MBA 23 January, 2008 11:48:40
You don't need to earn an MBA to get the expertise you need. Real-world business experience is not only an education, it's a path to learning how to be a leader, James Clark arguesYou don't need to earn an MBA to get the expertise you need. Real-world business experience is not only an education, it's a path to learning how to be a leader, James Clark argues - +
23,000 Linux PCs forge education revolution in Philippines 29 January, 2008 10:53:27
Linux still cheaper than heavily-subsidized Microsoft productsProviding high school students with PCs is seen as a first step to preparing them for a technology-literate future, but in the Philippines many schools cannot afford to provide computing facilities so after a successful deployment of 13,000 Fedora Linux systems from a government grant, plans are underway to roll out another 10,000 based on Ubuntu. - +
The Digital Divide 04 February, 2008 13:15:03
It’s about time Australia had a PM with a little love in his heart for ITIn all the post mortems I have read about John Howard's downfall I've seen no mention of the part IT played. Yet I believe that it was the then federal government's ignorance of IT that was the first thing Kevin Rudd exploited to paint himself as a man of the future. His ambitious proposal to roll out a high-speed broadband service was really his first big policy announcement
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Presidential candidates stake out tech positions 05 February, 2008 07:13:30
Future of tech largely drowned out by the war in Iraq, the US economy and social issuesTechnology policy hasn't played a major role in this year's US presidential campaign, but the major candidates have staked out positions on issues such as net neutrality and skilled-worker visas. - +
Bill Gates: A New Approach to Capitalism in the 21st Century 28 January, 2008 07:12:19
Transcript of Gates speech, and a Q&A at World Economic Forum in Davos, SwitzerlandAs you all may know, in July I'll make a big career change. I'm not worried; I believe I'm still marketable. I'm a self-starter, I'm proficient in Microsoft Office. I guess that's it. Also I'm learning how to give money away. - +
Rock star coders 23 January, 2008 12:41:52
For rock star programmers, it's not only just about brains but how you use them and get along with others"You sound great singing in the shower, but there's a rock star inside you!" So read the first line of a job posting placed by Viget Labs in December, in its attempt to fill a junior-level position for a Ruby on Rails "would-be rock star programmer." - +
Hyperconnectivity here we come 21 January, 2008 07:32:11
All your gadgets want Internet access, but will carriers screw up the pricing?Apple CEO Steve Jobs told an interviewer at Macworld this week that Amazon.com's Kindle e-book reader will fail. His shocking reason?: "People don't read anymore." - +
Hollywood's 'Untraceable': Fact or fiction? 21 January, 2008 07:02:01
Former FBI Special Agent Ernest E.J. Hilbert II breaks down how the premise of "Untraceable" is not so far-fetched.Former FBI Special Agent Ernest E.J. Hilbert II learned a lot about cybercrime before signing on to be the director of security enforcement at MySpace.com and when asked to look over a Hollywood script about cybercrime, he took on the challenge. The ironic thing, he points out, is that the fiction portrayed in the film (opening Jan. 25) is not so different from the facts he encountered on the job. Hilbert recently talked with Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie about his past in law enforcement, his participation in "Untraceable" and why Americans need to become more aware of the dangers that lurk in cyberspace.
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Enterprise Planning
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- White PaperWhat you don’t know can destroy your business. It’s hard to imagine modern business without the internet but in the last few years it has become fraught with danger. Read on to discover how internet security can give your business a competitive advantage.
- White PaperYour organisation may well have devised and implemented an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) some time ago in order to guard against the risks of inappropriate use of computer systems by your workers, but are you confident that your AUP remains 'fit for purpose'? Read on to discover how you can enhance the effectiveness of your AUP.
- White PaperJoin industry expert Martin Tuip to discover best practice strategy for the archival and removal of .PST files using email archiving. Learn how to ensure long-term email records are there when needed, and reduce the risk to your business and clients.
Discover how SOA can create smarter outcomes for your business.
Attend and learn:
- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
- Where you should be applying SOA processes in your company
- The top SOA implementation mistakes to avoid
Click here for more information.
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #78: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires 28 September, 2007 17:34:25
For his new book, The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires, social researcher Brent D Taylor spent four years of intensive research investigating the psychological make-up and backgrounds of some of the world's richest men and women, including IT luminaries Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and Steve Jobs. Taylor discovered that, despite working in different industries and coming from different upbringings, they all have one thing in common -- they are all outsiders. - +
CIO Live Podcast #77: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part III 21 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part three in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
Part two in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance. - +
CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
Part one in our three-part special report from CIO's sister publication Network World in the US, as Paul Desmond reports from the Network World IT Roadmap Conference in Santa Clara, California. With development teams in the US and Japan, Panasonic needed a more efficient way to move very large files between the two locations. Iben Rodriguez, IT consultant for Panasonic Research and Development, explains how a storage-area network and virtual server technology helped speed up WAN performance.
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Chris Hoff on Virtualization and Cloud Computing 20 November, 2008 10:55:00
Chris Hoff, chief security architect for the systems and technology division at Unisys and an advisor on the Skybox Security customer advisory board, is one of the biggest critics of virtualization security out there. Not because it isn't important - but rather because it is vital and needs to mature rapidly. - +
Cybersecurity is focus of new start-up incubator 20 November, 2008 07:19:00
Texas uni announces the Institute for Cyber Security.The University of Texas at San Antonio Tuesday announced a technology incubator aimed at fostering IT security-based start-ups within the state. - +
Dilip Sarangan on Physical Security M&A 20 November, 2008 11:18:00
Dilip Sarangan tracks physical security companies for Frost & Sullivan. He expects the industry's "need to have" products to weather the economic storm well, with the big players (now including IBM and Cisco) looking for value-priced acquisitions. - +
International Challenges in PCI Security 20 November, 2008 09:15:00
In a country that's seen many regulatory compliance challenges this decade, the headaches of PCI security tend to be analyzed from a largely American perspective. - +
PCI council sharpens oversight of security auditors 19 November, 2008 10:53:00
Quality assurance plan targets security assessors and scanning vendorsThe PCI Security Standards Council Monday unveiled a plan to sharpen oversight of the hundreds of security-service providers now authorized to evaluate merchant networks under the organization's Payment Card Industry data standards.
Vignette Announces 2008 Excellence Awards 21 November, 2008 10:50:00
PGP and Ponemon Institute Unveil Inaugural Australian Data Breach Study 2008 20 November, 2008 17:34:00
Symantec Cloud Services Transform Data Centre Operations Through Proactive Management 20 November, 2008 12:06:00
Verizon Business Offers Tips to Building a Successful Unified Communications and Collaboration Plan 20 November, 2008 12:04:00
AARNet Brings 4K Digital Cinema to Australia: First 4K HD Video Signal delivered into Australia by AARNet 20 November, 2008 12:02:00
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Delivering the Power of Choice with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Join Ed Thompson, Research VP, featured analyst firm, Gartner, Inc., and Brad Wilson, General Manager CRM Microsoft Dynamics, for a new webcast, Delivering the Power of Choice with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, available now. Our panel will break down the best practices for getting the most out of CRM and you'll learn key recommendations you can implement in your organization. Additionally, you'll also hear Microsoft's vision for CRM.
Buying Guides
Buying Guides
