“I didn’t have a business plan. I just had passion and an idea.”Maya Penn, 19
Founder and CEO, Maya’s IdeasAT THE AGE OF 8, when Maya Penn told her mom she wanted to build a sustainable fash-
ion collection, she got a response that would serve her well throughout her entrepre-
neurial journey: “Figure out how to do that and what you need to accomplish that goal.”
She used old clothing found in her home to create headbands and scarves, and at age
10, taught herself HTML and built a website to sell her goods. Today her Atlanta-based
fashion line, Maya’s Ideas, has 10 employees, and customers around the world. “That
first sale was so crazy to me, and still is,” Penn says. “It’s an honor when people like what
you create. It keeps me moving forward.”
Penn is now 19, and she has spent the past 11 years nurturing plenty of other passions.
She launched a nonprofit, Maya’s Ideas 4 the Planet, which distributes eco-friendly sanitary
products to women in developing countries. In 2016, she created an animated digital short
that was presented to Congress as part of an effort to get a national women’s history museum
built in Washington, D.C. (“They have museums for stamps but not women,” she says.) She
has since launched an animation studio, given three TED Talks, been celebrated by Oprah,
and is now working on a second book. Her first covered young entrepreneurship.
Penn’s businesses and speaking engagements have earned her a million dollars over the
years, and she has raised more than $500,000 from angel investors. And though all her proj-
ects are about creating change for others, she has learned that it’s good to put yourself first.
“I’m always pushing myself to do more, but that can take a lot out of you, especially
when you’re still trying to figure out who you are,” she says. “You have to find ways to
calm yourself. Take a walk. Read a book. Stay grounded. Taking care of yourself makes
you a better entrepreneur.”
“There’s no limit to what we can do.”Brandon
Martinez, 13,
andSebastian
Martinez, 11
Director of sales,
and CEO and head designer,
Are You Kidding Socks“WE ALWAYS have disagreements,” says
Sebastian Martinez, CEO of Are You Kid-
ding Socks, a Miami-based business he
founded with his older brother, Brandon.
“We argue about whether we should make
this sock or that sock. And the compromise
is: Make both socks!”
The company was born five years ago out of
Sebastian’s obsession with patterned socks. He
started designing his own and, with the help of
their mom, lined up a manufacturer. Brandon
stepped in as director of sales. “I just have a
thing for talking to people,” he says.
Despite their disagreements, their com-
plementary skill sets make them great busi-
ness partners. “We’re like a puzzle,” says
Brandon. They’ve built a company that’s
sold nearly $1 million worth of socks, moved
offices to accommodate growth, appeared
on Good Morning America, and introduced
Charity Socks, a collection that gives a por-
tion of sales back to charitable partners. But
they’ve learned tough lessons along the way.
“We trusted some charitable partners
who didn’t really do what they said they
would,” says Brandon. “So: contracts! That’s
what we learned. Always have contracts.”
Next up, they’re looking for retail partners
and exploring expansion. “We want to make
T-shirts, hats, shoes,” Brandon says. “Socks
and shoes are like peanut butter and jelly.
And if you don’t wear them, you’re weird.” PHOTOGRAPHCOURTESY^ OF^ MAYA’S^ IDEAS(PENN);^ PHOTOGRAPH^ BY^ RACHEL^ MARTINEZ^(MARTINEZES)34 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / September 2019