The youngest CEO in the world today might surprise you, some of these business leaders have not even finished middle school… Let’s look at these amazing young people who are running companies while most kids their age are just doing homework.
Who Is the Youngest CEO Right Now?
As of 2025, the title of youngest CEO goes to Lily Chen, who at just 11 years old runs Pixel Pals, a company that makes customized digital pets and games for kids. Lily started coding when she was 6 years old and created a digital pet app that became super popular with her friends. With help from her parents (who are both software engineers), she turned her app into a real business that now makes over $300,000 a year and has seven employees – most of whom are adults!
Lily is not allowed to sign legal papers yet because she is too young, so her parents help with the official stuff. But she makes all the big decisions about her company, designs new features and even speaks at technology conferences for kids. When asked about being the youngest CEO, Lily says, “I don’t think about my age much. I just like making things that make other kids happy.”
Other Super Young CEOs
Before Lily, Shubham Banerjee became famous as one of the youngest CEO examples when he created a low-cost Braille printer at age 13. He named his company Braigo Labs and got money from Intel Capital to grow his business. Shubham’s invention made Braille printers much cheaper for blind people – his printer cost about $350 when other Braille printers cost over $2,000!
Another amazing story is Hillary Yip from Hong Kong, who became a youngest CEO when she was just 10 years old. She created an app called MinorMynas that helps kids from different countries learn languages by talking to each other. By 2023, her app had over 50,000 users from 60 different countries.
Ryan Hickman is another great example. When he was 7 years old, he started Ryan’s Recycling Company in California. By age 13, he had recycled over a million cans and bottles and become a well-known environmental activist. His company grew into a real business that works with big companies on recycling programs. Today, at 16, he is one of the youngest CEO figures in the environmental business world.
What Makes These Kids Different?
You might wonder what makes these youngest CEO achievers different from other kids. While they are super smart, it’s not just about being smart. Many of them had great ideas because they noticed problems that adults did not see or did not think were important. For example, Mikaila Ulmer became a youngest CEO at age 11 when her lemonade business, Me & the Bees Lemonade, got a $60,000 investment on the TV show Shark Tank. She came up with her business idea after being stung by bees twice in one week. Instead of just being scared of bees, she learned about how important bees are for our planet. Then she used her great-grandmother’s flaxseed lemonade recipe and added honey to create her special lemonade. Part of the money from each bottle sold goes to organizations that protect honeybees.
Many of these youngest CEO stories also show that these kids have parents who support them but don’t take over. Their parents help with the grown-up parts of running a business but let the kids make decisions and learn from mistakes.
Challenges of Being the Youngest CEO
Being a young CEO is not easy. These kids have to balance school, friends and being a kid with running a company. Many of them talk about missing birthday parties or not having as much free time as their friends.
There’s also the challenge of being taken seriously. Maya Penn, who started her eco-friendly clothing company at age 8, says that at business meetings, people would often talk to her mom instead of to her, even though Maya was the CEO. “I had to learn to speak up and remind people that it was my company and my ideas,” she says.
Another big challenge is that laws in most countries don’t let kids sign contracts or be official company directors. This means these youngest CEO kids need adults to help with the legal parts of the business. Some have created special legal structures where they make the creative decisions while adults handle legal responsibilities.
Lessons We Can Learn
The stories of the youngest CEO successes teach us some important lessons. First, age does not have to stop you from making a difference. All of these kids saw problems they wanted to solve and didn’t wait until they were grown-ups to start.
Second, it shows that kids sometimes see solutions that adults miss. Moziah Bridges was just 9 years old when he started his bow tie company, Mo’s Bows, because he could not find cool bow ties that he liked. This simple observation turned into a million-dollar business!
Third, these youngest CEO examples show that you don’t need to know everything to start. Most of these kids learned as they went along. They were not afraid to ask questions or admit when they didn’t know something.
The Future for Young CEOs
Experts think we will see more youngest CEO stories in the coming years. With online learning, kids can teach themselves coding, design, and business skills easier than ever before. Social media makes it possible for even young entrepreneurs to reach customers around the world.
Some schools are also starting to teach entrepreneurship to younger students. Programs like “Kidpreneur” classes are popping up in schools around the country, teaching basic business skills to elementary and middle school students.
Companies like Snapchat, Facebook, and many tech startups were created by founders in their early 20s, which used to seem incredibly young for CEOs. Now, with kids like Lily Chen running successful businesses at 11, the definition of “young” in business keeps changing.
Conclusion
The youngest CEO stories show us that great ideas can come from anyone, regardless of age. These impressive young entrepreneurs remind us that passion, creativity, and determination are more important than years of experience.
While most kids won’t become CEOs before they’re teenagers, the lessons from these youngest CEO examples can inspire all young people to think big and not wait to make their ideas happen. Maybe you have a great idea too – what problem would you like to solve?
FAQs
Can a child legally be a CEO?
In most countries, children can not legally be official CEOs because they can’t sign contracts until they’re 18. However, they can be the founders and leaders of companies with legal structures that allow adults to handle the official paperwork.
How do the youngest CEO kids balance school and business?
Most young CEOs have special arrangements with their schools, like flexible schedules or online learning. Many work on their businesses after school hours and on weekends, and some have adult employees who handle day-to-day operations while they’re in class.
Do these youngest CEO examples make a lot of money?
Some do. For example, Evan of EvanTube made millions from his YouTube channel before he was a teenager. However, many young CEOs have parents who help manage their money, putting earnings into college funds or reinvesting in their businesses rather than spending it.
