Meet 12 of the brightest young self-made pioneers of tomorrow

Technological advancements and the rise of the gig economy are just some of the global trends that are driving an increasing number of young people to start their own businesses.

In the United States, approximately half of gen Z wants to start their own venture, according to a recent survey by Morning Consult and Samsung Solve for Tomorrow. With this in mind, The CEO Magazine has compiled a list of some of the most notable entrepreneurs under the age of 30, who have made a significant impact on both society and their respective industries.

While they may lack the experience, networks and financial resources afforded to older generations, their technological prowess and infectious energy to bring about real change have won over investors and customers alike. With little to lose and much more to gain, these industry disrupters are prepared to weather the storms caused by administrative barriers, and the need to learn new skill sets and deal with the naysayers.

It’s one thing to spot a gap in the market, but quite another to take the necessary next steps toward entrepreneurial success, which is what every one of these entrepreneurs has done. Let their stories serve as a source of inspiration and a testimony to what’s possible when we stretch our minds and commit to making an impact.

Ricard Guillem

Company: Cafler
Country: Spain
Age: 18
Forbes Most Creative People in Business, 2022

While some 16-year-olds may be focused on getting their driver’s license, Guillem’s vision was slightly grander. After realizing that owning and caring for a vehicle requires time and effort, he created a platform that meets the various needs of vehicle users while broadening the customer base of service providers. He called this disruptive one-stop solution Cafler, which is set to expand internationally, fueled by almost US$10.8 million in funding.

Major clients, such as Renault, Tesla, Virtuo and Hertz, are benefiting from the services provided by Cafler. Despite his age, Guillem’s technological acumen and vision is the platform’s point of difference. Guillem says that data is the backbone of the platform and what is ultimately driving a great user experience.

Murvah Iqbal

Company: HIVED
Country: United Kingdom
Age: 27
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Europe, Technology category

When Murvah Iqbal and her business partner Mathias Krieger decided to elevate the parcel delivery industry, they were told, "Good luck." Galvanized by the industry’s lack of motivation to change and the sheer amount of pollution generated through the rise of ecommerce led the duo to take action. Their mission: to create the world’s first mass-market, zero-emissions delivery fleet. Central to delivering on this promise was rethinking how things could be done better and embedding technology into every process. From how employees are treated at work to the fleets they use, the ‘ecopreneurs’ have swapped a one-size-fits-all approach for intentionality across every facet of the business.

"Data and technology are a powerful combination because it allows us to improve what we’re doing on a daily basis," Iqbal revealed in an interview with Salesforce and Fortune magazine.

Headquartered in London, Iqbal and Krieger have raised more than US$2.4 million from investors since launching in 2020. Iqbal says that what has worked in favor of the business is the pressure for companies to reduce their carbon emissions, since this means a self-assessment of supply chains. She believes that as ecommerce continues to prevail, the business’ impact will only grow.

Philipp Bosshard

Company: YASAI
Country: Switzerland
Age: 29
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Europe, Social Impact category

YASAI, which translates to ‘vegetable’ in Japanese, brings together architects, designers, engineers and plant scientists who have turned to vertical farming as a solution to feeding future populations. It’s an efficient method for cultivating leafy greens and herbs that requires less space and precious natural resources – essentially growing more with less. Rather than using soil, the plants float in a liquid solution comprising water and nutrients and are placed on growing tables that are stacked up to 15 vertical levels high. With the addition of LED lighting and automation, the system allows for year-round growth to take place. Plus the entire operation is run on renewable energy and without chemical pesticides.

Since launching in 2019, the Swiss company has amassed an astounding US$9 million in funding, but finding a suitable location required the founding team to develop a success-oriented criteria. After some initial stumbling blocks, the team secured a lease for an industrial site located close to a railway station. Alongside expanding their edible portfolio, Bosshard and Co-Founders Mark Zahran and Stefano Augstburger are planning for larger locations.

Jake Karls

Company: Mid-Day Squares
Country: Canada
Age: 29
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, North America, Food & Drink category

Designed to satisfy those between-meal cravings, Mid-Day Squares pack a powerful punch with the goodness of maple syrup and pea protein. With around 50,000 bars being churned out every day, it’s no wonder that the company can boast an annual growth rate of 45 percent. At the heart of the business is a drive to show both the highs and lows of entrepreneurship via TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

Known as the ‘tripod’, the brains behind the Montreal-based enterprise are Jake Karls, his sister Lezlie Karls Saltarelli and brother-in-law Nick Saltarelli. Despite being told that the market was saturated, the trio decided the world needed their functional chocolate bars anyway. Within four months, they had taught themselves the business of ecommerce and had successfully launched the product from scratch. And the direct relationships that were built with customers enhanced the brand’s appeal among retailers.

Manyasiri ‘Pear’ Chotbunwong

Company: HER
Country: Thailand
Age: 18
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Asia, Social Impact category

It is widely believed that experience serves as life’s greatest teacher, and in Manyasiri ‘Pear’ Chotbunwong’s case it inspired her business’ purpose. Menstrual stigma has led countless women to feel alone and miss out on the educational opportunities that shape their futures. Diana Award recipient Chotbunwong learned firsthand how debilitating suffering from menstrual challenges can be. As a 15-year-old, she suffered from polycystic ovary syndrome. This experience led her to found HER (Health, Equity and Respect), which encourages other young women to speak openly about menstruation and break the period stigma once and for all.

A disrupter at heart, Chotbunwong drew on Thailand’s surplus of agricultural by-products to make reusable menstruation hygiene products that are available to women across five different countries. Her unique selling point is that these products are sewn by former female prisoners, who have experienced the weaponization of menstruation as a punishment. HER additionally offers workshops and public speeches on the topic of menstruation and reproductive health.

Alexander Lempka

Company: Connect Earth
Country: UK
Age: 26
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Europe, Social Impact category

Reducing carbon emissions takes more than setting ambitious targets; to make progress, you need to be able to measure your carbon footprint. London-based Connect Earth uses carbon tracking technology to enable financial institutions to measure and reduce the emissions of their customers. Having recently secured more than US$5.6 million in seed funding, the Co-Founders plan to dial up their presence in the United States and Europe. So far, their application programming interface (API) tracking tool has been successfully integrated into community banks, banking groups and fintechs. APIs can also be embedded in mobile apps to estimate carbon emissions for financial transactions to better help organizations meet their sustainability goals. According to Connect Earth, their mission is to "bridge the gap between intent, knowledge and action". The company is headed by Nicolas Carmont Zaragoza and Alexander Lempka, whose passion for combining fintech with sustainability has been channeled into this two-year-old venture.

Simran Kaur

Company: Girls That Invest
Country: New Zealand
Age: 26
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Asia, Media, Marketing & Advertising category

Investing is one of those topics that no matter how many books you've read or podcasts you've listened to, you still might not feel ready to take risks with your hard-earned money. When co-host of the podcast Girls That Invest and bestselling author Simran Kaur first became acquainted with the concept of investing, she was shocked to find that there was very little female representation within the world of investing. To bridge this gap, Kaur and her best friend Sonya Gupthan developed an online platform, Girls That Invest, which has expanded to include a 6-week investing masterclass.

"Two things can help make someone more financially literate: be mindful of what you consume and be mindful of what you tell yourself. Your financial literacy isn't something you're born with, it's a muscle, and it can grow over time," Kaur shared in a Forbes interview last year.

Kaarel Kotkas

Company: Veriff
Country: Estonia
Age: 28
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Europe, Technology category

Kaarel Kotkas has not even reached the age of 30 and already he’s the founder of a unicorn valued at more than US$1.5 billion, which makes Veriff the ninth Estonian unicorn alongside the likes of Skype, Playtech, Wise and Bolt. With interactions in the virtual realm only increasing, it’s only natural for online businesses to be concerned about safety and transparency. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Veriff’s customer base has grown quite rapidly, which has led the company to focus on investing in marketing and sales teams, and expanding its workforce and products. This has been possible with the help of US$200 million in funding and AI automation.

"Organizations and consumers needed to verify identities online more than ever before in 2021 – from onboarding remote employees, to creating a safe space for gaming in the metaverse, and conducting business fully online – which makes the establishment of digital trust and transparency incredibly critical," Kotkas noted.

Nicholas Grundish

Company: EnergyX
Role: Vice President of Battery Technology
Country: United States
Age: 28
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, North America, Energy category

Being on the cutting edge of battery development can only come from being educated by the best of the best. As the final PhD student of John Goodenough – the co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery – Nicholas Grundish is in an excellent position to identify the challenges and opportunities in the battery space. In his role as the Vice President of Battery Technology at lithium supply-chain startup EnergyX, Grundish leads the technical and business development. As a leader in the transition to clean energy, EnergyX is meeting the growing demand for lithium with the most economical solutions.

Kaviya Cherian

Company: Green Heirloom
Country: India
Age: 28
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Asia, Retail & Ecommerce category

Often what makes a brand special is the thought and care that goes into its products, coupled with a respect for tradition. When Kaviya Cherian swapped her corporate role as an actuarial analyst at an insurance company in Mumbai to launch her eco-friendly cookware business in 2020, it was to share her passion for gastronomy and give recognition to India’s talented artisans. Ranging from cast iron and terracotta to stone and copper, her cookware has been tweaked to suit a modern kitchen while keeping local traditions alive. Cherian found that traditional cookware was mainly used in Ayurvedic hospitals and temples, however she sought to create lighter and more user-friendly products that could be used on a daily basis in any kitchen, thus making these quality pieces more accessible and useful in a contemporary context. This is remarkable, given that she did not have a background in product design.

"I saw a difference in how my grandma was cooking her food and how we were cooking. My grandma has one or two pans which are made of bronze and cast iron, but she has been using them for the last 50 years. The more you use them, the better they become," Cherian noted in a brand explainer video.

Gráinne Mullins

Company: Grá Chocolates
Country: Ireland
Age: 29
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Europe, Art & Culture category

An appreciation for good food seems to run in the blood of Gráinne Mullins. The self-taught pastry chef from Galway spent years perfecting her craft by learning from leading chefs in Ireland and France. Since founding Grá Chocolates in her native hometown of Kilchreest in 2020, Mullins has gone on to win several awards in addition to being named 2019 Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year. Handcrafted in small batches using only the finest ingredients – Valrhona Chocolate, Casa Luker cocoa butter and Irish dairy produce – Grá Chocolates are a treat for the eye as much as the taste buds, with their indulgent fillings and luxurious appearance. True to her roots, Mullins has ensured that her artisan creations are imbued with Irish flavors and ingredients that change in accordance with the seasons. A magnet for exclusive brands like Brown Thomas, it’s easy to see why Grá Chocolates had a revenue of US$1 million in 2022.

Molly Rogers and Emma Clegg

Company: JAM the label
Country: Australia
Age: 28, 29
Forbes 30 Under 30, 2023, Asia, Social Impact category

Deep knowledge and experience is often what’s needed to truly empathize with and understand a group of people. A desire to see young people with disabilities able to express themselves is what inspired occupational therapists Emma Clegg and Molly Rogers to create an inclusive fashion label.

Mainstream fashion is clear about who its audience is, and the Founders wanted to cater to those whom fashion has perennially excluded. With vibrant designs that include all the right features for maximum comfort and accessibility, JAM is a global online store for people with physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities developed by Disability Support Workers and Occupational Therapists.