Teen entrepreneurs harness AI to launch startups

A new wave of young tech founders is emerging, powered by AI and the ease of digital tools. One of the most notable examples is 15-year-old Nick Dobroshinsky from Sammamish, Washington, who created BeyondSPX, an AI-driven financial research platform.

While balancing high school, Dobroshinsky uses AI models like ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude to generate reports on small- and mid-cap companies. With over 50,000 monthly users, the platform remains free, though Dobroshinsky plans to monetise it in the future, The Wall Street Journal writes.

Dobroshinsky credits his parents for early support—his mother, a finance professional, helped with market research, while his father, an AI expert, offered technical advice. He’s also pioneered the use of Reddit bots to promote BeyondSPX.

“If someone asks for the best investing tools, then my bot will comment, ‘There’s a bunch of investing tools and BeyondSPX is one of them,’” he says.

The trend of young tech entrepreneurs is not new—icons like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg started their ventures as teenagers. However, AI is accelerating the process. Investors are now regularly receiving business pitches from teens.

"Building great software at scale is getting easier now," says venture capitalist Kulveer Taggar. "There’s definitely something about AI making it feel like you can just learn very quickly."

Teenage founders like 17-year-old Raghav Arora are also making waves. Arora’s first venture involved selling hard-to-find U.S. candy in Singapore, which evolved into his current AI-driven startup, GetASAP. The company forecasts inventory needs for grocers and has raised $3.4 million in funding.

"I was marking these different items up by like 50%," says Arora, reflecting on his early business days. He didn’t finish high school and now runs his company from Southern California.

Despite the enthusiasm for young entrepreneurs, some investors are cautious. Ali Partovi, founder of the venture firm Neo, says high school is a time for idea generation, but college is where future entrepreneurs build key networks.

"The only thing I’m focused on is: Is this person going to attract people smarter than them?" Partovi adds.

At the age of 14, Sydney-based Alby Churven was inspired by social media app-building teens. He’s since built a gamified education app, Finkle, but is now pivoting to create an AI tool that generates code for apps and websites.

“I want to capitalize on it,” Churven says of the AI boom.

AI is opening new doors for young founders, but the challenges of scaling and managing a startup at a young age remain. One Google Ventures partner recently met with a 17-year-old co-founder, stating, “We’d probably need to chat with his parents to see if he’s really emotionally prepared for the journey.” 

But the future looks bright for young innovators, with AI providing the tools they need to launch their ventures earlier than ever.

By Sabina Mammadli