Forged Pokemon cards, a Massage Monopoly, and a Fraudulent Bracelet Enterprise
An anthology of my questionable childhood journey into the world of entrepreneurship
The Wolf of Van Avery Prep
I remember the night distinctly. It was my birthday dinner and I gave my grandpa a big hug and kiss. But before he even got “Happy Birthday” out of his mouth, he began interrogating me about my current entrepreneurial ventures at school. If I had nothing to report, he was visibly disappointed. I felt a constant pressure to innovate, to think of a new scheme, and more than anything, to make money. Don’t get me wrong, my grandfather was not encouraging financial gain at the expense of morals, but he never explicitly said otherwise. So, when “grandpa time” was dominated by “Trump: The Board Game” & “Cashflow”, my sources of inspiration could certainly be called questionable.
But like any other kid, I attended an elementary school (called Van Avery Prep), I hated reading time, and I lived for freeze tag. It was a good day when mom packed cookies and a bad day when she packed apples and carrots. More than anything though, I remember my time being filled with eager attempts in the art of money-making. Wait, was that not a normal part of one’s primary school experience?
It started with “Alex’s Massage Company” (a lack of marketing creativity apparent) where I provided massages to my peers, at a charge, of course. The price was three “blue tickets”. At the end of every week, these tickets could be used to purchase a select group of items from a toy box. Being a big fan of toys, I soon developed my massage company into an organization with over five employees, earning strong ticket profit margins and developing a monopoly over the “burgeoning massage sector” for the 2nd grade class. Unbeknownst to me, the teachers felt like I was turning our classroom in a playground for capitalism and I was shut down.
Then came my next classroom venture: printing out Pokemon cards off my mom’s computer and selling them like legitimate Pokemon cards. I had no costs to front (my parents had no clue I was using the house printer as the foundation for my fraudulent venture) and I was turning quite the profit. Yet, like the massage company, I was quickly shut down.
Finally, the peak of my immoral business development came with the creation of a “non-profit” bracelet making company that had all proceeds going to help fund the local public library. As I’m sure you guessed, there was no donation made in my name.
‘Machiavellian Me’ Takes a Back Seat
While that part of my life served as the impetus for my interest in entrepreneurship, I recognize it’s deeply flawed nature. As I got older, I realized some of the ethical challenges of what I was doing. I realized that “means to an end” might not be a good life motto to have. Furthermore, things like popularity began to matter more than impressing my grandfather with profit margins. So, for a few years, my entrepreneurial spirit diminished.
The Comeback
By the time I was half way through high school, my interest in entrepreneurship saw a revival, and one that included a moral compass. I became passionate about using my love for entrepreneurship to do some good in the world. I started a nonprofit called Travel4Change which sought to assist students in funding international and educational travel experiences that focused on community service and impact. (More on this in a later article) While it ended up failing, it served as a springboard for future ventures and my academic career.
Jump ahead a few years, and I am attending Emory University where I am studying social entrepreneurship and global development. I have translated my drive for creation and solution development into an exciting avenue for social impact and change.
So while I may have had a morally questionable start to my career in entrepreneurship, I would not have the same zeal and passion for socially driven entrepreneurship if I didn’t have that background. I had the chance to see and experience the dangers of unconscientious business development that seeks a profit and nothing else, albeit in a comically childish setting. But while my actions are easy to brush off as childhood naivety, real stories of fraud and bad business are all too common. It is my hope that I can be a part of a changing narrative of business practices, in which entrepreneurship is defined by creativity, social initiative, and most importantly, some much needed empathy.
