14 and dealing with skin breakouts and girlfriends is one thing. Setting up a web design business and then ditching that to become a junior trader at 16 on the New York stock exchange, quite possible. Sure you say, if your names Sabirul Islam. Not so fast it could be you!
A risk taker, passionate about networking, an author and a public speaker, Sabirul in a relatively short space of time (ummmmm he’s currently 21!) is getting global kudos for the way in which he translates his knowledge and experience as a young entrepreneur and investor, to the teen market.
When interviewed recently by entrepreneurshipafrica.com he said, “When you are young you have nothing to lose. No responsibilities, no mortgages, no credit card bills and literally everything you do will always be a step forward rather than a step back.”
Sabirul’s most significant attribute, and a real leg up for so many budding entrepreneurs, is his desire to inspire young people by educating them about entrepreneurship and taking risks. Not only has he published three self-help books and is a motivational speaker he also launched a board game (and this in my opinion is key for getting the message out there on the African continent) called ‘Teen-Trepreneur’. It’s a simple way to teach youngsters about business and shifting ones perspective by keeping it real and practical.
Finding it was tough at his age to get financial backing for his books as well as to get people to hear what he had to say, he remedied the situation initially by forming a venture called ‘Teen-Publishers’ which gives them a platform to get their books published; as well as ‘Teen-Speakers’ that brings together some of the world’s youngest and hottest entrepreneurs onto a single speaking platform.
This guy is rock solid and continues to show how you can get things done no matter what age, race or culture you are. Right now, he is on a mission to inspire 1 million people to choose entrepreneurship as a career path (he’ll be in South Africa in July 2012). As well as dashing madly around the world he will be launching his own TV show (coming to SA soon) to encourage budding entrepreneurs to get started.
