Teenage dreams: The businesses set up and run by kids

“If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby’s famous words are still on the walls of the Old Trafford dressing rooms – a testament to the club’s approach to bringing young players into the first team.

But the message transcends just sport. Pre-teens and teenagers have developed successful careers in a number of fields, from acting to music and even business.

Multiple businesses have been started by kids who have proved that age ain’t nothing but a number.

BBC Bitesize takes a look at four successful businesses set up and run by children.

Towers Design

There’s pressure growing up and then there’s being called the smartest kid on the planet by a national newspaper.

But for Ben Towers, this description was the latest in a long line of praise for his incredible business acumen.

Ben’s tech journey began when he was just 11 years old. A family friend challenged him to set up a website, despite him having no experience in web development.

Self-taught using online video tutorials, Ben completed a site and was given £50 as a thank you. This sparked an interest in using these new-found skills to earn more money.

Ben balanced freelance web design work with his studies and realised that, effectively, by the age of 13 he was running a business. He launched Towers Design and soon began employing other freelancers to take on his growing client list.

While still at high school, the business continued to grow and transitioned into social media marketing – as well as attracting work from major, national brands. At 18, he completed a multi-million pound merger with another marketing agency, later leaving the business.

But Ben wasn’t done there. After working alongside the UK and New Zealand governments to consult on youth entrepreneurship and AI, he founded Happl – an AI-powered employee benefits platform used by companies around the world. He was awarded an MBE for services to the startup business community in the New Year Honours List for 2026.

Frobelles

So often, the best business ideas come from a gap in the market – a realisation that something doesn’t exist and the best way to solve that, is to create it yourself.

Alyssa Awuah was a keen gamer – but noticed that none of the characters in the games that she played had natural afro hair like her.

She asked her mum, Yvonne Ottley-Awuah, why that was – and Yvonne suggested they solve the problem by making their own game.

The pair created Frobelles – the UK’s first afro hair dress-up game. Frobelles features three girls created by Alyssa, Coco, Kelli, and Krista – and the game allows users to style their hair in a number of authentic ways.

Now in her teens, Alyssa became the youngest-ever recipient of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the age of 12 in 2024 at the Precious Awards – which celebrate the achievements of black women and women of colour in business and leadership across the UK.

Not Before Tea

It’s a common answer from parents when their child asks them for a snack – not before tea.

Henry Patterson heard that from his grandmother whenever he asked for sweets. So he decided to name a business after it.

Henry had the entrepreneurial spirit from a young age. Inspired by his mum’s stories of a dog-walking business at a young age, aged five he sold a neighbour’s horse manure to raise some extra pocket money.

When Henry turned 11, his mum set up a vintage sweet shop – designed to appeal to nostalgia hunting adults. Henry suggested a range for kids and designed a jar of sweets to look like mud and worms. It was a hit – and soon they launched the Not Before Tea brand.

Henry expanded on the offerings, writing a children’s storybook and creating lifestyle products based on the characters. Henry’s success led to an invite to appear on The One Show where he met Sir Richard Branson. The pair realised they had a similar outlook and kept in touch as Not Before Tea went from strength to strength.

Henry released another book at the age of 13 to inspire other children to start businesses and has toured the world giving inspirational speeches.

Pura Cosmetics

Turning £25 into a six-figure sum is the stuff of dreams for a business owner of any age – let alone a 15-year-old.

But that’s exactly what Rose Dyson did, while also juggling her GCSEs and A-levels.

The teenage entrepreneur created a range of natural, cruelty-free, vegan lip cosmetics as part of a business competition at high school.

She named the range Pura Cosmetics – and with savvy social media marketing and appearances at trade fairs, grew the brand significantly, to the point that it went far beyond a high school project.

Her talents were also recognised by other successful businesses winning investment and prizes to further boost the company.

Within six years, Pura Cosmetics was bringing in more than £100,000 in revenue. Not bad for a £25 starter fund.

This article was published in February 2026