I Interviewed NYC's Youngest Entrepreneur

And he has already donated over $34,000 to charity...

Hey friends,

Last summer, I was taking a casual saunter near my apartment when I encountered the most impressive individual. His name is Julian — and although I did not know it at the time — he has been featured on People Magazine, ABC News, CBS, and Good Morning America. Julian is the founder and operator of J’s Lemonade Stand and J’s Hot Chocolate Stand, the businesses he has used to generate over $34,000 for charity. He is also ten years old.

Despite barely being double-digits, you’ll see that Julian naturally embodies many of the traits associated with successful entrepreneurs: a bias for action, high tolerance for risk-taking, keen sense of competition, unique creative compulsion, and a compelling gift of gab. I left my discussion with Julian surprised by many of his responses (his take on Tiktok, for instance, is very Prolix-esque) and I know you will find them equally inspiring. His spunk, generosity, and invitation to mobilize companies for the good of others is refreshing to say the least.

While I have slightly edited the below transcript for readability, feel free to listen to the unfiltered audio by clicking on the button below or going to the Prolix Podcast channel.

Lastly — if you or anyone you know is capable of helping Julian with his last request, please reach out so we can set it up!

Film photo I took of Julian at one of his stands last August. This was well before I knew I would be interviewing him!

The Interview

So, Julian, you heard me read your bio just now. There's really impressive stuff on there: entrepreneur, founder, etc… But an important detail I left out is the very thing that most amazes people — your age. Do you mind telling me how old you are?

JULIAN: I'm 10 and I've been working on my hot chocolate and lemonade stands for five years along with a fruit stand as an employee for five years. Who doesn't love getting free cucumbers? It works out.

How did you get started in that? Where did you find and discover your passion for all these things?

JULIAN: It all started at that fruit stand. I was there once and I asked for a job back when I was very young and John said, “Give me a resume.” I created one, got back to him, got a job, and that really inspired me. I have my grandpa's DNA and attributes where he haggles whenever he gets the chance. You could say I got a bunch of that from him.

So that means your grandfather's a bit of a businessman?

JULIAN: Yep, he used to do clothing, but now he sells art.

So it runs in the family then?

JULIAN: Yep.

Very nice. I bet that's wonderful to be able to kind of have people in your family that you can lean on, and look to, and kind of help guide and shape you a little bit?

JULIAN: I mean, that's the thing. I don't really look to him because I feel if I already got it then I got it. I don't want him bossing me around. I just want to get straight to it, do it my own way, and hopefully succeed!

I feel like that's a very entrepreneurial attitude! One of the things that I saw when I was researching you is that you have decided to donate 30% of all of your profit to a good cause, a charity, or a nonprofit. Is that right?

JULIAN: Yes, but somehow my profit lagged way behind from the amount I donated and I ended up donating $35,000 to charities and not making nearly as much.

Okay, so your generosity overshot your own goals there — but $35,000, Julian that's an astonishingly high number.

JULIAN: Thank you… but it ain't enough to retire!

So what are some of these causes that you've donated?

JULIAN: I've donated to Best Friends Animal Society, a bunch of Maui things — which I forget their names because there were, like, many. My friend Ryan who lost his home and his uncle in the Maui wildfires. Of course, also Meals on Wheels, but those were more occasional.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the Maui wildfires and your friend Ryan?

JULIAN: When I was in Maui, Ryan taught me how to fish and lent me his fishing gear, so I'm just returning the generosity. When the tragedy of the Maui wildfires destroyed his home and his uncle, like… I know how hard loss is and I wanted to help him through it. I also wanted to help Maui animals that got lost and people that need food. If others aren't gonna give them food, we will!

We're not gonna let someone else die because we don't want to share… that's pure greed, and that's what starts most wars. I won't let that happen.

I think that's a really great take. I think a lot of people in the business world need that type of attitude of looking out for people.

You've done big things — you've been on the news, you've been on Good Morning America, all those things. What are people’s reactions to hearing about how active you are even though you're so young?

JULIAN: I mean, I honestly don't know. I don't know if they whisper behind my back. To my face they clap or they encourage me, but then again — like I said — they could just be plotting to overrun my business and buy all my stocks once I become public.

Well, how does that make you feel when they're applauding and they're kind to you? Assuming that they're not plotting to do a hostile takeover of your corporation after you IPO…

JULIAN: Wait, sorry, can you repeat that?

How do you feel about people making it a big deal?

JULIAN: I mean, it's not a big deal… Everyone can make that great of a deal if they work hard enough, and I just did. So, I don't really understand why they make it such a big deal.

Gotcha. So what I'm hearing from you is that you feel like this is what everybody could be doing. What do you feel are the most important skills you've learned about business?

JULIAN: Never trust anyone with your tip jar. I learned that the hard way when I got robbed.

Oh, no, you got robbed?? Tell me more!

JULIAN: At my lemonade stand there was this person in a really long line for like seven minutes and so I was like, “I should probably make theirs beforehand because it's taken so long and I wanted to appreciate them waiting.” They were also in ski masks in the dead of summer, which, in hindsight I should have recognized. So I gave them their lemonade… but as I bent down to grab the next one, *pop* — they took it on their scooter and left. That taught me to always carry a fanny pack.

That's crazy though that someone would just take money out of your tip jar like that…

JULIAN: I mean, it made me better. That's what made me get on Good Morning America and all over the news; and that helped me raise like $20,000 of the money I raised. Yeah, it helped a lot.

So you were able to leverage that into an advantage — that's a big skill. What else have you learned about running a business?

JULIAN: Never encourage your competition and opponents.

Is there something that you find makes your stands better than your opponents’?

JULIAN: I love small talk and that's what really helps it. I just love knowing people's background, their story, and I noticed that it helps a lot of business sales because it makes them want to tip.

Do you have any favorite stories from your time either at the lemonade stand or the hot chocolate stand?

JULIAN: Yeah, there was this one guy who just stepped up to me and he was like “I got you a tip, but I don't need anything.” And he gave me a hundred dollar bill just straight out there and he just left. It was very strange how he acted so casually just like, “hey, you want this?” Not like “do you want my life savings?” You know?

Why do you think he did that? If you had to guess.

JULIAN: He liked my values and beliefs; liked Best Friends.

You have a lot of ideas, even beyond your ventures. In fact, you were kind enough to bring me a mug off of your website today, which I'm super stoked about. I love it. In order to sell your merch you created rap videos and—

— Yeah, advertising. That's right.

That's very creative. How do you choose your ideas for all the creative things that you do? How do you know which idea is a good one and when to go for it?

JULIAN: I mean, I don't. I just go for it — no matter what. I just love going for things with all my heart and if it fails my heart has to go back around the corner and then go into another door. There's been some up-and-downs. Especially since I was trying to create a trail mix, but I'm allergic to nuts. So we were trying to make a nut free trail mix…

I gotta mention my dad and my mom. My mom kind of sets ground rules and my dad helps a lot with ideas. He's my idea man. He helped me by recommending making my book, which I'm currently in progress with. And he's still going at me to try to go for Arnold Palmer or hot chocolate hard candies.

Are you gonna go for those?

JULIAN: Probably not for a while.

Tell me more about your book… if it's not top secret!

JULIAN: You could say it has a lot of information about being a businessman. It’s a kid’s guide to being a businessman — boom. Straight away. Boom! Done. It was really hard making all the visuals. We had to do like 20 photo shoots — it was crazy.

When can we expect that to release?

JULIAN: Probably very late this year or next year. But it also has my favorite “choose your own haggling adventure.” It took, like, years to make that. You have to choose between haggling a bejeweled elephant and a necklace. It's a whole lot of fun.

What is your work-life balance like? Are you always working or do you also play?

JULIAN: My free time gets cut in half because of school… school! The dreaded school! Who doesn't like homework? Exactly. Everybody doesn't like homework.

So if I had the ability to wave a wand and school goes away… what would you spend your time doing?

JULIAN: Work. The only day I don't have any school or jobs is Monday. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I help Jonathan the Cheese Guy at 67 Gourmet. Friday, Saturday, Sunday I am at Epices Bakery. And then, of course, I sometimes get breakfast at the Muffin Cafe and say hi to Ali. 100% work over school. Number one. I would do that.

If you had one chance to make a giant billboard for the entire world to see, what are you gonna put on that billboard?

JULIAN: My merch. A really big QR code and a link to my merch. That’s advertising. Free money. Perfect.

So you’d go the digital channel route, gotcha. Do you have any advice for people, specifically young people, that are looking to go out in the world and start a business?

JULIAN: First you need to learn how to haggle. Then you need to successfully haggle. Then follow your heart. Those are my three words of advice… err, those are my three tips made of words of advice. More of that will be in my book.

Rapid Fire Section

This is the section I decided to do a “this or that” with Julian. It was meant to be rapid fire because he is so witty, but I get derailed once or twice because I was so curious to understand his reasoning.

Cats or dogs?

JULIAN: Dogs — I'm allergic to cats.

Hot chocolate or lemonade?

JULIAN: Lemonade because I can put strawberry boba in it. That's what I sell at my hot chocolate — oops, I mean — lemonade stands. I always say hot chocolate when I mean lemonade.

You switch what you’re selling depending on the seasons right? Have you been doing hot chocolate this winter?

JULIAN: Yeah, I had this giving tree project where I did four hot chocolate stands and then I donated like $3,000 worth of stuff. I had to wrap it all and bring it in a cart to the Best Friends Animal Society downtown. It was all on their Amazon list.

Canva or Photoshop?

JULIAN: Canva. I do Canva on every single thing.

TikTok or YouTube?

JULIAN: Neither.

Oh, can you explain that more please?

JULIAN: They're both super toxic… TikTok is memes above imagination. I don't want to go in there. I don't want to dig in there to that rabbit hole; and for YouTube, I just don't want to keep digging.

Do you feel like you would be as successful as you are if you were super into TikTok or YouTube?

JULIAN: Probably. I also think I would create a TikTok/YouTube channel. But it's not worth it — every hour of your life gets put into being an influencer once you start and I just don't want that responsibility.

Yeah, I love hearing this. We'll go back to rapid fire: Musical or Movie?

JULIAN: Musical.

Start your next business or teach someone else to start a business?

JULIAN: Teach someone else to start a business.

Bowtie or fedora?

JULIAN: Bowtie.. Wait, no. Fedora!

You can only choose one.

JULIAN: If I can't have both, I'll have neither.

Minecraft or Fortnight?

JULIAN: Neither.

McDonald's or Shake Shack?

JULIAN: Neither again. They're too fast-foody.

Maui or New York?

JULIAN: Maui.

Being in charge of a big team or working alongside a small team?

JULIAN: I'd rather run my own medium team.

Working from home or going into an office?

JULIAN: Going into an office. Life's more surreal if it's not behind a screen.

Yeah, wise words. What else is next for you? Is there anything you have coming up?

JULIAN: Yes, I'm planning on doing a kids business fair where I host 50 to 100 kids, each having their own tables and selling their own thing. They get to choose what they sell as long it holds against the specific requirements, like nothing violent.

When is that coming up and when can we expect that?

JULIAN: Honestly, I don't know. Whenever we think we finished the work. I'm looking for a sponsor that has the space for a lot of tables and a large area that we could use. We need a host!

If someone is willing to give that space, or just wants to find you and follow what you’re doing, how can they find you?

JULIAN: Go to my website. There is a “message me” thing and I often respond back. Not always… but often!

Is there anything else that you want to say or that we should mention before we finish?

JULIAN: I think we got it covered!

Thanks for reading, friends. Please leave a kind note for Julian in the comments and don’t forget to like this post, subscribe, and send to a friend!

Curiously yours,

Bradley