The Elon Musk Effect? This Report Says 3 In 5 Teens Want To Be Entrepreneurs

Today’s American teenagers have seen the future — and for many of them, it doesn’t involve taking orders from a boss, but rather being the boss of their own company.

What Happened: According to a Junior Achievement USA survey of 1,000 U.S. teens between the ages of 13 and 17, 60% of respondents — or, three in five — said they were more interested in starting their own business than having a traditional job.

The inspiration for this next wave of entrepreneurs comes from two main sources: 37% of young respondents cited social media influencers and celebrities as their top inspiration, while 45% were inspired to hear from business owners about how they started their own operations.

The survey also found that 37% were interested in either in-school or after-school programs that focus on teaching entrepreneurship.

See Also: Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau To Hitler In Twitter Meme

Why It Matters: "These survey results show that teens are more interested than ever in starting a business," said Jack E. Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "Even more encouraging is that many realize insights from entrepreneurs and education can play a role in better preparing them for a career in entrepreneurship."

In conjunction with the survey, Junior Achievement USA has teamed with Hartford Financial Services Group Inc HIG, the property and casualty insurance carrier, to launch the JA Company Program – Pop-Up, an accelerated version of Junior Achievement's experiential high school entrepreneurship program. The new Pop-Up model teaches middle and high school students how to plan, launch and operate their own pop-up business venture in seven sessions of a facilitator-led experience involving educators and local business leaders.

"These survey results show that teens are more interested than ever in starting a business," said Kosakowski. "Even more encouraging is that many realize insights from entrepreneurs and education can play a role in better preparing them for a career in entrepreneurship."

The Musk Approach: Still, even the most successful entrepreneur in the world once worked for someone else when he was a teenager.

In the new book “The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley,” author Jimmy Soni uncovered how the 19-year-old Elon Musk, a student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, cold-called Peter Nicholson, an executive at the Bank of Nova Scotia BNS who was also a physicist and former member of the Canadian Prime Minister’s staff.

“I think it’s fair to say that Elon is the only person who ever called me out of the blue and asked me for a job,” Nicholson recalled to Soni.

Nicholson met with Musk and was so impressed that he offered him an internship. Musk would cite Nicholson's mentorship as helping to set him on the path that led to the creation of Tesla Inc TSLA.

“Peter Nicholson earned a distinction, too,” Soni added. “He’d serve as one of Elon Musk’s only bosses.”

Photo: Iván Jesus Rojas / Pixabay