The kids are alright

As if entrepreneurs don’t have enough to worry about, what with higher corporation tax rates, excessive red tape, and the prospect of increasing fuel duty, this week the news broke that they may face heavy competition from below.

Yes, precocious five-year-old Sam Houghton became an overnight media sensation, after it was revealed he is the youngest person to hold a patent for his invention, the ‘Improved Broom’.

Unperturbed by the tricky question of why exactly anyone would need two brooms strapped together with an elastic band, Sam (probably) gave reporters a look of derision before answering “There are two brushes because one gets the big bits and one gets the little bits left behind,” presumably following the answer with a scornful ‘duh’ and toddling off to play on his Wii.

Coincidentally, dad Mark, a patent attorney, decided to patent the invention at the exact same time the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) was promoting a competition for young inventors. What are the chances? The IPO’s PRs were reportedly delighted.

Anyway, the whole affair is just another indication that entrepreneurs are getting younger.

During our research for the just-released Startups 100, I spoke to an alarming number of ‘yoots’ (that’s youth speak for, er, youth), the most frighteningly successful being Adam Hildreth, who started his first business when he was 14, and is now on to his second, Crisp Thinking (number 44). He is ranked as the 28th richest young person in the UK by the Sunday Times Rich List, and is predicted to be worth £40m by 2020.

Among other people who are younger and richer than I were Fraser Doherty of SuperJams (number 18 on the list), who started his business when he was 14; Mohammed Mirza of Luxury Recruit (number 85), who started his business when he was 18, and Giles Peters, 18, whose business, Diabetic Hampers (number 62), is worth around £40,000.

So what’s a hard-working entrepreneur to do to compete with all these young and dynamic children who think they have a good idea?