Europe’s Young Entrepreneurs

MADRID — When Jordan Casey took to the stage to present his technology business, he jumped onto the platform rather than walking up the access ramp.

Entrepreneurial energy? Yes, but also adolescent enthusiasm.

Mr. Casey, keynote speaker at a conference here this past week on European youth in business, turned 15 in November. He has often been reported to be Europe’s youngest chief executive, a status that among other honors has won him invitations to meet European Union economic officials in Brussels.

“I feel I’ve got a head start,” Mr. Casey told the audience here, a group of 200 or so teenage achievers, some of them intent on breaking through what many consider European obstacles to business. “In 10 years, I will be 25 and I will already have 13 years of experience working in the industry, so that is kind of cool.”

Potential hurdles to the young and business-minded that were discussed during the three-day conference were a rigid education system in many of the European Union’s 28 countries; a cultural aversion to risk-taking in some parts of the region; and a stagnant economy in which youth unemployment is a pressing social problem. The role of speakers like Mr. Casey was to provide can-do pep talks.

About 50,000 units of the Alien Ball, which he said were generally priced at $0.99 each, were downloaded, but in terms of his actual earnings, “I really don’t know the exact figures.”

Mr. Casey’s views on education, as well as his passion for technology, were not initially endorsed by his parents, who are both accountants. In fact, Mr. Casey tricked his parents into buying his first laptop, when he was 12. He sent them a letter purporting to come from Apple that highlighted the benefits of a laptop for children’s progress.

Mr. Casey’s parents, however, are now firmly behind their son’s business ventures, acting as company directors because he is too young to be held legally accountable. They also take turns traveling with him to events like the Madrid conference.

“I used to think university was essential to succeed,” his mother, Louise, said. “But since Jordan has gone on this path, I’ve come to recognize that there really are different ways to get to where you want to be.”

The New York Times