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An education expert says the entrepreneurial projects parents tend to dismiss as distractions are often the ones that stand out most on university applications.
A part-time job demonstrates reliability. But according to one education specialist, it rarely tells an admissions officer anything they have not seen before. The applications that tend to leave a stronger impression are the ones where a student identified a problem, built something to solve it, and kept going.
David Smith, CEO of Silicon Valley High School, an online learning platform, has reviewed enough student profiles to recognise the pattern. “The most compelling applications we see are from students who saw a problem and built something to solve it, or identified a market opportunity and ran with it,” he said.
The challenge, Smith notes, is that the side hustles most likely to catch a recruiter’s attention are often the ones most likely to be discouraged at home. Below, he examines four examples – drawn from real students – that illustrate why unconventional projects can carry more weight than traditional work experience.
1. Sneaker Reselling With Automated Systems
Joe Hebert, known online as West Coast Joe, built automated bots as a teenager to purchase limited-edition trainers at scale and resell them for profit. To most observers, it looked like an expensive hobby. To a business school admissions officer, it was something else entirely.
“Students who talk about running sneaker resale operations are demonstrating skills that translate directly to business,” Smith said. “They’ve learned about inventory management, understanding market demand, building relationships with suppliers, and often basic programming.”
The automation element is particularly significant. A student who identifies an inefficiency in a process and writes code to address it is demonstrating exactly the kind of problem-solving disposition that technology companies say they struggle to find in entry-level candidates. The product being sold is almost beside the point.
2. Applying Technology to Social Problems
Time magazine’s Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao, developed tools to detect lead contamination in water and identify cyberbullying online while still a teenager – work that exemplifies a broader trend of young people channelling technical skills toward community problems rather than purely commercial ones.
Jordan Mittler took a different but related approach, founding Mittler Senior Technology while in high school to teach older adults how to use smartphones and protect themselves from online scams. The venture required him to build a curriculum, market his services, and manage operations with a demographic that many of his peers would have found difficult to engage.
“Teaching requires patience, the ability to explain complex concepts simply, and genuine empathy,” Smith said. “When a student can show they’ve successfully taught technology to a demographic that finds it intimidating, that’s powerful evidence of communication skills.” Admissions officers, he argues, read social impact projects as evidence of emotional intelligence alongside technical capability – a combination that is difficult to demonstrate through conventional extracurricular activities.
3. Building Educational Technology from Scratch
Josh Feinsilber was a high school student when he decided that existing study tools were not doing enough, so he built his own. The result was Gimkit, a platform that went on to be used by teachers across the United States.
“A student who identifies a gap in existing solutions and builds something better demonstrates entrepreneurial thinking at its finest,” Smith said. “These students aren’t waiting for someone else to fix problems they see.”
What separates projects like Feinsilber’s from a standard extracurricular is the nature of the ownership involved. Students who build their own tools make decisions about user experience, incorporate feedback from real users, and in some cases generate revenue – responsibilities that more closely resemble running a small business than participating in a school club.
4. Building a Sustainable Fashion Brand
Maya Penn launched Maya’s Ideas at the age of eight, producing eco-friendly, upcycled clothing and accessories. By the time she reached high school, the project had grown into a recognised brand with a genuine environmental mission.
Fashion ventures are routinely underestimated, Smith argues, because the product is seen as trivial. The business fundamentals required to run one are anything but. “They’re sourcing materials, managing production, building brand identities, marketing through social media, handling customer service, and often advocating for environmental causes,” he said. “That’s a business degree’s worth of experience before graduating high school.”
What Parents Can Do Differently
Smith’s advice to parents who are sceptical of their teenager’s entrepreneurial pursuits is to ask questions before drawing conclusions. Understanding what a student is actually building – the decisions they are making, the problems they are solving, the skills they are acquiring – serves two purposes: it helps parents see the genuine value in the activity, and it helps students learn to articulate that value in their own words.
“The best thing parents can do is ask questions about what their teen is building,” Smith said. “These conversations help teens articulate the business skills they’re developing, preparing them for applications and interviews.”
The underlying principle, he suggests, is straightforward. Initiative, self-direction, and the ability to create something from nothing are qualities that predict success in higher education and beyond – and they are just as visible in a sneaker resale operation or a senior tech tutoring service as they are in any more conventional pursuit.
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