A short video by Capitalism.com (Freedom Fast Lane TV) where Ryan Daniel Moran summarizes an interview with Mark and Jack McGraw, a father-son team who built a simple physical product (a handle for a Yeti-style mug) and sold over 100,000 units. The piece contrasts hands-on entrepreneurship and building a cash-flowing business in youth with traditional college paths, highlights role-defined partnerships (father as capital partner, son as hustler), and stresses encouraging children's natural interests.
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Recently on the Freedom Fast Lane podcast, I interviewed mark and Jack McGraw. They're a father son duo and Jack is a 16 year old, not even old enough to go to college. And they started a tiny little physical products business. It was a handle that attached to, I think it was a yeti coffee mug, really simple idea. And they've sold over a hundred thousand units of this single product. Now this is a great example of teaching a young person what it means to put something out there in the world and to get a result. Rather than just learning through high school, learning through college, but actually seeing something real, real in the world, creating value and also making money. So this simple product sold over 100,000 units and it's continuing to grow, it's continuing to sell. And they were excited if they had sold a thousand units. I think they said that they dreamed of maybe selling 10,000 units. So this is a father son duo that came together. The father was the capital partner, the son is doing a lot of the hustle. It's a great example of what happens when the right partners, whether they're related or not related, come together with defined roles of how each person is going to contribute to the business. Whether you're partnering with a family member or you're partnering with somebody, that you just know if you can get a piece of a bigger pie by partnering with someone and you're learning something along the way and getting paid for it, that is the beauty of capitalism, that is the beauty of entrepreneurship. So if you are struggling with this question of do I want to go to college or how do I get my son or daughter interested in being an entrepreneur? Go listen to the podcast episode with mark and Jack McGraw and listen to the story about how they navigated the difficulties of being a father son duo, starting a business, and also wrestling with this question of I'm a 16 year old, I'm building a business now that's successful, what the heck do I do with my life next? Do I build this business full time? Do I go to college? And I wrestled with these questions too. What I discovered was as a result of having a cash flow machine in college, it forced me to wrestle with much bigger questions once I graduated. So I had this cash flow machine. Now I've gotta actually figure out what my life is gonna look like. That was the most difficult part of my life, those few years of trying to wrestle with. Now I actually have to define what my life is gonna look like. These are challenges that most of my peers didn't have to deal with because it was, I gotta make money, so. So I'm gonna pick a career and just go for it. There's some peace in that direction. These are questions that we're going to have to deal with because things are getting cheaper. Whether or not the media tells you, as automation goes, continues to climb, prices are gonna come down, we're gonna have more free time, we're gonna have more freedom, and we're gonna have to figure out what our lives are gonna look like. So the idea of starting a business in college, graduating and having something profitable that forces you to define your life, whether you use your degree or not, are challenges that are going to be very real for the next generation. We might as well start talking about them now. I have said this before, and I will say this again. One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was they never tried to force me into any specific path. They instead encouraged whatever path felt natural to me. For me, that was being an entrepreneur. Now, neither of my parents were entrepreneurs. That was the furthest thing from their mind. My dad was a teacher for 30 some odd years. My mom was a mom and then she worked as a secretary and she worked at my school. And they never thought anybody in our family would be an entrepreneur. That came from the cloud. God gave me that one. I was born an entrepreneur. I was drawing pictures on, on cutout paper and trying to sell it door to door at 5 years old for a penny each. That was my first business. So my parents fostered whatever I showed interest in, which wasn't like anything that they were interested in. That was the greatest gift that they could have given me. So if your son or your daughter is not wanting to go to college and they show interest somewhere else, encourage that. The one thing that I hope to pass on to Esther, my daughter, my 2 year old, if nothing else, wherever she shows interest, I plan to encourage that. Whether that is ponies, which I know nothing about, whether that is Pokemon, which I caught all 150 of when I was in junior high, or whether it's being an entrepreneur, which I know a thing or two about, I'll encourage wherever she shows interest or wherever she shows her pursuits. Because what a world this would be if we doubled down on our interests and our strengths and trying to turn our weaknesses into strengths. We're all born with a certain amount of gifts. We might as well maximize those gifts and not waste time on our weaknesses.
