12-Year-Old Entrepreneur Skates Into Success
Carson Kropfl is an inventor, business owner and environmental activist. He enjoys the excitement of surfing, and he's also a skateboarder. Kropfl is a very hard-working 12-year-old.
You heard right. The San Clemente, California, boy just completed seventh grade. His story shows that necessity really is the mother of invention.
Carson had enjoyed skating for years. He liked to use his skateboard to go places, including school. But over time, he grew frustrated that he had no place to put his board once he arrived.
As a student, he could not change the size of his locker. But he realized he might be able to change the shape of his skateboard.
“I have a skateboard company called Lockerboard and what I do is, I take recycled skateboard decks and reshape them to fit inside backpacks and lockers.”
Carson first made himself a shorter skateboard in the shape of a square.
“But then my parents told me I had to clean and do chores to pay for my surf lessons. But I hate to clean, so I asked them if I could try selling my Lockerboards instead.”
His parents not only said yes, they agreed to help him make it happen by buying him the best tools for creating skateboards.
Carson made his first sales to his classmates. Within months, he had an agreement with a manufacturer. The young man says he has now sold about 700 skateboards in under two years of operation.
His skateboards come in a number of shapes and designs, and each one costs around $100.
