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I started my business aged 16. It was quite unusual and was the kind of business which had very high startup costs and barriers to entry. I spent a year researching the industry, having no prior experience or knowledge, and conversing with companies all over the world via email. Email is a great tool as you can present yourself to be any age with just a domain name, and you have time to consider any response and research bits you don't understand, whereas on a phone you are on the spot and can show your ignorance quickly.

I set up a meeting with one guy i had been conversing with, so by the time he found out my age he already knew i wasn't wasting his time. I found quite often than people would initially make a judgment because of my age, but if you know your subject and have done your homework you should be able to smash their prejudices easily. When i met this guy he said i had a better understanding of the market and the technology than a lot of people he dealt with every day. When starting out the problem is that you don;t know how much you don't know. This ignorance is not necessarily bad, it helps a great deal to propel you forward because you can't see the scale of the challenge and so you don;t give up before you have started.

If you build up a relationship with these people from the outset and gain their confidence then their recommendations are worth their weight in gold. The best way to make contacts at the beginning, especially when very young, is recommendations. I managed to secure backing from the board of directors of this company in Israel with 350,000 because their UK director had confidence in me!

Perhaps the biggest thing to remember when starting a business young is that it doesn't matter whether it succeeds of fails but try anyway. When you are young you have no mortgage, no wife, no kids, no bills to pay. You have no financial responsibilities and so if you lose everything what does it matter? Better to takes risks when young.

Finally if you are trying, as i was, to set up a business that requires investment to startup then don't shy away from bringing other people on board. You will likely meet the right people through networking and talking to companies, but attracting people with experience is invaluable. Not only will investors have more confidence to invest because of these people's experience, but they will have confidence in you because you won the confidence of these people who know the industry!

If you really believe your business is good never give up. Don't let somebody tell you it can't be done. Research the market well and learn everything you can about the business. And most importantly have fun.

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