YoungTrep with Benjamin Wong (Benjamin Wong)

On this episode, Ben brings together his favorite health and wellness highlights from the past few episode of YoungTrep. A major topic of the show moving forward, catch up on all the key parts here, and listen to the full episodes for more!

Don DiCostanzo was born to be an entrepreneur in a time where being an entrepreneur was considered taboo. Yet, after years working in the corporate world, he created Pedego, now a multi-million dollar leading e-bike brand. 

Welcome to the show! I'm Ben, your new 14-year old host, and I'm super excited to be bringing the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation right to all of you. I hope you come away inspired and ready to begin your entrepreneurial journey.

Keep up to date with the show here!

On this episode, productivity coach and speaker Jeni Raitsin explains why boosting productivity isn't just about time blocking and automation. No, it's about your mind, body, and energy?

On this episode, how Khloe Thompson combined passion and purpose to create Khloe Kares, and how all of you can too.

Learn more about Khloe here.

Michael Platt is the CEO of Michael's Deserts and the star of new Tv show Operation Awesome. On this episode, he joins Ben to discuss his rise to fame, and why it's so important for today's young entrepreneurs to make giving back part of the foundations of their businesses.

On this episode, entrepreneur and host of the Three Day Weekend podcast Wade Galt explains how business can be used as a tool to fuel adventure, fun, and happiness.

On this episode, Sophie's BioNutrients founder Eugene Wang discusses how he created a million-dollar food company, his predictions for the future of climate change, and how all kids can get involved.

On this episode, how a creative and artistic Noah Glenn grew up to create Like You, the top mindfullness podcast for kids.

This episode was originally aired in 2020.

Jahkil was 5 when his aunt took him and his cousin to feed the homeless in Chicago. he was immediately stunned that there were still people who didn't have basic necessities to survive. He immediately set up shop to create blessing bags, bags filled with basic toiletries, to give hope to the unfortunate. Since then, he's given over 50,000 bags to those experiencing homelessness, and through those efforts, was crowned one of President Obama's three most influential people at age 13, a CNN Young Heroes Award, and even recognized as a Marvel superhero! 

On this episode, Ron Macklin, innovator, entrepreneur, and leader that turned a terribly work environment into one of Houston's best(he won the "Best Place to Work" award), joins Ben to discuss how all youth can create productive and efficient teams. He even dissects a case study live to show you how it's done!

On this episode, innovation consultant and engineer Bruno Pesec explains what true innovation is, why it's not just important in business, and easy practises to be more creative, everyday.

It's difficult to cope with the loss of a sibling, especially when you're only 5 years old. Yet, in that moment, CJ decided that he wanted to help other kids who felt similar. Discovering blankets as a great source of comfort, he created Blankies 4 Buddies, with a mission of getting a blankie in the hand of every kid in need.

On the final episode of 2021, Ben and the entire YoungTrep and Kidpreneurs team wishes you another awesome year. Whether you had an amazing or disappointing 2021, 2022 offers you a brand new beginning. Before you end the year-listen to some stories of how our best guests got started

On this episode, Ben is joined by motivational speaker and 2-time bestselling author Reagan Nevels. They'll be discussing how to build an entrepreneur's vision, her renowned 4-step proccess, and how your mind is both your greatest asset and liability.

Productivity lately has been a 'buzz' topic, with everyone, especially teens, concerned about proscrastination, distractions, and making sure everything on their to-do lists are checked off. Recently, I was speaking to an old friend about our struggles with productivity, so I decided to piece together some of the best productivity-related episodes bits in: Productivity 101. 

Enjoy! -Ben

From the age of 6, Samaira had a love of computer programming. Yet, many of her friends considered programming too "difficult" and "complex". She then decided to create a board game that would teach kids coding concepts in a fun, simple, and easy way, and called it; Coderbunnyz.

What started as a simple prank from her dad resulted in the ultimate journey to success, leading workshops all over the nation, becoming the #1 Amazon board game, and even getting a job offer from Google!

On this episode, Ben's joined by serial entrepreneur and productivity hacker Blaine Oeklers to discuss his three strategies for upgrading your work flows! From building habits in 21 seconds to getting an hours worth of work in 30, you'll be up and running in no time!

Eugene Wang is the visionary entrepreneur and founder behind Sophie's Kitchen and Sophie's BioNutrients, a multi-million dollar biofirm specializing in creating a microalgae protein alternative.

On this episode, he joins Ben to discuss his childhood, the founding of Sophie's Kitchen, and how all that lead up to his current project, Sophie's BioNutrients.

This is part one of a part two series. Stay tuned next week for Eugene's words on climate change, the future of innovation, and how young people can get involved.

Gabby was five years old when she discovered a decade-old problem with normal hair barrettes; they kept falling out. Instead of maintaining the status-quo, she took things into her own hands. With the help of her parents, she created a better, tighter, and more durable barrette. With a new product in hand, the now 8-year old was able to get Gabby's Bows into Walgreens all across her home state of South Carolina. Yet, all the sudden, she lost the account. 

With the power of persistence and positivity, Gabby was able to build back better online, and is now in Targets all over the nation.

Devin Burke is a renowned sleep expert, founder of Sleepscienceacademy.com, and author of new book Sleep Advantage. 

Growing up, Devin never thought too much about sleep. It was just kind of "the thing you do." It wasn't until much later when he realized how all things in life are interconnected to getting a good night's rest.

On this episode, he joins Ben to discuss how sleep works, how to get more sleep, and why it's so important for teen entrepreneurs today.

You can find Devin's new book The Sleep Advantage on Amazon.

On this episode, Ben's joined by excecutive coach and author of "Communicating with Impact", Patrick Donadio. They discuss his unique formula to becoming a great public speaker, how to get over any fears, and how to take your speaking to the next level.

Check out Mr. Donadio's book here!

Lisa Jendza spent years climbing the corporate ladder before realizing how much of her health she was sacrificing. Though she may have had the 'corner office', her personal life was ridden with major health issues such as brain fog.

On this episode, the now coach, speaker, and co-founder of Freedom Kitchen explains how kids can use health food to build a better and more productive lifestyle.

On this episode, Bens joined by interview expert Aletta Rochat to talk about how young people can get over their fear of interviews, and how to use them as opportunities instead of obstacles. 

Evan Carmichael is an entrepreneur, author of Built to Serve, and inspirational YouTuber with over 2.9 million followers!

Growing up, Evan was often labeled the "slow learner"(it took him 19 months to learn to walk) which made him feel pretty stupid. Yet, he turned things around in his senior year, even earning a full-ride scholarship to the UofT. He credits this reversal to one thing; #believing in himself.

This week, he joins Ben to discuss how today's young people can employ this simple concept, with conversations on finding passion, understanding purpose, and why all humans are Built to Serve.

Our Christmas gift to you...a compliation of some of the best advice moments from the past year of YoungTrep! Whether this is your 30th or 1st episode, we hope you enjoy this edition and have a joyful winter season!

On this episode, 16-year-old viral motivational influencer Marquis Hill explains how he created a community of love and kindness through sharing his personal vulnerbilities and darknesses with the world. 

Learn more about Marquis here!

On this episode, 17-year old Jersey native Sanyu Lukoma shares how she turned a unusual love of reading into a special purpose and passion.

When he was young, James John was in a deep place of darkness. He never felt love for himself, and experienced depression for years.

But James was able to get past this darkness, and is now a influencer spreading love and joy with events, interviews, and lamborghinis...?

This episode contains light refrences to depression. All listeners are advised to speak to a parent or trusted adult about mental health.  

On this episode, we're taking a break form our normal programming to answer some questions from you all at home! Joining me is Arianna Fox, bestselling author and motivational speaker. We'll be discussing questions related to finding passion, the first steps in creating a business, and more.

On this episode, how 12-year old Kamea Lafontaine battled through skepticisism and hate to create his crypto-themed YouTube channel CryptoCoinKid, and all in a time where bitcoin was still widely considered 'fraud.'

Get Kamea's latest book The Spy Network here.

After years serving the community through community service, the Venkat's discovered a fatal flaw in the system; most volunteers were volunteering for hours, not for the sake of helping others. With that in mind, they set forth to create NEST4US, their non-proift organization that has now contributed over $630,000 worth of volunteer hours!

Evan Carmichael is an entrepreneur, author of Built to Serve, and inspirational YouTuber with over 2.9 million followers!

Growing up, Evan was often labeled the "slow learner"(it took him 19 months to learn to walk) which made him feel pretty stupid. Yet, he turned things around in his senior year, even earning a full-ride scholarship to the UofT. He credits this reversal to one thing; #believing in himself.

This week, he joins Ben to discuss how today's young people can employ this simple concept, with conversations on finding passion, understanding purpose, and why all humans are Built to Serve.

On this episode, Mark Hercshberg, MIT teacher of the renowned Career Success Accelerator, entrepreneur, and author, explains how kids can build a successful and happy career early on. He explains key concepts in building career plans, communication, networking, and the importance of 'business ethics.' Whether you're looking to intern at a tech company or open a painting studio, this episode is for you.

Get Peter's book, Let It Go, here.

On this episode, how 13-year old Avery Kelley excecuted on her love of performance to create the Teendom Talk Show, her weekly YouTube channel dedicated to teen representation and diversity!

Check out The Teendom Talk Show here.

On this episode, how 18-year old Sonali Ratnasinghe made it her mission to simplify community service for youth all across the nation, the obstacles she faced along the way, and the exciting road ahead. General Services Foundation is now known as 'Youth Ambassadors of Service.'

The Dowe twins have always been about doing more. They've grown up playing sports, trying new things, and starting companies! On this episode, they're talking about how they created Water2Kids, their "Think you're smarter than the Dowe Twins" book, and why they continue to be entrepreneurs to this day.

Shreyaa and Esha Venkat grew up in the world of volunteering. Yet, as they grew older, they discovered a fundamental problem with the community service system; people were volunteering simply for hours. To fix this problem, they created NEST4US, their 501(c)3 volunteer organization dedicated only to helping make the world a better place. Years later, NEST4US has over 1,000 volunteers and over $650,000 worth of volunteer hours.

This episode is part 1 of 2, mainly focused on Shreyya and Esha's childhood and how they became so involved in community service. Stay tuned next week for the next part of the Venkat's journey.

Summer is here! While most kids think of summer as an opportunity to party and have fun, young entrepreneurs think of it not only as an opportunity to have fun, but to find their passions and bring their businesses alive! We've asked our amazing teen editor Talia to put together the best moments from the past 8 episodes to help you out with this, enjoy!

On this episode, how teen James Little, despite opposition from his family, friends, and teachers, learned to develop an entrepreneur mindset. A story of resilience and not becoming a victim of your circumstances, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

On this episode, life-long sports card enthusiast, collector, and host, Kent Wong, explains the history of sports cards, what's caused the recent boom, and the best tips and tricks for getting involved.

Check out Kent's show Cardboard Culture here.

On this episode, Ben's joined by best-selling author of Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader, Christopher Connors to discuss how young people can build up their 'EQ', becoming a better friend, family member, or entrepreneur. 

Check out Christopher's work here.

Nathan Chan is an expert social media marketer and founder of Foundr magazine, a 7-figure magazine and digital media company.

On this episode, he joins Ben to discuss his story, the importance of social media in business, and how kidpreneurs can employ Foundr's methods to scale their success.

12-year old Sammie Vance and 10-year old Justin Sather couldn't be more different. They come from different towns, are different ages, but they have one big thing in common; they love helping others. For Sammie, it's building sustainable buddy benches to help her fellow students make new friends, and for Justin, it's raising awareness about his favorite animal, frogs!

On this episode, author of Reimagining Collaboration, Phil Simon, explains how teen business owners can use digital collaboration tools such as Zoom and Slack to grow their businesses tenfold. If anyone's qualified to teach these tools, it's Phil(he's also the author of Zoom for Dummies and Slack for Dummies).

On this episode, Ben is joined by former NBA All-Star Baron Davis and Deluxe Corp. CMO Amanda Brinkman. THe two co-hosts of emmy-nominated Small Business Revolution share their biggest tips and experiences for teen entrepreneurs.

Check out season 6 of Small Business Revolution Here!