Jason O'Neill founded the company Pencil Bugs in November 2005, right after he turned 10 years old.
Pencil Bugs attach to a standard pencil via a pipe cleaner body. Each bug has a Styrofoam head with antennae and eyes and comes with its own Certificate of Authenticity, which includes its name, the day it was "born" and instructions on the proper care and training of a Pencil Bug. What started as a simple craft fair product a few years ago is now a full-fledged business for O'Neill, complete with a city of Temecula business license, a state tax identification number and a Web site for sales.
O'Neill donates 5 percent of Pencil Bugs sales to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. The other 95 percent goes right back into the product itself.
When I tell kids about Forbes, A, they don't really know what it is. So it doesn't really mean much to them and once I tell them what it is, they still don't really understand, so it's kinda hard on that aspect but when I talk to grownups about it and they actually know what I'm talking about, then...(Full transcript available to logged in subscribers.).
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