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.
One, listen to your kid's ideas because that might be the next big thing. So let them try things and what I've heard some parents say when I was at sales or whatever and asking me some questions is that they're afraid that their kids might be turned down with their stand or whatever they're doing a...(Full transcript available to logged in subscribers.).
Register & Subscribe
Login
Jason O'Neill States Company Grew From Sidewalk Sales To Word of Mouth to Website Sales
Jason O'Neill States Importance for Parents To Listen To Their Kid's Ideas and To Let Them Fail
Jason O'Neill Discusses Challenges of Expansion and Getting Products Developed in China
