How a 15-Year-Old’s $1,000 Bitcoin Investment Led to Startup Success
Idaho native Erik Finman has invested his sizeable bitcoin profits into education startup Botangle.com.
:format(jpg)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/76MFE7YDX5CAHG6TOJLV6ZBQJE.png)
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
A well-timed investment of $1,000 in bitcoin has earned a 15-year-old Idaho entrepreneur more than $100,000 and allowed him to found his own education startup.
Erik Finman took $1,000 he received as a gift from his grandmother and invested it in bitcoin back in 2012, according to a report by Mashable. After holding his BTC for one year, Finman sold his bitcoins for $100,000.
Finman ultimately decided to reinvest his earnings into Botangle.com, an online video tutoring service that "allows students and tutors access to a diverse array of resources that just do not exist in a normal classroom setting", according to its official website.
Notably, Finman pays his employees in bitcoin. He told Mashable that he enjoys "sharing the wealth of bitcoin", saying:
Early bitcoin supporter
During a question-and-answer session that he took part in last month on the Entrepreneur subreddit, Finman explained how he first came to learn about bitcoin, writing:
He continued by saying that he accrued more bitcoins "so I can trump my brother in how many bitcoins he had", adding that he first learned about bitcoin in 2010.
Luckily for Finman, he sold his stash of bitcoins when the price hovered around $1,200 per bitcoin.
Though entrepreneurs may not be able to replicate Finman's success, they can learn from those who have entered the industry through more conventional in-roads. For more on how today's bitcoin startups are making gains despite the tribulations of an emerging market, read our most recent report.
Image via Mashable
Disclosure
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, institutional digital assets exchange. Bullish group is majority owned by Block.one; both groups have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.