Did you have a great business idea as a kid, but you didn’t know how or where to get started? Well those obstacles certainly didn’t stop Ireland’s Jordan Casey on his entrepreneurial journey…
When JOE was 14 we were busy building the world’s best football squad on FIFA (we’re not telling you which year, for fear of feeling older than we already do), while also knuckling down for the big, bad Junior Cert exams.
Jordan Casey, a 14-year-old tech entrepreneur, has been doing all the same things that JOE did back in the day, but he’s also managed to create his gaming company, Casey Games, along with some pretty nifty and very successful apps, all in his spare time.
So JOE decided to have a chat with the young Waterford-based entrepreneur to find what he’s been up to, along with his plans for the future, before he takes to the stage at this year’s Web Summit.
JOE: So, Jordan, what will you be doing at this year’s Web Summit?
Jordan Casey: Well, I’ll be speaking to the attendees and I’m also going to announce a new app that I’ve been working on. I’m also working with AIB and the Web Summit on the Hatch Incubator programme, so I’ll be helping to promote that too.
JOE: Can you tell us a little about your new app that you’re working on, or is it under wraps until the event itself?
JC: Yeah, so as I said, at the Web Summit I’ll be announcing a new app. It’s sort of boring, because at last year’s Summit I launched an app called TeachWare, which is a management system for teachers and this year I’m sort of going into the event space. So I’m taking the existing technology and making it work for event organisers. So yeah, I’ll be announcing that at the Summit… hopefully.
JOE: We look forward to seeing the new app in action. Can you tell us a little more about Hatch? What exactly is it?
JC: Well, AIB and the Web Summit asked 16 to 18-year-old secondary school students to make a 60-second video detailing how they could make ‘Fluffy’, the pet of Paddy Cosgrave who’s the founder of Web Summit, famous. So they got tons of entries and lots of very technical and creative ones as well.
They made a shortlist of 20 winners, from technical videos to funny ones, so those 20 winners will head along to the Web Summit for free. They will also take part in a three-day challenge where they’ll meet a lot of entrepreneurs who can help them and they can make a lot of networking contacts during the event.
JOE: Do you wish there was a Hatch incubator or something similar around when you were starting up?
JC: Yes, definitely, I do. I started five years ago at the age of nine when there weren’t a lot of resources around for young entrepreneurs like me, but that’s changed. There’s much more out there, like CoderDojo and Hatch, so there’s loads more support for kids now.
JOE: As a fan of the Summit, are you looking forward to hearing or seeing anything in particular from the event?
JC: Yes, well this will be my third year going, so I’m looking forward to hearing a lot of the main talks. I’m big into my sport, so I’m really looking forward to those too. There are tons of different talks on from food to sport and various tech talks, so I’m looking forward to it all of it.
JOE: Tell us, Jordan, who were your role models when setting up?
JC: My role models would probably be… well, a lot of people would say Bill Gates or Steve Jobs and while they would be big role models to me, I think the biggest role model for me would be a man called Markus “Notch” Persson who created Minecraft.
He created the game on his own and he built it into a huge company that has a huge fan base and he sold the company for $2.5 billion to Microsoft, leaving him free to do what he wants now. So I’d like to be like him in the future. He’s very grounded and I really like that.
JOE: Starting a business so young, did you find it hard to be taken seriously by your older peers? Or is age not a problem in this line of work?
JC: Yes, definitely. One of the main disadvantages of being a young entrepreneur is your age. I tried on several occasions to get investment, mentorship, staff and I’ve been turned away from all of those just because of my age. But I think people are starting to realise how creative and innovative kids today can be, because we’re really the first generation to grow up with all this different technology around us from a young age.
So I think people are coming to terms with what young people can actually do. Just look at Mark Zuckerberg who started Facebook at 19 and there are a lot more kids doing great things, even younger than me, so yeah, it’s changing a lot.
JOE: What would you say to those who turned you away in the past?
JC: I’d say, “Well, you made a bad decision” (laughs). Ah no, I’m doing okay at the moment with my work, but I’m taking a bit of a break to focus on my Junior Cert. Things have been going great though, so I’m happy.
JOE: It must be hard to juggle your business while studying for the Junior?
JC: Yeah, it’s been okay so far. I’m taking a big break this year to focus on my study, so I’m taking on just one major thing at a time. I’m using my free time to relax instead of work on the business, so I’m going to get the Junior Cert over with and next year I will be in Transition Year and free to do what I want.
JOE: So considering you work in the tech and games industry, what do you do to relax?
JC: Well I do like to play games in my spare time, but I really love football. I play a lot of it, I watch a lot of it and I love the FIFA games, so that’s what I usually do to relax. Just normal teen things, really…
JOE: So we’re led to believe that you’re a Liverpool fan. How do you rate their chances against Real Madrid tonight?
JC: It’s hard to tell, really. I don’t think they’ll win it easily to be honest. I think they will have to pull off a shocker to win or it could be a draw, or else they’re just going to get hammered – hopefully not.
#YNWA pic.twitter.com/TeWaWejuFZ
— Jordan Casey (@CaseyGames) February 23, 2014
JOE: So do you think you could design an app to put Balotelli in a good mood… for once?
JC: (Laughs) I think that could be very difficult one to create. He’s in bad form now, but I still have hope. You have to always keep hope with these guys.
JOE: Thanks for the chat, Jordan. Best of luck with the app and with the rest of the Web Summit.
JC: Thanks guys.
For more info on the Web Summit head on over to the official website here.
