At the age of 14, Alby Churven founded a company, applied to Y Combinator – and learned early on why time is his greatest advantage.
This text is based on a conversation with Alby Churven, the 14-year-old founder of Clovr from Wollongong, Australia. The text has been edited for length and clarity.
When I was younger, I started an e-commerce brand of grip socks called Alpha Grips. The project failed – but that’s exactly what sparked my interest in business. I was twelve then.
Many children and young people’s first businesses almost always have to do with e-commerce: dropshipping, clothing brands and so on. Social media bombards you with this get-rich-quick idea, be it through dropshipping or crypto. Even though this is fraud 90 percent of the time, it still sparks a spark of interest.
Then I came up with the idea for Finkel, the startup with which I applied to Y Combinator. I simply emailed Frank Greeff, a pretty well-known founder here. He recommended that I post publicly on social media – so I started doing that. X is full of startups.
Social media has played a big role overall. Seeing how other brands and companies build their products gave me extreme motivation. I used to attend coding camps, so I’ve always been interested in tech and entrepreneurship.
I applied to YC. Apparently I shouldn’t have made this elaborately edited video at all. Actually, you should just sit down, turn on the webcam and talk. To be honest, I didn’t read the instructions – but maybe that’s what made the video viral (7.9 million views).
My application video for Y Combinator
Australia now has a new social media ban for under-16s. For me, an incredible number of good things have happened through social media – and this ban is taking that away from me. I don’t agree with it, but that’s the way it is.
I’m young. I think my biggest advantage as a young founder is that I have time. My goal right now is to build as many things as possible, learn as much as possible and see where it leads. Many people don’t decide what they want to do until they’re 16 or 18. I already know: I want to work in startups and tech. The advantage of starting young is that there is less financial pressure. You can just build things.
In the future I will have experience. It’s about learning. I have time – and I enjoy it. The younger generation thinks differently. Some older people don’t even know how to use AI.
I’m in the USA right now and meeting a lot of really exciting people. When you’re young, you can use your age to make lots of contacts. It’s rare – and people think it’s crazy that you start it so early.
My age is a wow factor, but it also limits my credibility
That can also be negative. Some people don’t take you seriously if you really want to build something. Everything I build is bootstrapped because it’s virtually impossible to get venture capital at a young age.
I’m now reaching a point on some projects where I need money. I applied to various accelerators. My expectations for Y Combinator were very low. I got an interview for my other startup Clovr – but was then rejected.
I’ve heard it’s important to be early in the system. If I apply again later, I will already be known and know the process.
I think grants are a very good option. You get significantly less money, but you don’t give up any shares. I don’t think giving up shares at a young age is a good decision. This creates pressure to deliver – but at that age you mostly want to build and try things out.
