omar faruk articles

8/14/2019 Omar Faruk Articles

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Omar Faruk Media List

18 years old and a CEO .................................................................................................. 2A Portfolio of Young Business Owners ...............................................................................6YOUNG BIZ WHIZ SALVAGES TOP HONORS .......................................................... 10

Young Entrepreneurs to Close the Day at NASDAQ But Usher in the Future.................11EntrepreneurshipWeek USA Kicks Off with Workshops, Networking Opportunities .. .. .14

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Published on asia! Magazine (print) (http://www.theasiamag.com)

18 years old and a CEO

Thumbnail:

Main Feat. Thumb:MELANIE HILARIO

With a Wall Street address and wisdom beyond his years, Mohammed Omar Faruktells asia!how business can take care of the world.

Youthful entrepreneurship is hardly new; in the US, selling lemonade or delivering newspapers fora little extra money is practically a rite of passage. But in these high-tech times, an age where thebest source for pimping your MySpace page might very well be your 13-year-old nephew, youngpeople are not only forging new roads in business but giving old ones a makeover.

In Brooklyn, Mohammed Omar Faruk is one such up-and-coming businessman. Omar and Irecently connected one Friday, coordinating his early evening in New York with my late afternoonin California, to chat about how he came to lead the somewhat double life of an 18-year-old highschool senior and CEO of BlueStream, a company that provides low-cost web services andcomputer training to non-profit organisations.

With our sole contact via e-mail and phone, I wouldnt know what he looked like were it not for hisimpressive Google presence; one of the search hits yielded what else? his MySpace page,readily disclosing hes five foot ten, has chin-length black hair, hes single, and hes a Cancer.

Still, he was a CEO, so I kept my professional hat firmly affixed through all our correspondence,signing e-mails with thank you and regards (rather than the decidedly less formal peaceout). Then, while we were both scoping out the best spots on our respective coasts for propercell phone reception and interview-level quiet, he got a call on his other line.

Oh, excuse me, he says.

In the background: Miguel...hey man, are you still coming over?

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I suddenly felt at ease. Omar Faruk, wunderkind chief executive, also seemed like a nice, normal,18-year-old guy, about to hang out with a friend on a Friday night.

One of his 308 friends on MySpace.

Yeah, he definitely knows a thing or two about networking.

Not surprisingly, Omars economic savvy and penchant for taking chances appeared early on. Ihelped people bag groceries for tips. I was like, 11, says Omar, who had intuitively followed abasic business principle: find a need and fill it. But the need was also his own. His family had justmoved to the US from Bangladesh, and with nine children including himself, simple thingsbecame money issues: School trips cost money. When [the trip] was free, I got to go, but foodand everything was always more. With his earnings, Omar was able to fund those grade schoolfield trips, and he didnt stop there. In junior high he sold cakes, and later on, began his firstentrepreneurial endeavor one the staff at asia!could appreciate his own magazine.

Well, it was more of a newsletter, he admits, adding it didnt last as long as hed hoped: Youknow how they say 50% of companies fail the first year? He is extremely candid, almost self-effacing, telling me this venture didnt work out as planned. I for one didnt know 50% of

companies didnt make it the first year.

I helped people bag groceries for tips. I was like, 11. School trips cost money. When [the trip] wasfree, I got to go, but food and everything was always more.

Omar Faruk

He felt slightly impeded when he launched an online retail business with his brother-in-law at theage of 16. We originally wanted to import stuff. Sell wholesale products online.There wereissues, lots of trial and error, says Omar. Because of his age, there were problems with himgetting a bank account, as well as legal concerns with being President and CEO, preprintedbusiness cards or not. Fortunately, his brother-in-law and partner lent support there, and hisyouth was less of a liability in the ecommerce market, where government regulations differedslightly.

What did his family think about him starting a company at such young age? I was theindependent and rebellious one. They didnt ask questions, Omar says of his loved ones,including his Bengali-only-speaking mother, who might have trouble with the English as much asthe technical jargon arguably a language of its own needed to explain the details of what hedoes. Nonetheless, his background informs his work: eventually the company moved into webdesign (one of his personal interests), and Omar began to devote part of his efforts to helpingothers succeed in business, and getting people and businesses to become more involved in thecommunity.

One example is BlueStreams collaborations: I currently have a mentor whos helping us with the

Action Network. They get movie tickets, clothing, and other commodities and offer those productsas incentives. Omar also clarifies he doesnt do the website design and consulting serviceshimself, but facilitates the outsourcing, uniting freelancers seeking jobs with clients seeking thefreelancers. BlueStreams not set up to do millions of dollars, or even a few, Omar says with alaugh, but just as he did in his first job, hes recognized a need and filled it. Despite his not beinga millionaire yet, the companys pulled in a $20,000 revenue since 2004. Along with otherentrepreneurship related activity, thats enough to support both himself and the continuedoperation of BlueStream.

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Whats more, Omar is repaving the way to corporate enterprise with a concern for the publicgood. Currently BlueStream Corp. builds sites for a variety of markets, including retail,advertising, and music. Underneath BlueStream, Omar also runs desiflames.com, which offersfree music downloads to the South Asian community, and MyRedTag.com, described by Omar asan Internet marketplace for young entrepreneurs and small businesses. BlueStream not onlyprovides useful services, but cultivates economic communities often neglected ordisenfranchised: non-profit organizations, ethnic minorities, business owners just startingout. Omar may by definition be a newbie CEO, but what he lacks in experience, he makes up forin social awareness and creativity.

Others agree. Omar received one of the 2004 honours for Growing Up CEO, sponsored bythe Initiative for a Competitive Inner City [1], which is awarded to 25 emerging leaders 21 andunder. He also won a 2005 Atlantic Fellowship, in which Merrill Lynch grants exceptional highschool studentsthe opportunity to explore the business world firsthand and to discover thevariety of careers in the financial services industry. Both achievements have given him access toinvaluable instruction and mentorship in the field.Most recently, Ernst & Young presented Omarwith the prestigious Youth Entrepreneur Award this past summer.

Omar Faruk at The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awarding ceremony

At the time of this writing, Omar had just transferred from New York Citys High School ofEconomics and Finance to Independence High School, which allows him the f lexibility to balanceacademics, business, extracurricular activities (hes president of student government), and a

social life (again, this chief executive is currently single). Hes also very active in volunteerism andpolitics, organizes local MeetUps, advocates AIDS awareness, and is an instructor for theNational Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, or NFTE.

As an alumnus, Omar says he will always be part of NFTE (pronounced nifty), and try to shareas much of the insight gained from his experiences. I try to impress the real cost of labour andreselling. In a mock venturethe key profit isnt just the cost of say, $12 earrings sold for $13 as$1 profit. Theres the cost of travel [and other things]. He also fervently supports self-promotion:

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All your programmes, activities, and experiences contribute [to your qualifications]. Put them onyour rsum! Dont be afraid to brag! Its the only place youre allowed to.

Armed with more knowledge than most beginning entrepreneurs, Omar says his journey withBlueStream has totally impacted how he views business, and himself: I know that Im a huge risktaker! He elongates the word huge so its more like HUUUGE! the very sound reflecting his

confidence. I have the courage to take on other projects, he adds. Any idea I have [and want topursue], I know I have the guts to take the risk.

Omars regular day begins at 6 am; hes got books to read, papers to write, a company torun. With college and plans for his own non-profit on the horizon, Omar has already fulfilled hisown version of the American dream, and done it with a sensitivity for whats outside the officehigh-rise, beyond the boardroom. Thats a breath of fresh air in todays corporate atmosphere.

While Omar does want to expand the company and make money, he hopes the Action Networkand other non-profits will be able to give back to the community as the community is giving to me,in a senseI do not think profit for me is a big concern as long as it pays the billsits not mybiggest concern. I do not have any investors so I do not have to please anyone else but myclients and myself. Hes one of the new visionaries who see the vast macro- and micro- of

economics, business as means for betterment both global and personal, especially for someonecoming to it as he first did: I know for immigrants it can be hard, but the best way to defeathardship is with entrepreneurship. We know what opportunities are there.

He seems to be doing just what business author Kenneth H. Blanchard advises: When people goto work, they shouldn't have to leave their hearts at home. If they approach it like Omar does,they wont have to.

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A Portfolio of Young Business Owners

Meet six students who have already taken the entrepreneurial leap.By Patrick J. Sauer | Feb 1, 2007

Omar Faruk

Age 18, BlueStream, New York City

Omar Faruk believes that social entrepreneurship can make the world a better place. He's CEO ofBlueStream, a Web management company that specializes in helping nonprofits with limited resources.

The business grossed $40,000 in 2006 and earned Faruk the Youth Entrepreneur of the Year award givenout by Ernst & Young and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. "Make a differencefirst, make the money later," Faruk says.

In 1997, at age 9, Faruk immigrated with his family from Noakhali, Bangladesh--"The district that Gandhivisited," he notes--to New York City. The family had been well off back home but ended up with eightpeople sharing a three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. By the time Faruk enrolled in high school, he wasspending a lot of time online and learning the ins and outs of Web design. Three years ago, he startedBlueStream to build websites at a cost of $200 and up for fledgling nonprofits. The idea was to marry hisinterest in social activism to his interest in technology. One of Faruk's customers is Intertradingcorp.com,an organization that helps women in Guyana sell crafts on eBay. "Omar helped the idea to flower, and hemakes the world of commerce so much fun," says Avi Shiwnandan, Intertradingcorp.com's founder.

In the meantime, Faruk is trying to bolster his grades in an effort to get into Babson College, where hehopes to study social entrepreneurship. Shiwnandan, for one, is not worried about Faruk's prospects: "Ihave no doubt he will make a lot of money in his lifetime, even if it isn't his main ambition."

Copyright 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved.Inc.com, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195.

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7/17

Daily News: Steve Mariotti: Thinking Big About Small Business

From The New York Daily NewsBy HEATHER ROBINSON

Every child should learn how to start a business,especially children who are having difficulty in school,says Steve Mariotti. Let them be exposed to theconcept of self-ownership.

With his easy banter and warm smile, Mariotti seemsmore like a guy youd find behind the counter of aneighborhood deli than running an educational empire.But for Mariotti, 52, inspiring youngsters to start small

businesses is a big obsession.As founder and director of the National Foundation forTeaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE, pronounced Nifty)he runs a non-profit organization that teaches theprinciples of small business management to 28,000

young people per year in over 13 countries worldwide.

He is also creator of the curriculum that NFTE trains teachers to use, and author ofEntrepreneurship: How to Start and Operate a Small Business, a textbook that reflects histwenty years of working to help junior high and high school students to start their own businessesand make money.

A sturdy, plainspoken fellow, Mariotti believes that the best way to help the poor, even poorchildren, is to teach them to make money.The only way to beat poverty, long term, is business development, he says.

At one time a financial analyst for the Ford Motor Company, Mariotti left Ann Arbor, MI for NewYork City in 1979, pursuing the dream of being his own boss. He started an import/exportwomens shoe business, and was successful. But in 1981, he was mugged by a gang of teenagers, adeeply traumatic experience.Searching for a way to overcome his fears and reconnect with others, he decided to teach, and

began his new career at one of the citys toughest schools, Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant.Students would lock him out of the classroom, he recalls, and practice dance steps in the back ofthe roomanything to avoid learning. One day, frustrated, he took some students to dinner andtalked with them. He learned that they felt his lessons had little to do with their lives, and they

were bored.At that point, a theory was born.He decided to incorporate his experience in the business world into the classroom, designinglessons that simulated business transactions in order to teach math.Some kids are fascinated by business and money, and I started designing a curriculum for them,he said.The kids perked up; he went on to supervise creation of student-run stores, and to begin teaching

basic business principles, like developing ideas, finding niches, and record keeping.In 1987, after six years teaching in the New York City public schools, Mariotti founded NFTE.The NFTE curriculum requires students to make a minimum 50 hours commitment to learning

basic business skills such as record keeping, maintaining income statements, writing anddefending a business plan, and making sales calls.In addition to training teachers to offer the program in schools, NFTE partners with communitycenters and colleges including New York University to offer free, week-long summer campprograms. About 4,500 New York City students participate each year.The curriculum is flexible and can be incorporated into pre-existing math or business classes, ortaught as a separate elective class, like Entrepreneurship.In addition to teaching business skills, the program is designed to encourage kids to stay inschool.

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Its a strategy to help kids stay in school and master basic skills while also developing skills thatcan be used later to help them make a living in a free enterprise system, says Mariotti.Keeping kids in school is vital for them and for society, he believes.Certain kids are just not responding to schools, and once they drop out, theres 65 percentunemployment from ages 18 to 30, he says. Once theyre disconnected, there are so manytragedies.Keeping kids in school has such great economic and social value.There is evidence that NFTEs curriculum does keep kids in school, and have other benefits, too: a1993 Brandies University study found that for older high school students, participation in NFTEcorrelated with increased likelihood of attending college. And a Harvard University studyconducted during the 2002-2003 school year found that students participating in NFTE gained agreater sense that their actions, not outside forces, accounted for success.Kids speak with great enthusiasm about NFTE.Mohammed Omar Faruk, 17, a high school junior who participated in one of NFTEs summercamp programs in Bedford Stuyvesant, has since established several internet businesses,including bluestreamcorp.com, an internet consulting firm, and megalowprices.org, a retail site.In all, he and a business partner have netted about $4,000. He would like to attend BabsonCollege, and thinks his experience with NFTE will help him.NFTE teaches you, early in life, a lot of information you can use later on, he says.Jasstina Featherstone, 16, who runs Jass Esscents ([email protected]), a candle

business featuring unique, hand-carved designs, learned business skills through a NFTE campprogram she heard about at her school.NFTE has helped me a great deal; I dont think I could have done my business without it, shesays.

Although she says she had researched how to make candles on her own, and was alreadymotivated, the business skills she learned through NFTE enabled her to overcome self-esteemproblems that might have prevented her from developing her craft into a business, and to learnhow to manage the business end.So far, she says, she has earned several hundred dollars selling her candles.NFTE presently operates in low income communities across the United States and in 13 countriesaround the world, through its curriculum, teacher education programs, and support services foralumni.Some of the places in which NFTE operates include China, India, Israel, South Africa, Belgium,Tanzania, Holland, and the United Kingdom.Many of the worlds greatest entrepreneurs have been poor children, and its a natural fit,according to Mariotti.

While middle class upbringing tends to prepare one for functioning in a structured environment,like a government or a corporation, poorer childrens circumstances tend to more closely mirrorthe conditions of independent business peoples, Mariotti believes.Many of these kids have chutzpah, and have learned to deal with a volatile, unpredictable world,and thats [like] the world of independent business, he says.Owning a business isnt easy, and isnt for everyone, but that doesnt mean its not worthwhile foreveryone to learn about it, Mariotti maintains.A lot of people dont want to make the sacrifices necessary to own, he says. Not everyone willchoose the path of the entrepreneur, and thats fine. But having whole communities never giventhe opportunity to think about ownership is a tragedy.To me, there should be a class in every school to learn how to start a business.

http://www.heatherrobinson.net/profiles/2006/04/11/steve-mariotti-thinking-big-about-small-business/

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National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Our goal is to educate young people, many of whom struggle in school, in the workings of our

economy, what place they can have in it, and how they can access and create opportunities to

help improve their lives. Early research is showing powerful connections between NFTE's

program and increased school engagement among hard-to-reach youth, as well as increased

interest in attending college.

A true testament to the impact of our program is the success of our students -- students such

as Omar Faruk, who recently became the first and youngest recipient of the Ernst & Young

Entrepreneur Award. Omar and his family emigrated from Bangladesh to New York City in

1997. Three years ago, Omar started BlueStream to build websites for nonprofits. NFTE

alumnus Jasmine Lawrence, age 15, was recently featured on The Oprah Winfrey Showand in

the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Jasmine is CEO of Eden Body Works, a line of

all-natural hair and body products that was recently picked up by Wal-

Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI) stores.

All in all, NFTE served more than 32,000 young people this year thanks to the help of

supporters like The Motley Fool and the Fool community.

NFTE is in the process of launching a microfinance initiative with Prosper.com to connect

alumni in need of small start-up loans with interested lenders. We're also continuing to expand

our alumni services area to better support our alumni who continue to launch or expand their

businesses after completing the program.

NFTE (http://www.nfte.com/) is grateful for the opportunity we had to participate in

Foolanthropy 2006. Your investment has helped economically disadvantaged young people

gain critical entrepreneurial skills so they can find a pathway to prosperity -- thank you for

your commitment to our mission!

http://www.fool.com/server/printarticle.aspx?file=/investing/general/2007/07/24/where-are-they-now.aspx

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YOUNG BIZ WHIZ SALVAGES TOP HONORS

BY JOYCE SHELBY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, May 19th 2006, 7:19AM

WHEN NATHANIEL Younger was 13, he went to Chinatown, bought some fake Rolex watches for $10 -and began a booming Internet business.

Younger, now 21, sold the watches on eBay for $110 to $120.

"I was totally honest about it," said Younger, who lives in Williamsburg.

"We think of those watches as a joke in New York, but people in other parts of the country don't. I made alot of money until everybody caught on to the idea and started undercutting me."

Younger was not deterred. The watch business led to another brainstorm - and yesterday Younger was

named a Bank of America Young Entrepreneur yesterday and collected a $750 prize.

"The idea is to reach out to young people who have an entrepreneurial spirit, to nourish that spirit, cherish itand direct it," said Peter Kostmayer, president of Citizens for NYC, which administered the contest.

Brooklyn's other winning entrepreneurs were: Mohammed Omar Faruk, 17, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, whocreates and manages Web sites and sells 300 products through his Internet firm, Bluestream Corp., andSergey Makogon, 18, of Brighton Beach.

Makogon owns and operates Auctions Geek, a company that sells items on eBay for people who don'tknow how. The two entrepreneurs each received $300.

For Younger, getting pushed out of the fake Rolex watch market led him to the business that won himyesterday's award - salvaging.

With his watch profits, Younger bought a motorcycle for $3,200.

"I crashed it because I didn't know how to ride it," Younger said. Fortunately, he did know how to fix thecycle and sold it on eBay. He got $3,000 and a phone call.

"The guy who bought it said I should have disclosed the salvage history," said Younger, adding that he'dnever heard of one. "But there was no bad blood because he was happy with the bike."

Through the phone call, Younger discovered the world of salvaging.

"I realized there was a good opportunity to buy cars at a cheap rate, fix them, resell them and makemoney," he said. "A Toyota can be made to look like something very exotic, and maintenance is far lessexpensive."

[email protected]

http://personals.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2006/05/19/2006-05-19_young_biz_whiz_salvages_top_.html

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Young Entrepreneurs to Close the Day at NASDAQ But Usher in the Future.

Publication: Business WireDate:Monday, February 26 2007

Merrill Lynch and ICIC Honor Young Entrepreneurs, Announce Nominations for the 2007 Growing UpCEO Program and Release New Research on Youth and EntreprenuershipNEW YORK -- ICIC:WHAT: The closing bell on the NASDAQ trading floor tomorrow will

be sounded by a group of young entrepreneurs whosecompanies are opening new opportunities for residents of

America's inner cities. Representatives from the Growing

Up CEO program, a nationwide initiative to identify inner

city entrepreneurs under the age of 21, will participate

in the closing-bell ceremony that recognizes Feb. 24 -

Mar. 3 as national EntrepreneurshipWeek USA.

Following the closing-bell ceremony, the young

entrepreneurs will attend a networking gathering at

Merrill Lynch's downtown headquarters.

In 2005, the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

(ICIC), a nonprofit economic development organization

founded by Harvard Business School Professor Michael E.

Porter, partnered with Merrill Lynch to launch the Growing

Up CEO program, which each year recognizes the

entrepreneurial accomplishments of 25 US and 5

international inner city CEOs, all of whom are under 21

and most are still in high school.

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Among the participants in the closing ceremonies is Omar

Faruk (19), CEO of Blue Stream Media Corp., a company that

designs websites for small businesses. Faruk, one of 10

children, founded Blue Stream when he was 17. His family

immigrated to the U.S. in 1997, without money and only

rudimentary English language skills.

Weina Scott (17), the co-creator of Switchpod.com, which

gives users space to upload audio and video programs as

pod casts is another participant and an applicant for

this year's Growing Up CEO program. Switchpod.com was

purchased in 2006 by publicly traded Wizzard Software

(OTCBB: WIZD), an inner city Pittsburgh-based company.

RESEARCH: ICIC will also be releasing new research, Starting Young,

Staying Strong, compiled over last 8 years on inner city

entrepreneurs who started businesses when they were young.

For more information visit, www.icic.org

WHO: Among the people attending the event at Merrill Lynch

include, Ahmass Fakahany, Vice Chairman and Chief

Administrative Officer Merrill Lynch; Eddy Bayardelle,

President of the Merrill Lynch Foundation; Dorothy A.

Terrell, President and CEO of ICIC; Steve Mariotti,

Founder and Chairman of NFTE; Judith Cone, VP of The

Kauffman Foundation; and many young entrepreneurs.

WHERE: Merrill Lynch Headquarters, 250 Vessey Street, New York,

NY 10281

WHEN: 6:00 - 8:00 PM - photo and interview opportunities

http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services/4531019-1.html

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13/17

Whiz Kids: Americas Next Business Tycoons

http://www.inc.com/ss/whiz-kids-americas-next-business-tycoons#2

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EntrepreneurshipWeek USA Kicks Off with Workshops, Networking Opportunities

The first-ever educational event is designed to promote business ownership among high-school and collegestudents.By Angus Loten | Feb 27, 2007

When he was nine years old,Omar Farukimmigrated to the United States from Bangladesh with ninebrothers and sisters, little money, and only a rudimentary grasp of the English language. A decade later,Faruk, whose Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Web-design firm grossed $40,000 last year, was on hand to ring theclosing bell at Nasdaq on Monday as part of a nationwide kickoff forEntrepreneurshipWeek USA.

"It's amazing," said Faruk, who's now 18 and a high school senior. "My family came here looking for theAmerican Dream. I mean, that can really happen."

The notion that starting your own business is a real possibility for young people is exactly what organizershope to instill with EntrepreneurshipWeek, a broad educational effort sponsored by the Ewing MarionKauffman Foundation,Inc. magazine, and The New York Times, among others, to promote businessownership among high-school and college students. Congress last year established a ceremonialnationalentrepreneurship week.

The week-long event features thousands of programs across the nation, including workshops, mentoringprograms, contests, panel discussions, and networking opportunities with business leaders, governmentofficials, venture capitalists, and others.

Among other initiatives, it includes a day-long mentoring program at New York University, anEntrepreneur Idol contest in Philadelphia, and a best lemonade stand contest in Charleston, W.Va. Theevent culminates with an entrepreneurial policy forum in Washington, withSteven Preston, head of theSmall Business Administration.

"Educating our young people about entrepreneurship and reinforcing the value that entrepreneurs andinnovators bring to our economy is critical to America's long-term prosperity -- more so now than everbefore," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City, Mo.-basedentrepreneurial funding and research group.

On Saturday, Schramm hosted the event's inaugural launch at Stanford University with university presidentJohn Hennessy and venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, among other high-profile guests.

Later this week, Todd Stottlmeyer, president of the National Federation of Independent Business, thenation's largest small-business lobby group with more than 600,000 members, will personally mentor about

25 students in a fashion-marketing class at a Fairfax County public school. The school is one of 27participating in the group'sEntrepreneurship-in-the-Classroompilot project, which provides educatorswith free resources to teach entrepreneurship skills.

Meanwhile, theNational Venture Capital Association, a Washington-based policy trade group, organizedan essay-writing contest on innovative new products at high schools in California, Massachusetts,Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

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The contest, which was open to students from grades one through 12, sought out new ideas and productsthat would solve common day-to-day problems. Entries ranged from a GPS-navigated walking cane for theblind to a locator beeper for missing cell phones and TV remote controls, organizers said."Our commitment to energizing the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs has never beengreater," Mark Heesen, the group's president, said in a statement.

By enabling young entrepreneurs to get innovations to the market, venture capitalists share the goals ofEntrepreneurshipWeek, Heesen said.

"I think it's crucial to get these skills at a young age," Faruk said. "I'd love to see entrepreneurship classes atmy high school. It would be fun."

Copyright 2010 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved.Inc.com, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195.

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200702/week_Printer_Friendly.html

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AMNY: Teen entrepreneur building the Americandream

BY FARNOOSH TORABI

December 4, 2006When Mohammed Omar Faruk emigrated

from Bangladesh in 1997, he didn't havehigh hopes for a better life in New York

City. "My parents dragged me here," the18-year-old said. He remembers his

early days in the city, sharing anovercrowded apartment in Bedford-

Stuyvesant with as many as seven familymembers. His English was pretty limited

at first.

"The only words I knew were, 'Me noEnglish,'" he said.

But Faruk, now a senior at Independent

High School in Manhattan, has madeamazing strides. Perhaps most

exceptionally, he's managed to outpace

the average American teen by startinghis own business called BlueStream

Corp. The Web-based business,

Bluestreamcorp.com, helps non-profitorganizations build their Web sites and

learn computer skills at an affordable

rate.

"What may cost them thousands of

dollars [for a Web site], we do for a few hundred," Faruk said.

The teen started the venture about two years ago with about $3,000 in grant moneyand an additional $1,000 investment from his brother-in-law. He also used credit

cards. Faruk figures he's raised about $40,000 from the initial funding. Recently he'salso started a non-profit company, The Action Network, which strives to increase

volunteerism in low-income communities in the city. That, Faruk said, speaks to hisdeep interest in social issues. Faruk showed signs of entrepreneurship early on. In

the seventh grade, he enrolled in a summer program sponsored by the NationalFoundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, or NFTE.

During the course, he learned economics, business ethics and how to start his own

business. "I didn't really make much of it during that time, but I was learning," hesaid. Into high school, Faruk returned to NFTE, this time as a certified

entrepreneurship teacher. It was then that he refined his ideas for BlueStream Corp.NFTE recognized his endeavors by naming him its 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year.

He's also the youngest recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Award.

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While his business achievements rank high, Faruk admits his academic record is not

as impressive. "My teachers would agree I'm a smart kid ... but my grades suffered.I'm not the perfect 'A' student," he said, considering most of his time is spent on the

business, in addition to extracurricular activities like student government.

Helping out his large and extended family has also been a major priority; Faruk'smother often needs his help translating English. Because of his grades, Faruk knows

his goals of attending Babson College, the country's top business school forentrepreneurship, will have to wait. In the meantime, he plans on staying in the city

for a couple of years after graduating high school and attending a state universitybefore transferring to his dream school.

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. Reach her

[email protected].

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