If gumption is a measure of success, then Connor Cameron is already well on his way to be becoming an Australian unicorn startup founder.
The Sydney student sent Startup Daily a media release today with the title “The 17 Year Old CEO Juggling High School with a $100,000 Startup”. It was so polished he put the efforts of many a veteran PR to shame.
His media release begins:
At face value, Connor Cameron seems like any other Sydney high school student. He attends his Math and English classes during the week and spends time with his friends on weekends. Behind the curtain however, Connor is one of Australia’s youngest startup founders, tackling the major issue of student employment with ‘Stakk’; a hundred thousand dollar platform that lets people find and hire local high school students for household tasks in under 60 seconds.
The teenager is already talking scale, believing his fledgling startup can go national within two years.
Turns out Connor is already a serial entrepreneur who began selling soft drinks from his school locker, aged 12, formed his first company at 14 and two years later, frustrated by how hard it was for students his age to find jobs, he began developing the Stakk website over the 2018-19 summer holidays.
Stakk.com.au is a bit like Airtasker for students, and currently operates in the North Sydney area (Connor is planning for a Sydney-wide roll out shortly).
You can book a student for tasks around the house, including gardening, at $25 an hour (minimum 30 mins).
Stakk promises someone within 24 hours, but points out they’re only available between 4pm and 6pm on weekdays during school term, plus 8am-6pm on weekends. The teenagers have public liability insurance and Connor told Startup Daily that students from years 9 to 12 from around a dozen local schools are part of the Stakk workforce.
Connor says the Stakk user base already numbers in the thousands, with hundreds of hours of bookings made.
And as the site says on customer satisfaction: “We strive to deliver the best service to you with every task. If for any reason you are not satisfied, please contact our team within 24 hours of your service and we will happily send another student back free of charge”.
The startup had a “pre-seed investment in July 2018 at a valuation of $100,000”.
His proudest moment so far was his first review.
“I was over the moon. I knew then that even if it all fell apart the next day, I’d have been happy just to have improved the life of one customer just that little bit, it’s a hard feeling to describe,” he said.
The teenage CEO believes his site also gives students work experience that makes them more employable in the long run.
For now, the year 12 student has another side hustle to focus on – his HSC.
No doubt a couple of key investors, his dad, who runs an IT business, and mum, an architect, at his co-working space (the family home) are keen for a strong exit strategy to deliver an excellent ROI for their 13 years of equity backing in the Stakk founder.
As for Stakk, Connor’s ambition is impressive.
“My long term goal for Stakk has always been to be the leading source of employment for high school students in Australia, and I think we could get there within 24 months,” he said.
“At the moment the focus is on ensuring we have the right model to scale throughout the country.”
Today, North Sydney, tomorrow the world.
This post was written by Simon Thomsen for StartUp Daily and is republished here with permission.
