 By Garrett Bryce |
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Today
Steven receives a nice royalty from his invention and works as a
consultant for X-Concepts. Is Steven glad he followed through on
his idea for a miniature skateboard? You bet! "I can't believe it
has gotten as big as it has," Steven says. |
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#2: Abbey Fleck, Makin' Bacon At age 8, Abbey got the idea to microwave bacon vertically so the grease would just drip right into a tray. Now, at 17, Abbey owns A de F, Inc. in White Bear Lake, MN with her dad, Jon Fleck, and sells more than 500,000 Makin' Bacon dishes a year. As spokesperson for the company, she is often called "the girl with the million-dollar idea." |
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 #3: Rich Stachowski, Water Toys Playing around in the pool is 15-year-old Rich's specialty. Since he was 10, he has invented such pool toys as Water Talkies, Aqua Scope, and others to build a winning business in Moraga, CA. Rich sold his water toy company, but some sources say he became a millionaire. He's still inventing toys, as well as working with nonprofit organizations to help other young inventors get started. |
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 #4:
Kathryn (K-K) Gregory, Wristies K-K got sick of snow getting
between her jacket and gloves to freeze her wrists, so she did something
about it. She invented some fuzzy wrist-warming fabric tubes to keep
herself warm. Today 16-year-old K-K and her mom, Sue Gregory, run
Wristies Inc. in Bedford, MA, selling the award-winning product throughout
the U.S. |
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#5: Ian Single, Pizza Pops Does a huge, chewy, pizza-shaped chocolate brownie covered with gooey caramel and served on a popsicle stick sound good to you? It did to Ian ¾ inventor of the Pizza Pop, a chocolate cookie confection that is now distributed nationally. This 12-year-old's sweet tooth got him started, and with the help of his mom, he runs the The Original Pizza Pop Company in Londenderry, NH. |
#1:
Steven Asher, Tech Deck Products Lots of people enjoy
collecting coins, cards, and comics, but how about a collector's
item that pulls wicked 360s and awesome ollies? Meet the Tech Deck
miniature skateboard. These freewheeling fingerboards were invented
by 15-year-old Californian Steven Asher as a way to practice his
skateboarding tricks on a rainy afternoon. His dad, Peter Asher,
saw what Steven was doing and knew it would be a hit in the toy
world. 
The
expense and effort is paying off. X-Concepts, the toy manufacturing
company that makes Tech Decks, has shipped out over 38 million of
Steven's toys so far, including his recently invented fingerboard
snowboards and miniature bikes. "We have the professional skateboard
companies behind us, making it a realistic product," Peter says.
"Kids want to collect the real thing."