Are Children Natural Entrepreneurs?

"An entrepreneur is someone who looks at the world, sees something that doesn’t exist but should, and they make it."  

Today's kids learn differently, Reuben Steiger believes. Whether it's from video games or Google or other technology, the key is to tap into kids' learning style to develop skills that employers seek. 

After all, aren’t someone's knowledge, creativity and abilities more important than a college pedigree? 

“I thought about it in terms of my kids,” Steiger said. “What’s important for them to be learning right now? It’s no longer about knowing the answers to questions, but knowing what questions are interesting.” 

That's why Steiger and his wife Hilary, both entrepreneurs who live in Princeton, have launched a new company, 8 and Up. Their self-funded venture, housed at Tigerlabs on Nassau Street, aims to teach entrepreneurial skills to kids. 

The company will launch its first imitative this week- a six week pilot for kids ages 8-10.

Students won't learn in a traditional classroom, but in a space lined with white boards, computers, iPhones, and non-traditional craft materials.

“By the end of six weeks, each will have designed and launched a project and sold it online,” Steiger said. In addition, each student will be given $50 as working capital, so they learn how to work within the constraints of a budget.  

“Starting around age 8, kids cognitively have developed enough to think critically and have the necessary skills to do some of the more structured work necessary for this, but are still incredibly imaginative," Steiger said. "It’s around age 8 that a kid begins to form their opinions of what’s possible for them.”

Steiger, a Princeton native, is a lifelong entrepreneur.

He was about 8 years old when he launched his first venutre. He bought 100 gumballs for $2, put them in a jar and people could pay $1 to guess the number of gumballs inside. The winner won the gumballs and Steiger made an $18 profit. 

He later took on other initiatives, including concert promoter and t-shirt sales.

I’ve done pretty much every business," Steiger said. "I think it's fun."

He attended Littlebrook Elementary School, John Witherspoon Middle School and graduated from Princeton High School in 1989.

After earning his degree from from Brown University, Steiger became involved in early web design, building the first website for the City of New York and the first e-commerce site for Tiffany & Co.

He later moved to San Francisco and married Hilary. In his position as Chief Evangelist for Linden Lab's Second Life, on online virtual world, Steiger helped grow the company from about 10,000 users into a hugely successful company that landed on the cover of Business week. He later founded a company called Millions of Us and turned it into a multimillion dollar business.

In 2011, the Steigers moved back to Princeton and Reuben commuted to New York, both in advertising and marketing and then with a design company.

But with two young children, Steiger became tired returning home at 7:30 each night. His two children are Phoebe, 7, and Theo, nearly 9.

When the Steigers decided to launch 8 and Up, Reuben remembers asking Theo if he thought it was a good idea. He laughs when he remembers his son's answer. 

"He said 'I do think it's a great idea, but here's the thing,'" Theo told him. "'If it's fun, it'll be fun, but if it's boring, it'll be boring. So it has to be fun.'"

With Hilary Steiger's entrepreneurial and marketing background, she's focused on product development and parent research for 8 and Up. 

Reuben Steiger said the couple hopes to launch pilot programs for their course in New York and another in Central New Jersey town, possibly in Hamilton or North Brunswick. 

"More than anything else, I just want to do this," Reuben Steiger said. "I just intrinsically know that I love it as something to teach and I believe in it really strongly. And if kids have fun with it, then it's super-valuable."