Young computer whizz going places
Palmerston North teen Ryan Clark has become an entrepreneur at a young age.
Ryan, 15, built his first computer when he was 12 with the help of a Youtube video. Now 15, he has built more than 100 PCS and his part-time business is proving fruitful.
Ryan is a student at Cornerstone Christian School and is part of UCOL’S U-skills young enterprise scheme, where he has been working on taking his business, Volta Tech, to the next level.
In July last year he started to ramp up the building work and now works on multiple computers at a time.
‘‘I’ve always liked business and entrepreneur stuff, in a way, from 6 years old. I was selling lemonade on the side of the road and door-to-door chocolates. I just enjoy myself.’’
In the last financial year he made $59,000 and in the past two months he has made $75,000.
The first computer he built took him three days, but he has honed his skills and it is down to a matter of hours now.
‘‘I like building them and troubleshooting.’’
He buys the items needed wholesale in bulk and has a couple of friends who work as contractors to help with the building work.
Most of his sales are on Facebook’s Marketplace and he tries to keep prices low. He rents the garage space from his parents and his mother does his accounts.
Volta Tech sells 11 PC models made for gaming, but they can also be used as a home computer.
Ryan also builds cryptocurrency mining rigs, which he taught himself to build, and they have been big sellers.
A mining rig is a computer used for gathering internet currency.
Five per cent of the company’s profit
goes towards providing schools in Cambodia with computers, printers and mobile internet hotspotting.
Ryan hoped to donate 100 computers by 2025. He goes to UCOL once a week for the young enterprise scheme, which is usually a year 13 course, but he said Cornerstone had been good about letting him go.
The U-skills programme has helped the business grow.
Ryan was also recently selected for the Bizventure Japan challenge, where teams from New Zealand and Japan work on a business challenge focused on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, and learn about business.