Small Biz

Ashutosh Gupta, 19

Gupta Financial Consulting
Madison, Wis.

In middle school, India native Ashutosh Gupta wasn't overly enthusiastic when his mother sent him to a small-business development camp at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. But he liked entrepreneurship, and it became a constant theme throughout high school. He's now back at the school as an undergraduate earning his BBA in entrepreneurship and finance.

From January to July, 2007, Gupta says he ran an online broadcasting business called Inzum.com that fizzled after he had differences in opinion about its future with his partner. In July, Gupta started a new business, Gupta Financial Consulting, which draws on his experience running Inzum to do management consulting for small businesses. Clients with revenues between $200,000 and $3.3 million have ranged from a prototyping business to a small restaurant to a real estate business. While he says some prospective clients might question hiring a 19-year-old to do financial consulting, most don't know how old he is and don't ask or seem to care. He estimates his business will have revenues between $150,000 and $300,000 this year.