At Age 15, He Used Facebook Marketplace to Start a Side Hustle — Then It Became Something Much Bigger: 'Raised Over $1.6 Million'

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Dylan Zajac, 21, a elder astatine Babson College. At 15, Zajac had a broadside hustle thrifting and fixing computers. The gig inspired Zajac to recovered his nonprofit Computers 4 People, which provides refurbished computers to group successful need. Responses person been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Computers 4 People

When did you commencement your side hustle, and wherever did you find the inspiration for it?
I started retired by going to thrift stores astir Brooklyn, New York, pinch my precocious schoolhouse friends, conscionable arsenic a nosy hobby. We'd return the PATH train from Hoboken and past skate from thrift shop to thrift store, often hitting 3 aliases much successful a azygous day. At these shops, we'd sift done piles of aged electronics, hunting for hidden gems. When we recovered thing valuable, we'd discuss difficult to get a deal. Some days we bought truthful galore computers we had to stack them connected our skateboards to rotation them home.

Related: 'I Just Hustled': She Earned More Than $300,000 Wrapping Gifts Last Year — and It All Started With a Side Hustle

Once we sewage the computers back, we'd cleanable them up, hole them and waste them connected Facebook Marketplace aliases eBay. Before long, this hobby turned into a existent business. At 1 point, my full chamber was filled pinch random desktops and Apple PowerBooks. The margins were insane, sometimes arsenic precocious arsenic 80%!

What were immoderate of the first steps you took to get your side hustle disconnected the ground? How did it germinate into the nonprofit you tally now?
One of the cardinal things that made it imaginable for maine to commencement my broadside hustle was having entree to a laptop and the net erstwhile I was successful mediate school. I'd walk hours watching YouTube tutorials connected really to refurbish computers and learning the ins and outs of ecommerce platforms, which helped maine scope hundreds of customers, each from my bedroom.

But arsenic I sewage deeper into this, I started noticing a immense problem. On my trips to Brooklyn, I saw mountains of e-waste — computers tossed distant by group and companies who had nary thought really to dispose of them properly. At the aforesaid time, I realized conscionable really galore group successful the world (2.6 cardinal to beryllium exact) don't person entree to the integer world. That's erstwhile the thought for Computers 4 People deed me.

I decided to move what I'd learned into a nonprofit. Using online tutorials, I figured retired really to incorporate, record for 501(c)(3) status, create bylaws and get everything up and running. The scheme was simple: Collect utilized computers from individuals and companies, refurbish them and donate them to group and organizations successful need. In February 2019, arsenic a 15-year-old precocious schoolhouse sophomore, I officially began my ngo to destruct the digital divide. I've been astatine it ever since.

Related: Their Nutty College Side Hustle Earned Over 6 Figures successful Under 6 Months: 'Revenue Doubled Every Month'

What were immoderate of the biggest challenges you faced while building Computers 4 People, and really did you navigate them?
One of the toughest challenges was making judge Computers 4 People could tally sustainably without me. Balancing schoolhouse pinch moving the nonprofit taught maine that there's really nary specified point arsenic balance; you conscionable person to make it work. Many group assumed Computers 4 People would autumn isolated erstwhile I went to college, arsenic astir mini projects for illustration this do. To beryllium them wrong, I focused connected creating a coagulated building wherever responsibilities for illustration accounting, HR and programme guidance were intelligibly defined. I built proprietary systems to automate inventory, customer management, philanthropist guidance and federal/state assistance reporting, which helped america standard and tally efficiently.

Securing capable funding and machine donations remains an ongoing situation arsenic we activity to meet the overwhelming request for our services. With hundreds of individuals connected our waiting list, the request often outpaces supply. To reside this, we've been diversifying our backing sources, leveraging authorities grants, instauration grants, individual giving and earned revenue. Additionally, we're partnering pinch immoderate of the largest Fortune 100 and 500 companies to cod their utilized computers, ensuring we tin proceed efficaciously bridging the integer divide.

What do the organization's maturation and occurrence metrics look for illustration today?
To date, we person donated 3,668 computers to individuals successful need, diverting complete 55,000 pounds of physics discarded from landfills. Our programs person empowered thousands to entree education, unafraid employment and thrive successful the digital world. We've raised complete $1.6 cardinal done awarded grants and donations, allowing america to standard quickly and turn our squad to complete a twelve full-time unit members.

Related: After Being Laid Off, He Started a Side Hustle With Facebook. It Made Almost $3 Million Last Year: 'I Bought My Mom a $50,000 SUV.'

What do you bask astir about moving connected this nonprofit?
I emotion solving reliable problems, building exertion to streamline processes and moving pinch a squad of mission-driven group each focused connected the aforesaid goal. It's besides incredibly rewarding to person messages each time astir the life-changing impacts of our programs and to spot those results reflected successful our data.

What's your proposal for others hoping to commencement an statement that makes an impact?
Let organization insights thrust your solutions; don't commencement thing conscionable because it seems impactful. Ensure your efforts create a nett affirmative for the world, particularly successful the nonprofit space. In the beginning, don't trust connected others to grip the essentials. Learn really to negociate incorporation, taxes, accounting, operations, technology, HR and mounting up a board of directors yourself. It's captious to understand your business and manufacture wrong and out. Once you person a coagulated foundation, build a squad that complements your skills and includes group who excel successful areas for illustration fundraising, accrual accounting aliases organization. Finally, don't overthink each step: Act fast, make decisions quickly and support moving forward.

This article is portion of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® bid highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a young business owner.