Tuesday, 26 March 2024
    22
    Sep

    Autistic entrepreneur hits mark

    As an 11-year-old boy with autism struggling to cope with anxiety, Kai Seymon relied on fidgeting with a long tangle to help calm his nerves, news.com.au reports.

    But the colourful instrument also caught the eye of bullies at school who ruthlessly picked on him for being different.

    The abuse almost became too much for the young boy – confiding in his mother Joanne who told news.com.au his depression was heartbreaking as Kai began to question his place in society.

    He wanted to avoid the spotlight from his merciless peers but was unable to forego the tension relief provided by the fidget, so he decided to make his own more discreet device.

    “I used some fidgets at school and people were teasing me for it,” the softly spoken Kaiko Fidgets creator, now 14, said during a phone interview from his home in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

    “I decided to make something that was more suitable for my age group, and that’s where I got the fidgets idea from.”

    At the very first market stall he ran three years ago, Kai sold 75 devices and the business has rapidly expanded since.

    His simple but brilliant idea has allowed both his parents to quit their jobs to focus on inventory after selling hundreds of thousands of products out of the family’s home.

    The business turned over more than $300,000 in the last financial year.

    Demand for fidgets has rocketed this year as the country grapples with the sudden and crippling anxiety caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

    Kai’s entrepreneurial talents earned him selection as a finalist for the 7 News ‘Generation Us’ Small Business Young Achiever Victorian Awards.

    FULL STORY

    Autistic entrepreneur, 14, youngest finalist in Small Business Awards (news.com.au)

    PHOTO

    kaikofidgets / Instagram