Teen Server Business Success

A story about how Jess Ma started her first business as a teenager while struggling in high school.

"When I was 13, I started a dedicated server and colocation business because that's what I thought you did in high school. I grew that to a few hundred thousand in revenue per year.

I was making more money than my teachers. I remember in biology class, I couldn't pay attention. The biology teacher clearly didn't like me because she knew I had high potential, but I wasn't doing well because I was up until 3 in the morning answering customer service and sales emails. I only had like 5 hours of sleep. When you're 13 operating on 5 hours of sleep, you're not going to do well.

I was a total geek loser. I had no friends. I went to the computer club at my high school which was all the nerds who also had no other friends so you have to be friends with each other. They were making fun of me and bullying me. I was literally on the bottom of the bottom totem pole. That's how I knew it was really bad.

I ended up dropping out of high school halfway through my sophomore year, but I got into this really cool college program called Simon's Rock College. Going to college really saved me because I was bored in high school, wasn't doing well, getting terrible grades because I was uninterested and had no friends. I felt like I couldn't relate to anyone - all other girls and guys were interested in things that I had no interest in."