Lauren Berger is a 28-year-old college graduate who runs her own web site InternQueen.com. Business Week Magazine once named her number five on its annual list of Young Entrepreneurs aged 25 or under.
Set up in 2009, Berger's site helps students find and apply for internships with major firms.
"I was excited about my business but I didn't have the financial resources," says Berger, who operates out of her Los Angeles home and lists herself as CEO.
"I eventually had $5,000 saved and used that. I didn't get a lot of support," Berger explains.
She gets her revenue from advertising and companies listing internships, while college students have free access to postings. She's just taken on a full-time worker and says she makes more than six figures but supplements her income.
"I am a top college speaker, I have a book coming out, and I do endorsement deals," adds Berger. "I'm focusing on expanding my reach."
For Jeff Platt, CEO of Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, his reach now includes three theme parks, nine full-time managers, and some 100 or so part time workers, as well as several franchised parks.
But getting up and running wasn't easy. The 28-year-old started his business from Los Angeles in 2004 with his father, and used funds from family and friends, after graduating from business school.
"We had to create the product organically. We had some growing pains," Platt says. "We had to learn how to operate and promote our parks through trial and error."