LIKE MANY OTHER TEENAGERS, MY ENTREPRENEURIAL START CAME FROM RESELLING. AT 13, I RESOLD MY FIRST PAIR OF SHOES — YEEZY 350 CLAYS. I MADE $150 AND WAS IMMEDIATELY HOOKED. SNEAKERS, COINS, TRADING CARDS, RANDOM COLLECTIBLES. IF THERE WAS MONEY TO BE MADE, I WAS IN IT.

AT 16, I DECIDED TO START MY OWN RESELL GROUP. I KNEW WHAT I HAD COULD BE TAUGHT. THE CONCEPT WASN'T ORIGINAL. HUNDREDS OF GROUPS EXISTED, AND ALMOST ALL OF THEM LOOKED EXACTLY THE SAME. SAME FEATURES. SAME FORMAT. SAME VOICE. BUT I WAS OBSESSED WITH MAKING MINE FEEL DIFFERENT.

I SPENT THAT ENTIRE SUMMER LOCKED IN.I GOT SO GOOD THAT I STARTED CHARGING $700 A MONTH FOR MEMBERSHIP. MOST GROUPS AT THE TIME WERE UNDER $100.

WITHIN THREE MONTHS, I HAD SCALED THE GROUP TO $50K A MONTH. MEMBERSHIP RESTOCKS WOULD SELL OUT IN UNDER THREE SECONDS. ONE GUY EVEN RESOLD HIS SPOT FOR $3,500.

THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THIS WASN'T JUST A PRODUCT. IT WAS A FORM OF SIGNALING. A FORM OF IDENTITY. EVERY OTHER GROUP SOLD INFORMATION. I BUILT DESIRE. I LEARNED HOW TO MAKE INFORMATION FEEL LIKE ACCESS. HOW TO MAKE UTILITY FEEL LIKE STATUS. HOW TO TURN A FUNCTIONAL PRODUCT INTO A CULTURAL MOMENT.

AND THOSE SKILLS ARE MORE APPLICABLE THAN EVER.