Entrepreneurship is a skill often associated with experience and age. One individual defying the norm started his journey to become the owner of a successful reseller at 13. He is Dylan Tatum, the 20-year-old self-made entrepreneur pushing boundaries to set an example for aspiring young business owners. His story of battling the odds while learning from his experiences proves that your dreams are never impossible, regardless of age.
Dylan discovered his unwavering passion for entrepreneurship in his first business, a joint venture with a friend reselling Supreme products. Together, they started an Instagram account that quickly gained over 20K followers and closed over a thousand deals. He sold some rare shoes worth nearly $10,000 then and continued to build on this success. However, their endeavor hit a roadblock when the account got deleted unexpectedly, erasing their hard work and forcing them to start over.
At this point, Dylan decided to take another leap of faith and start his venture. In July 2018, he founded Dylansshoes, a high-end shoe store boasting a collection of vintage and limited-edition sneakers. Dylan, who was 15 and about to enter high school, bet on himself and sold his shoe collection to get the funds to begin. He started buying, selling, and trading sneakers daily, bringing in new weekly inventory. As he built up his stock, he quickly realized that he needed to balance his studies with business. He worked 12 to 16 hours daily to scale up his brand while maintaining a near-perfect GPA in high school.
Soon, his collection gained attention among sneaker enthusiasts, earning a loyal follower base. Motivated by this successful move, Dylan featured a pair of iconic Nike Air Mags, the shoes featured in Back to the Future. His post went viral, and customers flocked to his page. He then posted other exclusive shoes, like university-exclusive and super-limited production pairs. In two years, he grew his follower base to almost 35k and established himself as one of the most consistent sellers in the industry, specializing in rare and exclusive pairs.
Like every entrepreneurial journey, Dylan also faced the challenges of the economic downturn, was cheated in deals, and even suffered losses. However, he took every challenge as a lesson to grow. He continued developing innovative strategies that helped him reach fair sales even in crippling economies.
Despite his successful business, Dylan expanded his talent beyond entrepreneurship. He finds happiness in helping others and is now sharing valuable information about starting and scaling ventures through his social media handles on Instagram and YouTube. His tips and advice are inspiring novice entrepreneurs, guiding them to follow in his footsteps. Using his YouTube channel, Dylan is on a mission to help new business owners avoid the mistakes and pitfalls he made during his initial entrepreneurial phase.
Over the last seven years, Dylan has achieved several milestones in his entrepreneurial career. Apart from earning a high-profile clientele, he honed his business skills to become more knowledgeable and adept in the marketplace. He will leverage this knowledge to scale up Dylansshoes further. Dylan envisions a path that transcends reselling shoes and expands to real estate. He aspires to develop an incredible portfolio through investments in multi-unit buildings and houses, creating a steady source of future income. As he continues to chart new territories in entrepreneurship, Dylan will always inspire young talents determined to chase their passion.
