World's Youngest Entrepreneur: Is this the world's youngest, most successful and most famous female entrepreneur?
Read this Creative Writing piece from the newspaper front page article, page 12, of When I'm an Entrepreneur.
By Samantha Pillay
In a world where 22% of founders in Australia are female, and only 2.2% of US venture capital funding goes to female founder companies, female entrepreneurship is critical for the post-Covid economic recovery.
Dyah, was inspired at age four by a book about a young entrepreneur, setting a solid foundation of self-efficacy. She has catapulted from her humble beginnings as a social entrepreneur with Lemonade Stand charity fundraisers to a global corporation.
‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’ Dyah admires the efforts of those who have gone before her. “It was much harder for early female leaders like Kartini”, an Indonesian woman advocating for women’s rights and education in the 1800s. Establishing the Entrepreneur Foundation, Diah aims to build one hundred schools in areas of need and fund a thousand scholarships. Dyah, is driven to make a difference and inspire others. She has already joined the Giving Pledge to give half of her net worth to philanthropy.
“I am inspired by Josephine Cochran, who invented the pressurized dishwasher. Working in her woodshed in the 1800s, she didn’t give up until she’d invented a solution to her problems. A woman, solving women’s problems - now her iconic appliances are in homes globally.”
Dyah’s successful flying car will likely one day have as far a reaching impact. Her unicorn startup is already valued at over one billion US dollars. She is the youngest person to appear on the front cover of BusinessMag and in their top 100 Entrepreneur list.
One of her favourite ways to spend time is attending her local school between her hectic schedules. “It keeps me grounded,” she says, proud of the National red and white uniform. She is not the only entrepreneur whose red backpack has played an important role, bringing good luck to Spanx founder Sara Blakely.
Dyah attributes her strict early morning routine of gratitude, meditation, yoga, journaling and reading as vital for her focus, perseverance and hard work. She prioritizes looking after herself with a healthy diet, daily running, and ten hours of sleep. With no alcohol or caffeine, she may just be the healthiest entrepreneur in the world as well as the youngest.
In a world where flying cars were once something of people’s imagination, the dream became a reality as she pushed her team to dream big and literally aim high with no boundaries to her imagination. Her admirers have described her youthful creativity, courage and experimentation, not limited by the fears and inhibitions of her seniors, as her secret sauce.
Awarded the best employer globally, her company is outdoing the Big Five, with ice cream vans and pony rides in the car park at lunch. Adults are lining up to work for her as they re-live their childhood, unlock their creativity and take risks in a way that leaves their competitors lagging behind.