Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: b2logs.com and Ram Sharma 
In April I received an email with “Greetings from b2logs.com” as the subject.
“My name is Ram Sharma, high school student and Founder of b2logs.com. b2logs is a website featuring the best business news feeds from all around the world, b2logs also hosts a one of a kind blog informing the world of the latest in business news.”
He went on to say that he’d found the content informative and was featuring Leadership Turn on his site.
Nice, but what truly impressed me was the clarity and skill of his writing. So I wrote him back, participated in his prelaunch feedback contest (they gave away an Ipod Touch) and then requested an interview with him.
Background: Ram is a 16 year old entrepreneur from Canada. He’s a junior in high school, has founded two companies, Karma Design Studio and most recently, B2 Business Network. As you might guess, Ram is competitive by nature and competes in many business competitions. Most recently, he represented Canada at the International DECA conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He also volunteers with IMPACT Entrepreneurship Group, a non-profit organization hosting entrepreneurship week in Canada. You may contact Ram through either of his companies.
In my phone conversations with Ram I found no hint of the entitlement mentality so common today. I found Ram to be thoughtful, verbally fluent and downright charming. Ram represents the best of what’s coming down the line.
I sent Ram these interview questions and the responses are exactly as he sent them.
Who are the founders of b2logs (names, ages, a bit of background)
The founders of b2logs.com are myself, Ram Sharma and my partner, Zan Zhang, both 16 year-old senior high school students.
I am one of Canada’s youngest entrepreneurs; I founded my own website design and development firm, Karma Design Studio.com last year. I am also a technology enthusiast, political debater, and avid volunteer. Furthermore, I am part of many organizations such as Impact, FIRST Robotics, and DECA. In high school, I am a dedicated student and part of the International Business and Technology Program at Gordon Graydon Memorial. I am also the President and CEO of B2 Business network, parent company of b2logs.com.
My partner, Zan Zhang is an enthusiastic student in the same program and high school. He has many talents and hobbies ranging from chess, piano, and robotics, to volleyball, investing and DECA. Zan Zhang is the Marketing Director of b2logs.com and lead author of b2 gurus.
What got you interested in doing a business oriented blog/site as opposed to something else (sports, etc.)?
The idea of b2logs.com started when my partner and I were looking for an easy way to organize our business news feeds without using traditional RSS feed readers. Focusing on only business news feeds allowed us to create something that interests us, plus no one really simplified “business news” for the average Internet user.
What difficulties have you had to deal with in moving your project forward?
My team encountered a few problems. Since I am the main developer, I had to handle layout and browser compatibility issues. Also, while developing the project I had to look into features which allowed my website to stand out and finding the right features was a bit tricky. Plus, we had to juggle this project with many others.
What do your parents/teachers/peers think of b2logs?
Overall, the response was positive, many people found this website useful and easy to use. During the PreLaunch process I received great suggestions that made the website even better. But, I still have to continue to improve the website and make it the best business news network on the web. My parents are especially proud the work that I accomplished.
Do you have any mentors? What have you learned from them?
My personal mentor is my father, Raghu Sharma. He is also a technology enthusiast in the web domain industry. There have been many lessons I have learned from him. In this case, the most important lesson I learned was how to create a website that kept bringing people back. This lesson helped me focus on the “sticky” features of my websites and allowed me to keep the most important people in mind at all times, the user.
What’s the best advice you have ever received and how has it worked for you?
Both my partner and I have learned to always question ourselves in order to find ways to improve and although planning is essential, it is all about the execution. Most of the time this piece of advice would be very helpful because I have very intricate plans and ideas that never get put into action. I believe there is a level of fear when one does something new, but when I overcome this fear the exhilarating adventures begin.
What’s YOUR best advice to others?
Here is what my partner has to say and I think it is what I would say to others:
“My best advice is to all the young people out there. If you think you are busy now, and that you will hold off your plans until later, YOU ARE WRONG. I always thought I was too young to do anything, not enough experience, insufficient responsibility, yada yada, but a friend pointed out how busy I would be when I have a mortgage, kids, a job, grandkids… So don’t procrastinate and follow your dream”
What are each of your career plans?
I would like to go into engineering with a background in business and in the future I would like to continue building tech-based companies.
Zan’s career plan is to go into finance, perhaps getting a degree in accounting or a CFA or a business degree, and eventually one day run a hedge fund.
Do you think that Ram and Zan are representative of today’s youth or exceptional?
Your comments—priceless
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Richard Stengel has written another thoughtful and moving article about Mandela and leadership, “I’ve always thought of what you are about to read as Madiba’s Rules (Madiba, his clan name, is what everyone close to him calls him), and they are cobbled together from our conversations old and new and from observing him up close and from afar. They are mostly practical. Many of them stem directly from his personal experience. All of them are calibrated to cause the best kind of trouble: the trouble that forces us to ask how we can make the world a better place.”
