For Andreaz Glasgow, the hardest thing about being a 15-year-old entrepreneur is being 15.

It means an adult has to cosign on every legal aspect of his businesses, Element Graphic Studios, Bermuda Local Guides and Guess What?

“Rather than being registered with the Office of the Tax Commissioner or insurance, or anything, someone has to be on it with me,” the Berkeley Institute S2 student said. “Most of the time people look at me like I’m crazy. They say ‘are you really picking up a documents register for a business?’”

But Andreaz loves being in business — the challenge of it, meeting new people and, of course, the money. He already has his motorcycle paid for when he turns 16 in October.

“But it is not always about the money,” he said. “I just love business in general. It is a passion of mine.”

He does have to do a bit of juggling to keep a balance between school and his business activities.

“There are a lot of 3am days,” he said, “but it doesn’t faze me. School is my main priority.”

You might wonder how a young teen even knows the ins and outs of running a business. Andreaz said you’d be amazed at the information you can find on the government website Gov.bm. He also learns a lot through the Virtual Enterprise International class he takes at school. The class allows students to run a business as though they were in the real world, and compete against other schools taking part.

He has also participated in a number of Bermuda Economic Development Corporation youth programmes.

“They are my main supporter,” he said. “Anything that pops into my head, I go to them and tell them about it. They will advise me.”

In December, he was a runner-up in the youth category of the BEDC’s Rocket Pitch competition for budding entrepreneurs

He pitched his idea for Guess What? a business selling tablets that contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin made from a plant known as Miracle Berry. This substance temporarily turns off your sour and bitter taste buds, making sour foods sweet. A lemon for example would taste like lemonade. He bills Guess What? as a “tongue twisting experience”.

But Guess What? was slow to get off the ground when he started selling the tablets at Harbour Night in Hamilton.

“The moment people hear of someone giving you a tablet and it dissolves on your tongue it is a bit over everyone’s head,” he said. “Once we got everyone over that stage, I feel like that was the turning point. From there I did a few corporate events with different corporate companies. I do private events where you can book me.”

His other businesses are quite different. Through Element Graphic Studio, Element Productions, and Element Entertainment he creates advertisements and banners, does video editing and rents out a 14ft movie screen.

He is largely self taught in video editing and graphic design.

“I just pick stuff up,” he said.

But he doesn’t see himself building up Element beyond a side hustle. Right now his focus is on Bermuda Local Guides, his tour company.

“I launched it in 2018, but it was fairly late in the summer so I wasn’t able to get it up and running,” he said. “The goal for this summer is to be fully operational.”

He worked for another tour company for two years before deciding to go out on his own.

“Our motto is ‘a truly local experience’,” he said.

Andreaz thinks he has always been an entrepreneur. He can remember selling second-hand DVDs in his neighbourhood at age eight.

And in the first year of middle school he started his first business selling cookies to teachers for events such as the Super Bowl.

“I still do that, although not as much,” he said. “I have a website for that called cravingsbda.com.”

He doesn’t feel the entrepreneurial bug is inherited.

“I feel like I acquired it myself,” he said. “Although my mother has definitely been a big push.”

His mother, Kieva Glasgow, is a corporate administrator at SS&C Fund Services, and his father, Andre Berkeley, works for Undercover Tent Rentals.

After high school Andreaz wants to study business management, but his main career goal is to become an aircraft pilot.

To contact Andreaz e-mail andreasglasgow1@gmail.com.