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British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

bbc.co.uk

11–20 of 64 posts

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#12

I don't think a $250,000 investment is considered a "jackpot".

It's probably not a jackpot in terms of this project, but imagine how much this kid will learn in the process. It's a jackpot for his growth as an entrepreneur, if he sticks with it.

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#13
post #3

A MacBook when he was 9 ? Damn, I'm 32 and still cannot really justify one. And I'm sure his parents had nothing to do with his funding arrangements, of course. I hate to talk about privilege, and this kid is clearly smart, but the smell of upper class is hardly bearable, sorry.

Nitpick: being the son of a banker and a lawyer hardly qualifies you as "upper class", even if that was relevant.

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#14
post #7
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 30, and I don't own a MacBook either, but I don't see them as above an upper-middle class income bracket, I'm certain you can afford them if you're into software development. I wouldn't give them to a 9-year old either, but his parents are "a lawyer and an investment banker", so it sounds reasonable (and I guess that being the son of an investment banker probably helped the funding). Edit: here's GigaOm's origina…

I said "justify", not "afford". I could afford to buy a house in Hawaii, but that doesn't mean I could justify the expense :)

It's easy to justify with three words: "development for iOS".

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#15
"D'Aloisio is by no means a typical teenager - he is polite, highly motivated and enthusiastic."

Wow, wonder how many other groups they'd be able to get away with stereotyping like that.

"D'Aloisio is by no means a typical (woman|Mexican|black person|obese person) - he is polite, highly motivated and enthusiastic."

Ouch.

Makes the BBC sound out of touch, considering that most teenagers are under a historically unprecedented amount of pressure to succeed (eg: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6221872).

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#18
post #3

A MacBook when he was 9 ? Damn, I'm 32 and still cannot really justify one. And I'm sure his parents had nothing to do with his funding arrangements, of course. I hate to talk about privilege, and this kid is clearly smart, but the smell of upper class is hardly bearable, sorry.

Nitpick: being the son of a banker and a lawyer hardly qualifies you as "upper class", even if that was relevant.

This is the UK, where the upper class is more hereditary than job based unlike in the US. Banking and law are fairly common professions for the upper class, so he may well be upper class.

Re: British teenage designer of Summly app hits jackpot

#20
post #3

A MacBook when he was 9 ? Damn, I'm 32 and still cannot really justify one. And I'm sure his parents had nothing to do with his funding arrangements, of course. I hate to talk about privilege, and this kid is clearly smart, but the smell of upper class is hardly bearable, sorry.

Nitpick: being the son of a banker and a lawyer hardly qualifies you as "upper class", even if that was relevant.

I think it does. Less than 20% of Americans make over 100k per year.

Entry level in IB makes 70+ min. After a graduate degree we are talking 100 to 300k per year. By the time that person has had kids, especially a nine year old they are probably making 500k min. I don't know British IB salaries, but I imagine they are as high.

Law could be anywhere from 50k to 1mm so it really depends.

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