Maurits Neo began making money at age 12 by selling candy at school. Now, at 18, he has a crypto portfolio worth more than $770,000.

Child’s Pay

Entrepreneurial teenagers are swapping traditional after-school activities for side hustles, from content editing to crypto investing

By Carolina de Armas

Every day after school, 14-year-old Hadiya Ali, who lives in Lahore, Pakistan, gets to work. First up is homework. Then, it’s on to her agency, for which she creates Instagram reels, TikTok videos, and YouTube shorts for clients looking to raise engagement across their social-media platforms.

In Sydney, 15-year-old Liam Brian earns more than $10,000 a month producing short-form videos for his clients. He recently took his parents on holiday to Bali with his profits.