A millionaire before 21: Fraser Doherty

Fraser Doherty, at the age of 14, started to make jams that he got from his grandmother’s recipes in his parents kitchen. His friends and Neighors loved them. Through word of mouth, Doherty received more orders than he could produce at home so he rented a 200-person food- processing factory many days a month. Last year Superjam hit $750,000 in sales and is on track to double that in 2008. Based on reasonable valuation multiple of one times revenue– J.M Smucker trades at 1.2 times sales while Doherty’s 100% stake is worth in the neighborhood of $1 million to $2 million. Doherty’s recommendation to other young entrepreneurs like him is to “Have an attitude of adventure and enjoy the journey.”

Doherty’s other Advice: Go with the flow.  Doherty borrowed 5000 pounds($9000) from a bank to cover general expenses and more factory time to produce three flavors. His product is in 300 stores across the U.K. In march, Superjam will launch in Ireland.

Advertisements