At 24, Andres Peguero is a seasoned businessman who first started making money as a technology savvy 12-year-old. The founder of 3aces Studio, an interactive digital production company, credits his curiosity as the engine that drives his creative imagination.
Andres recalls to Inside Brooklyn Podcast that he was the type of child who was not satisfied with just watching cartoons – he needed to know how they were made.
That inquisitive mind has served him well. His entrée into tech entrepreneurship started when a school friend introduced him to the idea that computers could be used for things other than playing video games.
Andres soon discovered YouTube and learned that he could make money through ads on the platform. He and his friends thought it would be a great idea to upload cartoons. In no time, the YouTube channel went viral at his school.
“I was making $5 and $10 a month as a kid,” he recalls fondly.
However, the channel was soon shut down because he didn’t realize at the tender age of 12 that uploading copyrighted cartoons without permission from the copyright owner is illegal.
The next step in Andres’ journey came at age 15. He made friends with another tech savvy teen who was writing code to create a calculator. It was a chance meeting that would later open amazing business opportunities.
Intrigued, Andres asked his new friend to teach him how to write code. “Back then it was not a cool thing. You were considered a weird kid,” he says.
By age 19, Andres took his first major leap into entrepreneurship. He founded an education tech startup and raised $10,000 for the company.
Shortly after that, Andres reconnected with his high school friend who introduced him to coding. They were both working in emerging technologies: Andres in cloud computing and his buddy in facial recognition. The duo decided to merge their companies.
“Offers started coming in,” Andres says, adding that the partnership received a lot of attention after they attended the Clinton Global Initiative.
A few years later, Andres launched 3aces. His company designs software for clients, including copywriting tools to help them craft effective marketing content.
3aces is a performance-based company that operates 24/7. One feature that has propelled its growth is eliminating his clients’ risk when developing their software. “If the software idea works, the client pays. If not, then, oh well we tried,” Andres explains.
Let’s sit back and watch where Andres’ curiosity and tech know-how lead him in the years to come.
