By Alex Daum ’20

Entrepreneur Mike Zhang spoke to students in the Future Business Leaders of America Club at break on Jan. 27.  Zhang, who founded the company Airsoft Megastore when he was 14, shared with students how to start their own business careers and run a successful company.  Tammer Bagdasarian ’20, leader of the FBLA club, said that he wants students to learn from Zhang’s experience and start businesses early.
“I hope they learned that it’s possible to start a business, or to start getting into the entrepreneurial mindset at a young age, while still in high school, and learn some of the basic skills that are necessary in running a business and starting a business,” Bagdasarian sad.
Zhang explained to students how one must first know the market of the product he or she is selling and the right time to release it.  Zhang discussed the evolution of Airsoft Megastore, from reselling airsoft gun products through Amazon and eBay to being the CEO of a company with $20 million in revenue.
Students learned some of the many values that Zhang said it takes to become an entrepreneur, such as perseverance and strategic thinking.  Zhang told students about his own business experiences, the problems he had to overcome and other times when ideas came to him.
Zhang also showed students that their interests can help them in their business careers. He used the idea of adding model airsoft guns from all his favorite games like “Call of Duty.” to the Airsoft Megastore website. Andrew Sington ’20, a member of the FBLA club, described  how they were taught how to  start off their careers.
“[Zhang] talked about starting a business, getting it on it’s feet and how he sold it for a lot of money.  I learned mostly about starting a business and the concept of how a business works.  He had a very successful business, so I will definitely follow what he taught me,” Sington said.
The FBLA club will have Russell Korobkin, Professor of Business at UCLA, speak to their members on Mar. 3.