There seems to be a constant flow of stories about Gen-Zers who have founded a company and made a million, or even a billion dollars, at a surprisingly young age. But these next-generation entrepreneurs rarely share a backstory with the entrepreneurs of generations past.
It’s no longer a story punctuated by expensive college educations and working their way to the top. Instead, they come to the world’s attention by sharing their life-changing ideas on social media, introducing new products created with crowdfunded capital, and more.
Calb Boxx is one of these innovators. The 22-year-old millionaire dropped out of high school and founded Automate Channels, the world’s foremost agency teaching YouTube creators how to automate their own channels.
“When I first wanted to drop out of high school, I switched to homeschooling. But I also pitched the Automate Channels idea to my dad, who was surprisingly cool about it,” recalled Boxx. “He said, ‘You can have six months to work on this. If you aren’t making $3,000 per month by then, you have to reenroll in school.”
He never went back to school.
His company, which helps creators transition to making ‘faceless’ videos, allows content makers to make more content in less time, work fewer hours, and enjoy more free time. Unsurprisingly, he’s worked with some of the video platform’s most famous creators. His clients have a combined subscribership of over one billion people.
“The idea for Automate Channels is simple. I thought, ‘What if I figured out how to make money the same way the other guy did, gave 30% of my channel revenue to a buddy, then hired people on Upwork?’” said Boxx. “What if I could do this and see what would happen? Most people were doing production in-house then, this was a big, new concept.”
Boxx has great ideas, to be sure. But he knew he needed a mentor that understood YouTube better than anyone. That YouTuber, prolific and seminal creator MrBeast, became Boxx’s teacher, and the techniques he taught to help students get to the top might surprise you.
Hyper-Focused
Though Boxx had already launched a proto-iteration of Automate Channels, he also understood that he didn’t yet know enough about how to make money and stay focused on his goals. So he signed up for MrBeast’s mastermind class.
The course focused on helping students make a million dollars — and some of the homework lessons were unusual.
“Every day — and we never missed a day — we swore that we weren’t gonna have relationships or talk to girls until we made a million dollars. One guy disappeared pretty much right away,” laughed the founder.
The players in the game they played — no relationships or social lives until they made a million — included a smattering of well-known names. MrBeast, Rebound, and Top 5 Best shared Boxx’s celibacy stand and vow to put financial success before all else.
Blowing Up
Though it took some time to make that first mil, it took almost no time to see impressive results.
“At 17 years old, I was making six figures, owned a house, and bought my dream car — a Camaro! Honestly, my parents thought I was selling drugs,” he said.
Boxx described his life at this point as ‘engulfed in entrepreneurship,’ and he decided to move from his hometown outside Kansas City to the more happening metropolis of Dallas. “You have to get out of your literal comfort zone,” said Boxx. “That was one of the best decisions I made.”
Student Turns Teacher
At this point in mid-2020, Boxx began to see that he had more to offer than outsourcing faceless videos for himself and his clients — he could begin to teach people how to do it themselves.
“That’s when I started to level up, started charging money to teach people how to revolutionize their own channels,” he said. “I realized I could be making $20,000 for four months of work with each client I took on. It was a game-changer. I cleared seven figures that year.”
Though it was as shocking to him as it was to those around him, he quickly adjusted to his new status as teacher, mentor, and millionaire.
“I distinctly remember the moment I realized, ‘I can scale this. This business model is something people would love to hear about and learn. I charge people to teach them how to make more money by making more content in less time. It’s truly win-win,” he said.
Inspiring stories like Boxx’s remind us that age is just a number and innovation truly comes from the bold and determined.
About Caleb Boxx and Automate Channels
Caleb Boxx is a founder of YouTube Automation, a business model that allows people to automate their YouTube channels creating passive income. Boxx has helped hundreds of content creators. To learn more about Caleb Boxx, please visit www.automatechannels.com/
