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15-year-old founder hires 38-year-old as first employee: ‘Broken the traditional career ladder’
A young founder’s post about hiring a 38-year-old as his first employee went viral on X.
A teenager running a company and hiring someone more than twice his age is turning heads online.
A viral post about a 15-year-old founder bringing on a 38-year-old as his first employee has sparked wide discussion about how the internet is reshaping careers and workplace norms.
Thomas Guthrie, founder of Runwise, an AI tool, shared the post on X, where it quickly gained attention.
15-year-old hires older employee:
The 15-year-old described how he hired his first employee despite the large age gap, calling it a clear sign that the traditional career ladder is no longer fixed.
“I just hired my first employee. He's 38, I'm 15,” he wrote.
The post highlighted the unusual age gap between the founder and his first employee, and many users reacted to the post, discussing how work and careers are evolving in the internet age.
“The internet has broken the traditional career ladder,” Guthrie adds in his post.
HT.com has reached out to the user for more details. This report will be updated when he responds.
Also Read: Truth behind the viral ₹5,000 stipend row: Intern opens up about his journey, defends founder
Check out the post here:
Here's how people reacted to the post:
X users reacted with surprise and fascination, noting the unusual age gap between the 15-year-old founder and his 38-year-old employee.
Many praised the young founder’s ambition, while others discussed how the post reflects changing career paths and the growing importance of skills over age.
One of the users commented, “Age is just a proxy for experience, and the internet made that irrelevant.”
A second user commented, “It’s amazing how the internet is reshaping opportunities for collaboration across generations. Wishing you both great success together!”
A third user commented, “Now people can really say age is just a number.”
“That’s proof that age and traditional paths don’t matter anymore. Skill, consistency, and leverage define success in today’s world,” another user commented.
In another incident, a 16-year-old tech founder spoke out against a customer who allegedly bullied and threatened him over what he described as a simple misunderstanding.
Om Patel, an Indian-origin entrepreneur based in Canada, said the threats began after the customer faced a login issue, which was promptly resolved.
Patel began learning to code at 12, during the COVID pandemic. He launched BigIdeasDB in early 2024, and it has since earned over CAD$23,000 (around ₹15 lakh).
