Minnesotan To Meet: Deciding Edge CEO Josh Miller
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Two years ago, Josh Miller started a company called Deciding Edge. His goal was to bridge the gap between "the boardroom and youth."
Miller is anything but your average CEO. In fact, he's still in ninth grade at Maple Grove Senior High School.
In many ways, he's just like his classmates in the day-to-day grind of school.
"I would say my hardest class right now, I would say, definitely is science," he said.
Dressed in a suit, the 15-year-old is already skyrocketing to success in the business world. He started Deciding Edge at the ripe old age of 13.
"We are trying to bring the most valuable perspective that we can to our clients," he said.
The company's approach to business is a three-step model -- "Here's what," "So what," and "Now what?"
Miller and his colleagues hope to give valuable insight to business leaders on how to engage with his generation, the generation born after 9/11, who he calls Generation Edge.
"What does this mean? What insights does it offer? What do we do about it? How can we create a positive change? That will really entice young people to get involved," he said.
His goal is to get in front of as many leaders as possible, when he has time, of course.
"We need to be able to captivate our generation, enticing the consumer to feeling like we are interacting with the product, interacting with the brand itself," Miller said.
He calls the biggest misconception about his peers the notion that all they care about is technology. Pretty smart rhetoric for the second-year varsity tennis player.
"It's stereotypical to, (when you) think of my generation, to think about phones. Yes, it does affect us, (but) it's only a part of our generation," Miller said.
Miller credits his entrepreneurial desires through his involvement with the organizations Fuel Up to Play 60 and the GENYOUth Foundation. Volunteering helped Miller meet big names in business and sports, names many of us know such as Peyton Manning, Warren Buffet and Roger Goodell.
"As a 15-year-old, there's only so much you can do when you're at school all day," Miller said.
While his resume is impressive, his mother has other ideas.
"All she wants is for me to get my driver's license," Miller said.
For that, he still has eight more months to go. For now, Miller will just focus on his schoolwork, sports, and getting in front of current and next generation executives.
"I look forward to my life's journey, because I don't know what it's going to hold, keep working don't necessarily take the conventional path, I'll be successful," said Miller.
Wise words for a teenager.
