Share this article
How a 15-Year-Old’s $1,000 Bitcoin Investment Led to Startup Success
Idaho native Erik Finman has invested his sizeable bitcoin profits into education startup Botangle.com.
By Stan Higgins
Updated Sep 11, 2021, 10:52 a.m. Published Jun 10, 2014, 8:35 p.m.
A well-timed investment of $1,000 in bitcoin has earned a 15-year-old Idaho entrepreneur more than $100,000 and allowed him to found his own education startup.
Erik Finman took $1,000 he received as a gift from his grandmother and invested it in bitcoin back in 2012, according to a report by Mashable. After holding his BTC for one year, Finman sold his bitcoins for $100,000.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Finman ultimately decided to reinvest his earnings into Botangle.com, an online video tutoring service that "allows students and tutors access to a diverse array of resources that just do not exist in a normal classroom setting", according to its official website.
Notably, Finman pays his employees in bitcoin. He told Mashable that he enjoys "sharing the wealth of bitcoin", saying:
"I have no doubt it will be huger [sic] than anyone can imagine right now. Bitcoin is like the Internet in the '90s."
Early bitcoin supporter
During a question-and-answer session that he took part in last month on the Entrepreneur subreddit, Finman explained how he first came to learn about bitcoin, writing:
"I owe a lot to my older brother. He told me about bitcoins and help[ed] me get set up with 0.2 bitcoins that he gave me. And my grandmother just out of the blue gave me a $1,000 check for Easter."
He continued by saying that he accrued more bitcoins "so I can trump my brother in how many bitcoins he had", adding that he first learned about bitcoin in 2010.
Luckily for Finman, he sold his stash of bitcoins when the price hovered around $1,200 per bitcoin.
Though entrepreneurs may not be able to replicate Finman's success, they can learn from those who have entered the industry through more conventional in-roads. For more on how today's bitcoin startups are making gains despite the tribulations of an emerging market, read our most recent report.
Image via Mashable
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Bitcoin’s Deep Correction Sets Stage for December Rebound, Says K33 Research
K33 Research says market fear is outweighing fundamentals as bitcoin nears key levels. December could offer an entry point for bold investors.
What to know:
- K33 Research says bitcoin’s steep correction shows signs of bottoming, with December potentially marking a turning point.
- The firm has argued that the market is overreacting to long-term risks while ignoring near-term signals of strength, like low leverage and solid support levels.
- With likely policy shifts ahead and cautious positioning in futures, K33 sees more upside potential than risk of another major collapse.
Top Stories
