March 9, 2008

Aaron Sohacki

Posted: 11:25 PM ET
Aaron Sohacki fell in love with planes at an early age.
Aaron Sohacki fell in love with planes at an early age.

Like a lot of kids, Aaron Sohacki's dad took him to watch airplanes take off and land at the airport. Like some kids, his love for watching planes turned into a love of flying, and he got his pilot's license before his driver's license. Uniquely, his love for flying turned into a passion for running a business that flies other people.

When Sohacki was 21, he started ImagineAir. It's a regional company that lets regular folks fly privately. Along the way, he has flown some not-so-regular people like one of his first clients, the former mayor of Augusta, Georgia, who needed to fly to have dinner with Rudy Giuliani.

The charter service takes people 300-500 miles from the headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Considered a new version of a taxi service, the "air taxi" often costs less than commercial travel. Now age 24, the CEO still flies customers and often gets asked, "Are you even old enough to fly this plane?"

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Entrepreneurs


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March 1, 2008

Genevieve Thiers

Posted: 08:46 PM ET
29-year-old Genevieve Thiers is the founder of sittercity.com.
29-year-old Genevieve Thiers is the founder of sittercity.com.

Genevieve Thiers was the oldest of seven kids, which meant she started baby-sitting almost as soon as she was born. But all the diapers, Friday nights in and lousy tips eventually paid off with millions.

In college, Thiers saw a pregnant woman posting fliers around campus for a baby-sitter. It was cheaper than going through an agency, which could cost in the thousands of dollars. After meeting her future husband online, Thiers thought that there had to be a better way. So she started sittercity.com, her real-life version of the “Baby-sitters Club” of young adult fiction.

The site launched in 2001 and has grown beyond connecting parents and sitters to bring together people in search of elder care and pet care with the caregivers of their choice. And now, at 29, Thiers gets to go out on Friday nights!

Update: Watch the CNN.com Live interview

Filed under: Entrepreneurs


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About this blog

Nicole LapinYoung People Who Rock is a weekly interview series focused on people under 30 - from CEOs to entertainers to athletes to community and political leaders - who are doing remarkable things. Nicole Lapin finds them and introduces them here by writing a weekly column that goes out in time for you to chime in before she interviews them Fridays on CNN.com Live.

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