Here at Kano, we strive to deliver the best tools and resources to enable our users to unleash their inner genius, whether it be through an artistic masterpiece, the most hilarious GIF, or the most complex coding creation.
We are continually fascinated and inspired by the amazing creativity we see on show every single day and like all of our Kano users, these 5 real-life kid geniuses will blow you away:
Santiago Gonzalez
14-year-old child prodigy Santiago Gonzalez burst onto the scene in 2013 with over 11,000,000 of us being almost put to shame by his work ethic, motivation, and well, genius.
A clear supergenius upon entering his teens, Santiago had thought himself to program in a vast array of programming languages with a large portfolio of mobile apps and games, and was even working his way through university.
Santiago finally received his Ph.D. at age 19 and is currently a Senior Engineer at Apple.
Kelvin Doe
Kelvin Doe is not only one of the most genius kids around, but he’s probably one of the most inspiring people on the planet.
Born and raised in Sierra Leone, Kelvin admits that growing up he and his community certainly didn’t have much. He mentions his town would be lucky to have electricity for more than a week in a month.
Faced with a problem with very few solutions, Kelvin began to disrupt, innovate and show off his inner genius by creating his own batteries to power his town. He then went on to create from the ground up his own FM radio station dedicated to providing a platform for the young people of his town. He was also the host under his awesome alias, DJ Focus.
By 15, he was invited to serve as a guest resident at MIT, and today he uses his platform to advocate for African youth and has shared conversations with leaders such as Hillary Clinton.
Thank you for inspiring us, Kelvin
Caine Monroy
When George Monroy brought his 9-year-old son, Caine, to work with him in his East-LA Auto parts store, he didn’t expect his son to end the summer as one of the most famous kids in America.
Faced with typical youth boredom and a lot of cardboard boxes, Caine did what any creative kid would do; He created and engineered his own Cardboard Arcade filled with Claw Machines, Ski Balls, and the innovative Fun Pass ($2 for 500 Games). Initially, Caine received very little footfall but after being discovered by local filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, Caine went viral and so too did his arcade, garnering four-hour lines of customers that included the whimsical Jack Black.
Following the success of his story, Caine went on to create his own foundation dedicated to providing resources for other young geniuses like himself. Way to go, Caine!
Rhys Toms (AKA Black Summer)
What were you doing at 11 years old? A question that might make you think, but in the case of Rhys Toms, he was busy working on music and tracks that would make him ‘Australia’s Youngest Music Producer’.
A talented Dubstep creator, Rhys always had an interest in music and managed to teach himself some of the most complex audio software in the world. Which then led him to release tracks under the alias, Black Summer.
Faced with an abundance of criticism and trolls, we admire Rhys’ drive and motivation to keep working towards what he believes in. Today he has performed at some of Australia’s biggest music festivals.
Keep it going, Rhys!
Jordan Casey
Jordan Casey was just your average Irish video game-loving kid until at the age of 9, curious about the inner-workings of an online chat, he thought himself how to write code using YouTube videos and books.
At 12, eager for a new challenge, he founded his first company and began releasing arcade-style games on the iPhone, becoming Europe’s youngest iOS app developer in the process.
Following a string of successful ventures since Jordan is a huge advocate for youth entrepreneurship and coding and spends a lot of his time traveling the world sharing his story and providing a young person’s perspective on important issues. He’s even a youth advisor for the European Union.
Constantly curious, Jordan was one of the initial kid testers of the original Kano Computer and is today a member of the Kano team, helping us on our mission to provide a platform for the youth.
As you can see from above, these kids are true geniuses, but what we admire most is their fearlessness and drive to work for what they believe in. Brushing aside any obstacles they may face because of their age and thus reaping the rewards for all their hard work.
At Kano, our mission is aligned with these innovators, we believe that all young minds have the potential to be geniuses in their own right once given the right support and tools.
Here at Kano, we salute you.
What do you think? Did we miss anyone from our list? Let us know on social media.
