Young, free and digital: Meet five web stars who turned an idea into businesses worth millions... and they are all under 25



Online projects dreamed up at school or university become global hits

Revision tool created by 17-year-old worth £4million and launching in US

Fitness, writing and car websites now worth millions for creators

Pupils aged five to be taught how to write web code from September



Lottie Dexter, from the Year of Code, said students can 'carve their own destiny' online

Schoolchildren are to be told how they can become internet millionaires in an attempt to inspire them to learn how to create websites and mobile phone apps.

Just five digitally-savvy Brits – all of them under-25 – have built web companies which are worth a combined total of more than £10million.

By creating fitness apps, revision guides, car sites and a chain of tuck shops, they have used IT skills to turn an idea into hard cash.

From this September children as young has five will be given lessons in computer coding – the language used to create and programme websites, games and apps.

Ministers have overhauled the curriculum to end boring IT lessons which focussed on how to use software like Microsoft Word and Excel.

Instead pupils will be told how to take an idea and develop their own software.

More than 9 in 10 parents of under-16s think computer skills are important for today's job market - the same proportion who say the same about literacy and numeracy.

To hammer home the message, campaigners have highlighted the achievements of young tech entrepenuers who have created business worth millions before turning 25.

They include George Burgess who created a revesion app at the age of 17 which is now worth £4million and Alendaer Foster whose Race Yourself fitness site is valued at £3million.

Lottie Dexter, director of Year of Code, said: ‘Self-starters with a good degree of digital know-how can carve out their own destiny online.

‘Our economy is changing and we need a workforce the right skills for the 21st century. That requires us to have a good grasp of technology.’

It is hoped a generation of children already adept at using iPhones, uploading video to YouTube and switching between social media including Twitter, Whatsapp and Snapchat will become the designers of the future.

Rohan Silva, a former Number 10 adviser to David Cameron, warned middle class jobs are being replaced by technology.

'It is technology replacing white collar jobs in the way that it replaced blue collar jobs back in the 70s, 80s and 90s,' he said.



Teenager who turned the grind of revision into millions

George Burgess, 24, who created Gojimo - a revision site now worth £4million

Most teenagers hate revision but few of them have found a way to turn it into a multi-million pound business.

At just 17 years old George Burgess from London began developing his own online one-stop-revision-shop, Gojimo.

The a pp proved so popular after its launch last year that George dropped out of University in America to dedicate all efforts to it, quickly securing over $1 million in start-up funds.

Now 22, he has seen the company grow to be valued at more than £4million and his ambitions have gone global: 'By the end of this year we want to be a major player in the US too.'

Global car site launched in university dorm room



Petrolhead Adnan Ebrahim, 23, created Car Throttle, which is now said to be worth millions

Adnan Ebrahim has always had the entrepreneur bug. In his teens he made money selling writsbands on eBay before launching a blog called Blogtrepreneur.com aged just 16 years old.



Two years later he sold the business to an American company for a five-figure sum, even before he was old enough to celebrate with an alcoholic drink.

Born in Middlesex, the 23-year-old was studying at University College London when he launched Car Throttle, aimed at young petrolheads, in his dorm room.



Now the company is worth multi-millions, has 2 million visitors per month and over 110,000 YouTube subscribers.

Tuck shop franchise gives teen taste of success

Bejay Mulenga, 18, pictured outside Number 10 with Liam Tootill, created Supa Tuck which helps set up tuck shops across the country

Bejay Mulenga came up with the idea of Supa Tuck, at the age of only 14.



The social enterprise that encourages pupils to set up their own break time tuck shops in schools.

It was born out of bordeom during business studies lessons and he convinced his school to let him run his own tuck shop as part of his course.



Within a year he had turned over £15,000 and had started to franchise his Supa Tuck, tuck shop to other schools in the area.

Since December 2011 Supa Tuck have helped over 5,000 young people set up their own tuck shops. Bejay is still just 18 years old and his socially-minded company is valued at £200,000.

£3million fitness app to race against yourself (or zombies)

Alexander Foster, 24, created Race Yourself, which is now valued at more than £3million

Alexander Foster, 24, launched Race Yourself just last year but it is already worth £3million.

The gaming platform will allow people to exercise by racing a virtual version of themselves - or even zombies - while exercising, able to view them using technology like Google Glass.

The firm has just re-located its headquarters from London to San Francisco and is expanding rapidly as it prepares to launch its first smart-watch product.

Writers's site launched by teen who taught himself to write code



Lewis Flude, 21, set up Magnific to help budding writers break into journalism

Lewis Flude, 21, taught himself to code throughout primary and secondary school and by 16 Lewis was finding work as a freelance website designer.



Instead of going to university, he started working at a small start-up in East London where he learned about cutting edge technologies.

Two years ago he launched Magnific, an online media outlet that helps young writers break into journalism.