A little over a year ago we introduced the world to Generation Edge, the generation after Millennials and one we feel is unlike any other...
...this generation are resilient, self-starting reformers. They’ve got a view of the way they want the world to be and understand that they are going to have to be the ones to change it!
We like to think of 2014 as the year of Edge and the talented, tenacious, tech-empowered guys and girls you’ll see over the next 20 pages exemplify what Edge is all about, they are....quite literally, changing the world as we know it!
Imagine - HR; are handling the 'bad banter' - Stella Chandler.pdf
Edgers of the year 2014
1. GENERATION
20 UNDER 20:THE KIDS THAT ARE
CHANGING THE WORLD
UNDERSTANDING A NEW GENERATION
WWW.THESOUNDHQ.COM
2.
3. 20 UNDER 20:2014 EDGER’S OF THE YEAR
A
little
over
a
year
ago
we
introduced
the
world
to
Generation
Edge,
the
generation
after
Millennials
and
one
we
feel
is
unlike
any
other...
...this
generation
are
resilient,
self-‐starting
reformers.
They’ve
got
a
view
of
the
way
they
want
the
world
to
be
and
understand
that
they
are
going
to
have
to
be
the
ones
to
change
it!
We
like
to
think
of
2014
as
the
year
of
Edge
and
the
talented,
tenacious,
tech-‐
empowered
guys
and
girls
you’ll
see
over
the
next
20
pages
exemplify
what
Edge
is
all
about,
they
are....quite
literally,
changing
the
world
as
we
know
it!
4. SHOW THE BOYS HOW IT’S DONE...Mo’ne Davis
Davis
shot
to
fame
this
year
after
becoming
the
3irst
girl
in
Little
League
history
to
pitch
a
winning
game
for
the
Taney
Dragons,
a
shutout
at
that,
leading
them
to
a
4-‐0
win
over
Nashville.
With
her
3irst
Sports
Illustrated
-‐
who
named
her
sports
kid
of
the
year
-‐
cover
under
her
belt
she’s
now
turning
her
attention
to
basketball
and
ful3illing
her
dream
of
becoming
one
of
Geno
Auriemma’s
Huskies
at
the
University
of
Connecticut,
a
dream
she’ll
have
plenty
of
time
to
work
towards
as
Mo’ne
is
due
to
graduate
from
Middle
School
next
year!
"I
never
thought
at
the
age
of
13
I'd
be
a
role
model.
I
always
wanted
to
be
a
role
model,
but
being
a
baseball
role
model
is
really
cool."
Mo’Ne Davis, speaking to ESPN
MOST LIKELY TO
5. COOK UP A STORM...Flynn McGarry
At
10
he
decided
he
wanted
to
cook,
by
11
1/2
he
was
running
his
widely
acclaimed
Eureka
supper
club
out
of
his
parents
home.
Understanding
-‐
as
Edgers
do
-‐
that
honing
your
craft
is
crucial
to
success,
McGarry
-‐
now
15
-‐
home
schools,
giving
him
time
to
spend
up
to
160
hours
a
month
plying
his
trade
in
prestigious
kitchens
such
as
Eleven
Madison
Park,
Alinea
and
Alma.
Which
is
just
as
well,
as
the
shy
kid
from
South
California
plans
to
open
the
worlds
best
restaurant
by
the
time
he
hits
19!
“Flynn’s
focus,
passion,
and
interest
in
cooking
are
rarely
found
in
any
cook—let
alone
a
thirteen-‐year-‐old.”
Daniel Humm, chef, Eleven Madison Park
MOST LIKELY TO
6. STYLE IT OUT...Tavi Gevinson
Illinois
native
Gevinson
founded
her
3irst
blog
-‐
Style
Rookie
-‐
at
the
tender
age
of
11.
Soon
after
it
was
attracting
over
30,000
readers
a
day
and
a
star
was
born.
Tavi
has
since
broadened
her
reach
through
Rookie
magazine,
which
she
founded
3
years
later
in
2011
and
has
used
to
speak
to
wider
issues
affecting
teenage
girls
with
the
help
of
guest
contributions
from
the
likes
of
Judd
Apatow
and
Lena
Dunham.
"…personal
style
is
an
opportunity
to
kind
of
create
your
own
fantasy.
And
that
can
be
-‐
and
this
word
is
so
overused
-‐
but
empowering
in
a
way,
especially
when
you
feel
like
you
have
a
certain
force
Gield
around
you
to
the
outside
world."
Tavi Gevinson
MOST LIKELY TO
7. MOST LIKELY TO
TAKE CENTER STAGE...Quvenzhané Wallis
With
a
presence
and
con3idence
that
embodies
Edge
while
belying
her
tender
age,
Wallis
-‐
too
young
at
the
time
-‐
had
to
lie
about
her
age
as
she
beat
out
over
4000
contenders
to
land
the
role
of
Hushpuppy
in
critically
acclaimed
movie
“Beasts
of
the
Southern
Wild”,
her
3irst
ever
acting
role.
A
role
that
would
land
her
the
youngest
ever
Best
Actress
nomination
at
the
2012
Academy
Awards,
at
just
9
years
old,
and
one
that
provided
a
platform
for
subsequent
performances
in
more
Academy
Award
winners
such
as
2013’s
“12
Years
a
Slave”
and
a
Golden
Globe
nominated
performance
for
this
years
Annie.
“Nothing
else
matters
except
that
I
have
fun,
and
I'm
still
having
fun.”
Quvenzhané Wallis
8. BUILD A BETTER FUTURE...Shubham Banerjee
"I
just
wanted
to
help
the
visually
impaired.
I
had
a
Lego
Robotics
kit,
so
I
asked,
'Why
not
just
try
that?”
Not
your
typical
Silicon
Valley
start
up
and
not
your
typical
teenager.
This
was
Banerjee’s
response
when
he
realized
the
cost
of
Braille
machines
and
promptly
founded
Braigo
labs
to
ensure
they
were
more
accessible
to
all.
It’s
a
cause
that
computer
giant
Intel
have
backed,
making
Banerjee
the
youngest
ever
recipient
of
venture
capital
and
helping
him
land
Time
Incs.
“Innovation
of
the
Year”
for
2014.
"Shubham
Banerjee
is
among
a
couple
dozen
entrepreneurs
who
received
funding
from
Intel
Capital
on
Tuesday,
but
he
is
probably
the
only
one
whose
father
had
to
drive
him
there"
Silicon Valley Business Journal
MOST LIKELY TO
9. RUN FOR PRESIDENT...Asean Johnson
Johnson
became
somewhat
of
an
internet
sensation
after
a
video
of
his
speech
protesting
school
closures
in
Chicago
went
viral,
a
popularity
that
grew
even
further
after
his
rousing
display
during
2013’s
Realize
the
Dream
march,
aged
just
9
years
old.
Some
tip
him
as
a
future
Mayor
of
Chicago
in
2025
-‐
when
he
will
have
just
turned
21,
he
hopes
to
become
a
politician
or
scientist
with
a
particular
interest
in
preserving
our
water
supplies
-‐
all
this
while
managing
his
honors
workload
in
5th
grade!
“I
am
marching
for
education,
justice
and
freedom.
All
over
the
country
public
education
is
under
attack.
Every
school
deserves
equal
funding
and
resources.”
Asean Johnson
MOST LIKELY TO
10. SHAKE THE INDUSTRY...Lorde
Her
breakthrough
hit
“Royals”
off
the
widely
popular
Pure
Heroine
album
has
garnered
her
as
much
attention
as
it
has
industry
accolades
-‐
including
2
Grammies
in
2014.
But
it’s
the
way
Lorde
has
gone
about
it
that
gives
her
a
distinct
Edge!
Seen
as
the
anti-‐thesis
to
the
“dumbed
down”
or
over
sexualized
path
many
of
her
peers
embody,
she’s
been
named
Billboards
new
queen
of
alternative
and
has
been
celebrated
for
forging
her
own
path
on
the
way
to
global
success.
"But
the
popularity
of
Pure
Heroine
suggests
all
is
not
lost.
It
says
there's
still
an
intellectual,
polished
and
important
place
for
pop,
that
doesn't
rely
on
open
letters,
open
legs,
Twitter,
twerking
and
obscenely
desperate
electro
hooks”
Clash Magazine
MOST LIKELY TO
11. SHINE IN THE DARK...Ann Makosinski
When
Ann
Makosinski
found
out
that
her
pen
pal
in
the
Philippines
was
failing
school
as
she
had
no
electricity,
and
therefore
light
at
home
to
help
her
study
-‐
she
set
about
3inding
a
solution
to
a
problem
that
affects
over
1
billion
people
worldwide.
Her
hand-‐heat
powered
“Hollow
Torch”
has
been
hailed
as
a
stroke
of
genius
and
has
gone
a
long
way
to
solving
this
problem
and
providing
a
giant
leap
forward
for
thermo-‐electricity.
3
Ted
Talks
and
an
appearance
on
Jimmy
Fallon
later
sees
her
continuing
to
work
on
improving
her
3lashlights
brightness
and
ef3iciency
and
looks
to
shine
a
light
on
everyone’s
world!
“I
was
always
taking
garbage
from
around
the
house,
taking
things
apart
and
putting
them
together.
I
just
wanted
to
make
things
better.”
Ann Makosinski
MOST LIKELY TO
12. MOST LIKELY TO
FEED THE WORLD...Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey
and Sophie Healy-Thow
Inspired
by
stories
they
had
read
about
the
2011
famine
in
the
Horn
of
Africa,
these
three
county
Cork
natives
looked
for
ways
they
could
try
and
help
to
improve
food
production
world
wide.
A
3
year
study,
using
and
studying
Diazotroph
-‐
a
naturally
occurring
soil
based
bacteria
-‐
provided
them
great
success,
speeding
up
the
germination
process
and
has
the
potential
to
increase
crop
yield
by
up
to
74%.
The
trio
took
home
the
grand
prize
at
this
years
Google
Science
Fair
and
in
the
process
have
unearthed
3indings
that
will
aid
the
global
food
poverty
battle
immeasurably.
“The
girls
determined
that
the
bacteria
could
be
used
to
speed
up
the
the
germination
process
of
certain
crops,
like
barley
and
oats,
by
50
percent,
potentially
helping
fulGill
the
rising
demand
for
food
worldwide.
Oh—and
they’re
16
years
old.”
GoogleBlog, September 22nd 2014
13. MAKE A STAND...Joshua Wong
Wong
-‐
along
with
schoolmate
and
friend
Ivan
Lam
-‐
established
Scholarist
in
2011
to
protest
against
“moral
and
national
education”
curriculum
proposed
in
his
native
Hong
Kong.
The
call
was
heard
by
over
100,000
protestors
and
the
plans
were
promptly
withdrawn
while
Wong
received
acclaim
and
notoriety
in
equal
parts
for
his
role.
Earlier
this
year,
he
was
detained
for
40
hours
for
his
role
in
the
student
protests
against
the
NPCSC’s
decision
on
the
proposed
electoral
reform.
He
remains
the
face
of
this
political
activism,
all
the
while
insisting
that
the
real
heroes
are
“every
Hong
Kong
citizen.”
“He’s
so
young
but
so
wise
that
you
can’t
help
but
have
a
lot
of
time
for
him
…
He
is
every
mother’s
son
–
Gilial,
polite,
principled,
hard-‐working.
Michael Vidler, Human Rights Lawyer
MOST LIKELY TO
14. BE HAPPY...Logan LaPlante
LaPlantes
2013
TedX
speech
at
the
University
of
Nevada
has
received
over
7.5
million
views
on
YouTube
alone
and
speaks
to
his
idea
for
the
future
of
education....HackSchooling.
When
LaPlante
grows
up
he’s
focusing
on
something
simple...on
being
happy
-‐
something
he
feels
many
14
year
olds
-‐
like
him
-‐
aren’t
being
prepared
for.
The
3lexibility
and
creativity
his
“hacked”
education
and
schedule
has
afforded
him
have
seen
him
pursue
competitive
skiing,
intern
and
later
design
for
Big
Truck
Brand
and
spread
the
HackSchooling
approach
wherever
he
goes!
“They
(hackers)
are
innovators,
they
challenge
and
change
the
systems
to
make
them
work
differently,
to
make
them
work
better”
Logan Laplante
MOST LIKELY TO
15. MAKE SOME NOISE...Unlocking The Truth
Malcolm
Brickhouse,
13,
Jarad
Dawkins,
12,
and
Alec
Atkins,
13
have
had
a
passion
for
Metal
since
they
were
seven
years
old.
However,
growing
up
in
Flatbush,
Brooklyn.
Birthplace
to
established
rappers
such
as
Talib
Kweli
and
Busta
Rhymes,
it
isn’t
the
most
obvious
rise
to
musical
notoriety.
Neither
is
leveraging
Times
Square
performances
-‐
that
subsequently
went
viral
-‐
into
becoming
the
youngest
artists
ever
signed
to
Sony
in
a
$1.8
million
deal.
But
then
these
aren’t
your
average
teenagers
and
they’re
certainly
not
your
average
band!
“Music
is
music,
and
as
long
as
you
can
express
yourself
in
a
way
that
you
think
is
good
for
people
to
hear
then
it’s
something
you
should
do.
I
wish
everybody
could
not
be
afraid
to
do
the
things
they
want
to
do.”
Jarad Dawkins, Unlocking the Truth
MOST LIKELY TO
16. TO KEEP IT REAL...Julia Bluhm
Using
Change.org
as
a
platform
and
having
heard
too
many
of
her
peers
in
ballet
class
commenting
on
their
own
weight,
enough
was
enough
for
Julia
Bluhm.
Her
petition
“Seventeen
Magazine:
Give
Girls
Images
of
Real
Girls”
urged
the
magazine
to
re-‐think
the
imagery
it
was
purporting
and
think
on
the
consequences
of
their
actions.
As
a
result
of
the
80,000+
signatures
her
cause
attracted,
Seventeen
Magazine
pledged
to
“celebrate
every
kind
of
beauty”
by
ensuring
they
use
only
real
images,
girls
and
models
within
their
pages
-‐
a
huge
step
forward
which
has
now
been
widely
adopted
by
other
major
publications.
As
for
Julia,
she
harbors
dreams
of
becoming
a
professional
ballet
dancer
but
continues
to
have
her
voice
heard
as
a
contributor
to
the
SPARK
movement
and
blog!
"I've
always
just
known
how
Photoshop
can
have
a
big
effect
on
girls
and
their
body
image
and
how
they
feel
about
themselves,"
Julia Bluhm, speaking to the Huffington Post
MOST LIKELY TO
17. INSPIRATIONAL...Malala Yousafazai
Born
into
a
family
that
ran
a
chain
of
schools
in
her
native
Swat
Valley
(Pakistan),
Malala
advocated
for
education
and
for
women
from
an
early
age.
Aged
just
11
she
wrote
-‐
under
pseudonym
-‐
a
blog
for
the
BBC
that
spoke
to
her
life
under
the
Taliban
regime.
After
Adam
Ellick
picked
up
her
story
and
made
a
documentary
for
the
New
York
Times
about
her
life
as
the
Pakistani
military
intervened
in
the
area
Malala
quickly
became
a
face
for
the
movement,
giving
several
interviews
and
picking
up
a
nomination
for
the
International
children's
peace
prize
from
Desmond
Tutu.
Then,
shockingly,
on
October
9th,
2012
a
Taliban
gunman
boarded
the
bus
Malala
travelled
to
school
on,
asked
for
her
by
name
and
shot
3
times.
She
was
taken
to
England
for
life
saving
surgery
and
her
recovery
resulted
in
a
massive
outpouring
of
support.
Despite
remaining
a
terrorist
target
she
remains
a
staunch
activist,
penning
an
auto-‐biography
I
Am
Malala
in
2013
and
becoming
the
youngest
ever
recipient
of
the
Nobel
Peace
Prize
in
2014.
“A
brave
and
gentle
advocate
of
peace
who
through
the
simple
act
of
going
to
school
became
a
global
teacher.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
MOST
18. REWRITE THE RULES...Jazz Jennings
At
age
2,
Jazz
Jennings
began
voicing
her
feelings
that
“she
was
a
girl”,
by
5
she
had
become
the
youngest
person
ever
to
be
diagnosed
with
gender
dysphoria
-‐
a
signi3icant
unease
with
the
characteristics
of
ones
gender
while
readily
identifying
with
the
opposite
gender
-‐
while
it
hasn’t
always
been
easy,
she
hasn’t
looked
back
since.
She’s
met
Bill
Clinton
been
interviewed
by
the
likes
of
Barbara
Walters
and
Katie
Couric
and
is
considered
by
many
as
“The
New
Face
of
Transgender
Youth”.
Earlier
this
year
she
co-‐wrote
her
3irst
book,
“I
am
Jazz”,
the
3irst
children’s
book
aimed
at
helping
kids
understand
what
transgender
is
-‐
as
she
says
within
the
pages
“..this
is
transgender,
I
was
born
this
way”.
"I
am
happy.
I
am
having
fun.
I
am
proud!
I
am
Jazz!"
Jazz Jennings
MOST LIKELY TO
19. GO VIRAL...Nash Grier
No-‐one
-‐
perhaps
-‐
better
exempli3ies
the
role
of
celebrity
in
the
digital
age
than
16
year
old
Nash
Grier
With
over
20
million
followers
across
various
social
media
platforms,
most
notably
Vine,
where
his
6
second
clips
around
the
minutiae
of
high
school
fans
have
earned
him
throngs
of
loyal
fans
and
made
him
the
most
followed
user!
That’s
not
to
say
his
rise
to
fame
has
been
without
controversy.
He’s
been
called
sexist,
racist
and
homophobic
for
Vines
and
Tweets
he
has
since
purged
and
apologized
for
Whether
these
are
the
mis-‐steps
of
an
adolescent
on
a
rise
to
super
stardom
or
a
crushing
fall
remain
to
be
seen
-‐
one
things
for
certain
Grier
is
here
and
he’s
leading
new
wave
of
digital
celebrities!
“For
a
certain
class
of
adolescent,
if
you
tried
to
design
the
world’s
most
viral
human,
you
couldn’t
do
better
than
Nash.”
Bianca Nosker, Huffington Post
MOST LIKELY TO
20. RALLY THE TROOPS...Talia Leman
In
2005,
Talia
saw
news
coverage
around
Hurricane
Katrina
and
knew
she
wanted
to
help
-‐
her
idea,
TLC
(which
stands
for
trick
or
treating
for
the
levee
catastrophe)
was
to
mobilize
her
peers
around
the
country
and
trick
or
treat
for
coins
instead
of
candy
to
help
those
affected
by
the
hurricane.
Her
efforts
snowballed
quickly
and
Talia
-‐
in
her
role
as
Chief
Executive
Optimist
-‐
quickly
found
herself
at
the
helm
of
an
effort
that
raised
over
$10
million.
From
there
-‐
with
the
help
of
her
family
-‐
she
set
up
RandomKid.org,
a
website
designed
to
give
kids
like
her
the
ideas,
resources
and
tools
to
give
back
and
make
a
difference.
Something
she
continues
to
do,
working
with
over
12
million
youths
across
20
countries
since
RandomKids
inception!
"The
moment
when
the
random
youth
who
come
to
us
realize
that
we
are
here
to
work
FOR
them.
That’s
what
makes
me
happiest"
Talia Leman
MOST LIKELY TO
21. GO FOR EXTRA CREDIT...Erik Finman
Taking
a
$1000
birthday
gift
from
his
grandma,
Erik
Finman
invested
it
in
a
-‐
then
-‐
obscure
digital
currency
called
Bitcoin.
Less
than
2
years
later
and
Finmans
investment
had
matured,
signi3icantly,
to
the
tune
of
$100,000.
Not
one
to
rest
on
his
laurels,
Erik
fed
the
money
into
his
start
up
Botangle
which
aims
to
remove
any
limitations
on
learning
experiences
whether,
as
Finman
comments
“they're
from
rural
Idaho,
New
York
or
even
Africa."
He
now
employs
a
staff
of
20
and
caters
Botangle’s
offer
to
be
specialized,
one
on
one
and
open
to
all!
"What
a
lot
of
people
don’t
understand,
young
or
old,
is
that
you
can
create
anything
you
want
with
no
barrier
to
entry
on
the
Internet."
Erik Finman
MOST LIKELY TO
22. CONNECTED...Nick D’Aloisio
Nick
D’Aloisio
epitomizes
the
self-‐starting,
tech
empowered
Edge
generation
like
no
other.
He
founded
Summly
in
2011
-‐
a
news
summary
app
which
condenses
news
articles
down
to
a
paragraph,
perfect
for
the
140
characters
or
less
crowd.
Widespread
success
and
a
$30
million
acquisition
from
Yahoo
followed
in
2013
and
so
D’Aloisio
set
his
sights
on
the
next
evolution
of
Summly
-‐
the
Yahoo
News
Digest
which
launched
in
Jan
2014
and
won
critical
acclaim
and
an
Apple
Design
Award
later
that
year.
The
future
looks
bright
for
one
of
GQ’s
“Most
connected
men”
of
2014
as
he
continue
to
sit
at
the
forefront
of
the
digital
revolution.
"There
are
so
many
resources
available
online
that
the
primary
goal
of
someone
wanting
to
succeed
should
be
to
teach
themselves
all
of
the
necessary
skills"
Nick D’Aloisio
MOST
23. DRESS FOR SUCCESS...Isabella Rose Taylor
She
began
making
her
own
clothes
at
just
8
years
old
after
taking
a
sewing
class
in
her
home
city
of
Austin,
Texas.
However,
it
was
the
runaway
success
at
her
3irst
trunk
show
-‐
at
a
local
boutique
the
following
year
-‐
that
had
Isabella
and
her
parents
feeling
there
could
be
a
business
in
this.
It
looks
like
they
were
right!
Isabella
became
the
youngest
person
to
have
her
creations
carried
by
retail
giant
Nordstrom
in
2014,
and
ticked
another
dream
off
her
to-‐do
list
but
debuting
her
Spring
2015
collection
at
this
years
New
York
Fashion
Week,
months
after
turning
the
ripe
old
age
of
13.
"Blood
because
it
takes
a
lot
of
passion
and
sacriGice.
Sweat
because
of
the
time
and
hard
work
you
must
do.
And
glitter
because
of
the
imagination
and
creativity.
There
must
be
a
dream
behind
your
business."
Isabella Rose Taylor - on the ethos behind her business
MOST LIKELY TO
25. Mo’ne Davis:
Watch ESPN Sports
science break down the
Davis fastball
Flynn McGarry:
See inside Flynn’s Eureka
restaurant
Tavi Gevinson:
Check out the latest from
Rookie Mag
Quvenzhane Wallis:
See Quvenzhane in Annie
Shubham Banerjee:
Learn more about
Braigo Labs
click on the images below to learn more about our featured Gen Edger’s
Asean Johnson:
See Asean in action
Lorde:
Listen to our favorite
Lorde track
Ann Makosinski:
Hear Ann talk about how
she inspires
Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey
& Sophie Healy-Thow:
See how the girls found
their solution
Joshua Wong:
Listen to Joshua speak
26. Logan LaPlante:
Check out Logans TedX
talk
Unlocking the truth:
See the guys on the
Colbert Report
Julia
Hear more from Julia and
the SPARK movement
Malala Yousafzaki:
See Malala giving thanks
Jazz Jennings:
Hear things from Jazz’s
perspective
click on the images below to learn more about our Edgers
Nash Grier:
Take a look at Grier’s
crazy popular Vine
channel
Talia Leman:
Find out more about
RandomKid
Erik Finman:
Check out the
Botangle story
Nick D’Aloisio:
Get a little more
information on
Nick and Summly
Isabella Rose-Taylor:
Browse Isabella’s
collection