Jason O'Neill was interested in business from a very early age. At age five, he set up his first lemonade stand. He learned quickly what it took to stay ahead of the competition by adding homemade cookies to his stand the next year.  Winter didn't stop his desire to make money.  He just switched to hot chocolate.  By age nine, Jason had started a neighborhood recycling business which earned him his spending money although he didn't part with it that easily but did buy a few shares in Microsoft.

In 2005, a few weeks before his tenth birthday, he created a simple product to sell at a local craft fair. When his products sold out quickly and classmates started asking for them, he realized he had a good thing going. With the help of his parents, Pencil Bugs became a business.  Pencil Bugs are colorful, bug-like pencil toppers that Jason hand makes (with the help of his parents), although he is searching for the right manufacturer to mass produce and expand into the retail market. Owning several varieties of pencil toppers throughout his school years, Jason realized he needed to make Pencil Bugs unique. He created a Certificate of Authenticity that comes with each Pencil Bug and includes their birth date, given name, and care and training instructions. Whereas many pencil toppers are permanently attached to the pencil, making it impossible to use the eraser, Pencil Bugs come on top of a standard #2 pencil but are removable so they can adorn markers, pens, or even crayons. Some children even use them as finger puppets.

Making money was great but Jason wanted to use some of it to help other kids.  He chose a foster agency and his continued donations helped many children for which he received a Young Philanthropist Award at age ten.

Media attention and opportunities quickly followed.  NBC's game show 1 vs 100 invited Jason on an all-kid episode as their "kid mogul."  Although he was part of the 100-kid mob and missed the second question, the host, Bob Saget, talked with Jason giving him the opportunity to plug his business.  ABC News Nightline online edition featured Jason in a story about Young Biz Whizes and PBS BizKid$ highlighted Jason's business accomplishments.  A few months after Jason started his business, he was already giving presentations and speaking to schools, libraries, and community organizations about his business and charitable work.  Encouraging people of all ages to give their ideas a try and help out their communities has been one of Jason's favorite parts about his business. He's been quoted several times saying, "You can't get anywhere by sitting on your ideas" and "It's not about how much you do but that you do something because even the littlest effort can make a difference in someone else's life."  Inspiring, encouraging, and motivating others comes naturally for this young entrepreneur.

In 2008, Jason started a charitable program with Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, CA.  Each quarter, he uses his earnings to buy toys, games, books, and other activities and puts together gift bags for children in the hospital.  With the help of other small businesses and individuals, he's also been able to buy larger toys and games that the hospital keeps in their community playroom for all the kids to use.

Jason continues to expand his business with more Pencil Bug-related products and is always working on other ideas such as a board game, greeting cards, video game, and plush toy.   He has written the first book in a series for early chapter readers and is also working on a book about his own experiences and business tips he's learned along the way.  His plan is to have a Pencil Bugs empire including "Pencil Bugs: The Movie."

Jason O'Neill's Awards and Recognitions

2006 - Young Philanthropist Award (North County Times)

2007 - Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Young Entrepreneurs of America.  Jason ignored the age requirements of being at least 16 years old when he entered.  In his application, he stated that many kids under 16 are doing amazing things and he asked that the judges would consider him even though he was only 11.  Because his experience and application was so compelling, a new category for kids under 16 was created that year and Jason was the first recipient.

2008 - Forbes.com named him to their first Top 10 List of Role Models 18 & Under.  It was quite an honor to be included with celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, and Abigail Breslin.

2008 - Recipient of the local and regional levels college scholarship award from the Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarship Program

2008 - Youngest entrepreneur to be featured on Cornell University eClips website. As part of their Department of Applied Economics and Management program, more than 1,500 universities and colleges from around the world can utilize information from Jason's 24 individual clips about a wide variety of business topics.

2008 - Community Leadership Award (KATY-FM 101.3)

2008 - What better recognition could a young entrepreneur have than to be interviewed for a new book by best-selling author and co-founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Mark Victor Hansen?   That meeting led to opportunities and experiences beyond imagination.  Jason has spoken onstage to audiences of hundreds with Mr. Hansen, Art Linkletter, and other well-known motivational speakers and entrepreneurs.