Superkids: Hey! Being an Entrepreneur Takes Some Heavy Lifting

When David Dolifka’s family moved onto 20 acres in rural Boulder County in 2001, he quickly realized that there wasn’t a lot out there for a pre-teen boy to do. Some kids might have moaned about being bored; David started his own business. “That’s about all there is to do out here,” he admits.

David grows, harvests and then sells hay with his cousin on his family’s 20 acres and 100 more that they lease nearby. Each summer, they put in more than 450 hours of labor to harvest and store the hay. The rest of the year, they deliver it to their customers. It’s a lot of responsibility, but clearly David is up to the task. “I know it sounds corny,” David says, “but the customers are my favorite part of the business.”

But farming isn’t David’s full-time pursuit. As a high school senior, David balances rigorous academics with rigorous sports, running cross-country and pitching on the school’s baseball team. He’s even on the varsity physics team—building robots to face off against other teams.

He hopes to pursue a dual major in economics and environmental studies at college next year, which is good, because after everything he’s used to doing, he might be bored with a regular course of study.