Hotdog! He’s a Successful Entrepreneur at 12

No one wanted to give Mason Wright a job, not the manager at Target nor Walmart or any of the other stores he checked. Some laughed. Others smiled. They all dismissed him: “You’re too young,” they said.

Wright was 10 years old. But he was undaunted. His mom said he had to earn his own money to buy the science kits he loved so much. So, he turned to his neighbors, mowing their lawns, washing their cars and bathing their dogs.

But neither he nor his mom realized that young Wright would accomplish something much bigger. The child who was used to playing by himself and cooking for himself; the straight-A Lithonia, Georgia student who was used to being mocked would become an entrepreneur, influencing everyone around him—including some of the neighborhood kids who seemed set on a life of crime.

Now, those who used to tease him want to be his friends. Some also want to be his partner.

Wright’s mom, Kathy Wright, was used to spending hundreds on robotics science kits, which Wright would finish in a day. When she told him to earn his own money, he did just that. But instead of buying the kit, Wright had another idea.

And it happened because of a trip to New York with his mom and older sister. He saw people posing for pictures with superheroes and others waiting in lines to buy hot dogs. He decided to try the hot dogs.

He made a face. “This isn’t good,” he said about the hotdogs. He tried another vendor and another. He gave up.

“I can make this so much better,” said Wright who was used to making his own hot dogs at home. “Next time I go (to New York), I know to pack a sandwich.”

But the idea of making and selling his own hot dogs stayed with him. He decided to start Mason’s Super Dogs, using the money he saved to buy an old-fashioned, red and white electric cart.

He also developed his own toppings after eating more than a hundred hot dogs, he said. “It was a lot of fruits and stomachaches,” Wright, now 12, said.

He settled on 11 different toppings. The most popular would become the Donatelo Dog with fresh cheese, homemade pizza sauce and hand-cut pepperonis. There is also the Hawaiian hot dog with pineapple and cherries and a vegan hot dog. He stays away from hot dogs with nitrates , he said, adding, “It makes kids stupid.”

Kathy Wright said she didn’t think Mason’s Super Dogs would become a business until her son kept getting requests to do birthday parties and other special events. The owner of a car wash also agreed to let him sell hot dogs to his customers.

Still, his grandfather saw the entrepreneurial spirit in Wright, who also has his own YouTube channel. Last year, he helped him buy an even bigger cart that cost around $6,000. Wright was able to provide $2,500 from his earnings.

Auditioning for Shark Tank

Since then, he has earned enough money to buy his science kits and other personal items. But his goal changed when he discovered how expensive it was to go to college. Now he’s saving for his tuition. His sister, a Spelman College student, had made friends with some Morehouse College students who decided to adopt Wright as their little brother. Wright, who had wanted to go to Georgia Tech because of its science program, changed his mind after meeting the four students. And it was on their campus that he decided to try out for Shark Tank.

His pitch was rejected. But his Morehouse brothers encouraged him not to give up. One of them, Shawn Swinton, told him that maybe this rejection meant that he needed to be doing something else.

“Maybe that’s true,” Wright said. “Maybe it wasn’t meant for me to get it.”

Swinton was surprised the boy understood what he meant. Sometimes he couldn’t believe the wise and witty Wright was only 12. He had heard the outspoken boy speak at a rally. He had watched how particular he was about the type of bread he uses, the ingredients he buys and the solemnity with which he did everything pertaining to his business and was awed by his professionalism.

Wright had even dismissed Swinton’s idea about doing a combo by pointing out how he would be losing money.

“He’s too sharp to be that young,” Swinton, 21, said.

Making His Entrepreneurial Mark at Morehouse

Still, the day of the Shark Tank pitch presented another opportunity. His brothers pointed out the Morehouse College president to him and a nervous Wright decided to ask him if he could sell hot dogs on his campus.

“Hello,” Wright said. “Can I give you my Shark Tank business pitch?”

His mom, who didn’t know what was going on, just saw the president smile and shake her son’s hand. She later found out the president had agreed to meet with her son to hear his pitch. He also wanted to see his report card, permit and insurance.

“He took me seriously when other adults don’t take young kids seriously,” Wright said.

Soon Wright was selling hot dogs on the campus, sometimes selling between 70 and 80 hot dogs a day. But he had become the taunt of his neighborhood and school.

“I was always into science, so I was picked on for that by the neighborhood kids and kids at school,” Wright said. When he started selling hot dogs, the taunts became meaner. They would throw a football or soccer ball at him when he walked out the door.

Some called him, “Weiner Boy and Hotdog Girl.” Others, “Street Chef.” That name he proudly accepted.

Turning Taunts into Teaching

He would ignore them. But sometimes when it gets to be too much, he would climb to the top of the monkey bars at school to get away. When they tried to follow, a teacher intervened.

But Wright would become their teacher. The neighborhood boys were known for stealing or breaking into cars to get money. With his success, Wright showed them another way, a better way.

Perhaps, looking for another reason to tease him, they decided to try his hot dog.

“They didn’t think it was going to taste good,” Wright said. “One boy in particular thought it was not going to taste good.” In the end, “He bought eight hot dogs.

“If kids want something, they don’t have to steal it or take it,” Wright said, adding they can start their own business. “That’s so much better, learning the value of a dollar.”

Now he wants to help them through his organization, The League of Young Entrepreneurs. He will be providing training sessions, which will begin Sept. 8th and continue every Saturday for six weeks. His mom sees it as an opportunity to help children get and stay on the right path.

So far, Wright has saved more than $7,000 towards his tuition. He said he wants to be an astronaut, adding, “I might be selling hot dogs on the moon.”