Utah teen named 1 of Time magazine’s most influential teens

Utah teen named 1 of Time magazine’s most influential teens

(Courtesy George Matus)


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SANDY— George Matus, 19, a graduate of Waterford High School in Sandy, was just named one of Time Magazine’s most influential teens of 2016. The list was determined based on recent accolades, global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news coverage.

Matus earned a spot on this list for his impressive work as the creator of the fastest consumer drone in the world which can soar up to 70 mph. The drone is also the first consumer drone with the ability to fulfill multiple use cases.

He developed this game-changing drone under his startup Teal Drones. The company has been wildly popular among venture capitalists who are eager to invest in what they believe will be a revolutionary innovation within the drone market.

KSL first reported on Matus’s success back in 2015 when he won a prestigious Thiel Fellowship for $100,000 in funding for Teal Drones from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

In July, KSL reported that his company was launched after raising $2.8 million in just one year. The company is now backed by $5.8 million in venture capital. With funding secured, Matus is now ready to bring what he calls the “Swiss Army knife of drones” to the market. He employs three full-time employees and 15 full-time contractors who have worked to help him bring his business model to life. Teal Drones is expected to start shipping its product to consumers in early 2017.

Matus said that he started flying planes and helicopters when he was 10 years old. Later on, he found out that there is a whole hobby around flying aircraft.

He said he started saving up to break into the aircraft hobby community on his own and eventually became a regular on forums for the niche community. Part of his inspiration for building the world’s first multi-use consumer drone came from these forums. He saw that others were adapting their drones to increase their capabilities and it sparked his idea for creating a drone that could do it all.

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Matus said his father also played an important role in motivating him to bring his dream to fruition.

"My dad has always been an entrepreneur and had his own businesses and companies, so seeing him do that inspired me," he said.

Matus said that being a young entrepreneur might seem to have its disadvantages, but that he sees it differently.

“I don’t see being a young entrepreneur as a disadvantage," he said. "I see it as an advantage in that you bring a fresh perspective to the market.”

He said investors usually understand that young business owners might not have operational experience and that their ideas might not be completely fleshed out. Investors are able to work with new entrepreneurs to provide the resources and insight they need to put the pieces together and bring their ideas to life.

Like most of the influential teens on this list, Matus spends much of his time working on his craft. Although this requires a significant commitment, he said he still finds free time to enjoy being 19. Now that he’s graduated, he has more time to enjoy things that most teenagers enjoy while also building and managing a successful tech startup.


![Cosette Jarrett](http://img.ksl.com/slc/2585/258576/25857651\.jpg?filter=ksl/65x65)
About the Author: Cosette Jarrett \---------------------------------

Cosette is a freelance writer and remote worker specializing in topics surrounding the tech and lifestyle fields. She is a University of Utah graduate with a BA from the Department of Communications.

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