As a writer and editor at Entrepreneur, I get to pick the brains of some of the most inspiring and innovative people in business. Their missions never fail to fire me up, and when I spoke with Steve Distante, I was struck by his infectious passion for one goal: keeping kids’ entrepreneurial dreams alive.
This sustainable investment pioneer and author of the Pitchology series has spent decades helping founders fine-tune their ideas and raise capital. And lately, his real work is happening with young people. Through his children’s book Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland, the annual entrepreneurship bootcamp he holds for teens, and countless mentorship moments, Steve is proving something radical: entrepreneurship isn’t a skill you learn in business school—it’s a spark you nurture before the world teaches you to be afraid. Here’s what every founder should know about igniting that fire.
What made you decide to write books specifically for kids about entrepreneurship?
I started off with Pitchology: The Art and Science of Raising Capital for Entrepreneurs, which was a case study of different ways you could raise capital. But then my son Quinten, who got a degree in entrepreneurship from High Point University, told me something that changed everything. He said, “Dad, I really enjoy fable books like The Go-Giver. The stories are so memorable.” That stuck with me. So I wrote Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland as a collection of entrepreneurially positive fables—some true, some not so true. What’s beautiful about fables is that people actually remember the stories. When I ask people about specific chapters from my first book, they give me vague answers. But ask them about a story, and they give me fantastic, detailed clarity.
Photo credit: Steve Distante
You mentioned that entrepreneurship goes away as we get older. Why do you think that happens?
I have a coach named Dan Sullivan from Strategic Coach, and he claims that entrepreneurship starts to disappear around age eight. For me, it showed up at six and never stopped. But I think there are two types of entrepreneurs: born entrepreneurs and made entrepreneurs. The question isn’t whether entrepreneurship is natural or learned—it’s when we start to shut kids down. Instead of saying, “That’s a ridiculous idea, you can’t ever do that,” we should be nurturing that ability to dream. It’s really about not killing the passion.
What was your first business, and what did it teach you?
It was collecting horse manure on trails with a wheelbarrow and selling it to my neighbors for fertilizer. I also had newspaper routes—though I wasn’t old enough to have them legally, so I’d hire people to do the route and collect the money myself. I did business after business, and what really resonated for me was the connection with people. As an introvert, business became my way to communicate with the world. By doing something good for someone else, they’d actually talk to me about what they needed. That’s been my whole life.
You ran entrepreneurship week for teens in Woodbury, Long Island. What happens there, and why is it so transformative?
We start with StrengthsFinder to help kids discover their superpowers. It’s wild—most people look at their bottom three strengths when they get results. We flip that. One girl’s number one strength was “WOO,” which is Winning Others Over. She had no idea. Within a year, she transformed herself into an influencer and started an entrepreneurship club at UConn. Then we bring in experts on AI, social media, intellectual property, and product design. We do a product challenge where they create prototypes with 3D printing. We celebrate with awards, and kids meet real entrepreneurs who answer their questions. Last year, one girl even roasted her dad’s podiatry social media in front of everyone—showing foot fungus—and told him exactly what he needed to improve. She actually made him better at his own business. People walk away changed.
You’ve talked about struggling with perfectionism. How did you overcome it?
I had a magazine called Financial Advisor magazine that I turned into a four-color publication. I was so excited about it, but the minute my dad found a typo, I spiraled. That’s when I realized I held myself to an impossible standard and dragged people down with me. I did an exercise called the Unique Ability exercise with Strategic Coach, asking people for feedback. Someone told me, “It’s never good enough for Steve. It’s always, ‘Yeah, but…’ That was the wake-up call. Now we start every meeting with Positive Focus—sharing wins instead of beating people up about what didn’t get done. It raises the energy in the room completely.
What’s your advice for parents who want to nurture entrepreneurship in their kids?
First, allow your kids to go outside your circle of comfort. When I sold Italian ices on the beach, I learned how to interact, make sales, and connect with people. Have your kids call restaurants to order dinner when they’re six or seven. Make them read the list. Most of the time they do really well and learn how to talk to people. Connect business ideas with something they love—maybe fundraising for a charity. My daughter did a lemonade stand near a beach, and when she made money for a cause she cared about, the excitement was real. And never tell them they can’t do something. Those kids in the gifted class thrived while those in the remedial class struggled—same IQ, different belief. You, as a parent, put your kids’ capabilities in their minds.
What’s the biggest misconception about entrepreneurship that you want to bust?
There’s this shame if you’re not a multi-millionaire by 25, then you’re a loser. The truth is, there’s no fun in being wealthy overnight. The real joy is in the journey—making it in steps, benefiting other people along the way, and connecting your passion, purpose, and profit. Overnight success is boring. The slow build is where the real magic happens.
As a writer and editor at Entrepreneur, I get to pick the brains of some of the most inspiring and innovative people in business. Their missions never fail to fire me up, and when I spoke with Steve Distante, I was struck by his infectious passion for one goal: keeping kids’ entrepreneurial dreams alive.
This sustainable investment pioneer and author of the Pitchology series has spent decades helping founders fine-tune their ideas and raise capital. And lately, his real work is happening with young people. Through his children’s book Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland, the annual entrepreneurship bootcamp he holds for teens, and countless mentorship moments, Steve is proving something radical: entrepreneurship isn’t a skill you learn in business school—it’s a spark you nurture before the world teaches you to be afraid. Here’s what every founder should know about igniting that fire.
What made you decide to write books specifically for kids about entrepreneurship?
I started off with Pitchology: The Art and Science of Raising Capital for Entrepreneurs, which was a case study of different ways you could raise capital. But then my son Quinten, who got a degree in entrepreneurship from High Point University, told me something that changed everything. He said, “Dad, I really enjoy fable books like The Go-Giver. The stories are so memorable.” That stuck with me. So I wrote Once Upon a Time in Entrepreneurland as a collection of entrepreneurially positive fables—some true, some not so true. What’s beautiful about fables is that people actually remember the stories. When I ask people about specific chapters from my first book, they give me vague answers. But ask them about a story, and they give me fantastic, detailed clarity.