Akash Bhave may seem like your average sophomore, but there is much more than what meets the eye. Similar to the rest of us, he usually spends his day in school; but when he gets home and finishes his homework, he steps into the shoes of an entrepreneur, working on his company.  Since March 2018, Bhave has been running a limited liability corporation known as Paonix LLC, which specializes in website development.

Bhave initially started Paonix LLC to gain experience in maintaining a company.

“I really wanted to reach out and establish connections with other people and overall, just help other people with whatever they’re trying to do,” Bhave said.

He developed Paonix LLC with a purpose to help organizations with graphic and web design.

“[We] offer both website creation and website improvement,” Bhave said. “If you’re trying to create a new website, we can host the website, get a domain name, and code it for you. We can also create a brand for your company.”

While Bhave has only been running this company for a short time, he’s had a passion for web design and development for years.

“I actually created my first website in 5th grade,” Bhave said. “Since then, I’ve just been improving my skills. Suddenly, last March, I just decided to create a company where I could utilize my skills.”

In addition to working towards gaining profits and applying his knowledge in web design, Bhave has also developed life skills such as time management and communication.

“During the summer, I had time to freely work on [projects], but during the school year, it’s a bit harder because I also have homework. Working in this company has taught me to manage my time better,” Bhave said.

Besides personal interests and motivation, his family also helped him build his company up to what it is now.

“Before starting, my mom helped me get all the documents ready, my dad gave me initial ideas for what to actually do with the company and what direction to go towards, and my grandparents supported me as well.”

As of now, Bhave works alone on his company, but hopes to expand to a sole proprietorship later on with larger projects.

“Currently, I’m just trying to build a portfolio, get more clients, and gain more experience. Maybe in the future, I might want to take this company in a different direction and move away from web design and towards something else, possibly software-related,” Bhave said. “Once I start working on larger projects, I can start hiring employees.”

When asked what advice he could give young entrepreneurs, Bhave explained that the main objective is to know the direction your company is going in.

“Initially, it’s kind of a pain to get all the documents together, but what you should really focus on in the beginning is establishing that brand and knowing what you want to do. Spread your company by word of mouth, which is really powerful when you first start a business,” Bhave said. “Let your friends and family know about it so they can continue to spread it. Just keep going at it and doing what you are doing.”