Daniel Jurman for BI
Luke Lintz was at the gym in 2016 when his headphone wires got in the way of his bench press. It wasn't the first time it had happened, and the 16-year-old had had enough. At the time, wireless headphones were just emerging, and Lintz couldn't find many on the market in North America. He decided it was the perfect business opportunity. He found a product in China, compiled $10,000 of his and his older brother's savings, and together they purchased their first batch of wireless earbuds later that year — the same year Apple released the AirPods.