LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When inspiration calls, you better answer. So says Nicholas Sortor, an idea man who is always looking for the next big thing.
"If I didn't think big, dream big, this would never have happened," said Sortor, a senior at Trinity High School.
At 17 years old, he's not willing to let his age stand in his way.
"You're not going to get anywhere dreaming small. You're just going to be everybody else, average. Nobody wants to be average," said Sortor.
Sortor created his first company at just 8 years old. Now he's on to his next endeavor, an iPhone case with speaker capabilities unlike anything on the market. He thought up the idea last year when he was listening to music on his phone and found it never got loud enough and the quality was less than stellar. An external speaker system prevented him from using his phone while enjoying music. So he was determined to fix the problem.
"I went online, looked around and looked around, and there was nothing that fit the description of what I wanted to do," said Sortor.
The budding entrepreneur enlisted the engineering know-how of fellow student John Clere to actually develop the case.
"He came to me and he said 'Can you design this?' and we've been working together for about a year now," said Clere.
After months of troubleshooting and prototypes, the pair finally came up with "Forte." It connects in 3 to 5 seconds and uses blue tooth technology. The case is licensed as a "made for iPhone developer for Apple." It's in pre-production and they're already taking orders.
"It really will sell itself," said Clere.
They pair doesn't have investors or anyone looking over their shoulders. It's just the two teens making it happen.
"We don't have to answer to anyone who has an investment in it, so we're able to make it the best that we can and not make any compromises," said Clere.
They've got a five-year plan and big ambitions.
"I can go ahead and start a business while I'm this age and by the time I'm 25 hopefully it'll be a multi-million dollar company," said Sortor.
While Sortor admits his age can make it difficult to get the respect of executives two and three times his age, nothing will stop him from achieving big things.
"Prove it to them. Just show it to them. They'll change their minds pretty quickly," said Sortor.
"What is holding us back? There's nothing," said Clere.
Right now the "Forte" phone case is only available for iPhone, but they hope to expand to Android eventually. The cases can be pre-ordered on their website.
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