At 14, Sasha Bagrov is building a safer marketplace for teenage odd jobs

When I was a young teenager, I was in Girl Guides — essentially the Australian equivalent of Girl Scouts — and went to a school that strongly encouraged civic participation. So I duly knocked on strangers' doors, offering to do odd jobs and asking for sponsorship for various fundraising efforts. These included the 40 Hour Famine (world hunger) — and the MS Readathon (Multiple Sclerosis). I also did odd jobs in my Girl Guide uniform, like walking and washing dogs.

At the time, nobody seemed to think twice about it from a safety perspective. I think about the potential safety risks now, and I cringe.

From doorstep jobs to a marketplace

Sasha Bagrov is the 14-year-old founder and CEO of KidsHustle, the UK's first iOS marketplace for teenage employment. He began coding at age 9, had software on the App Store by 12, and spent three years building KidsHustle before its launch in April 2026.

He is a Year 10 student at Hampton School in London.