Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Junk Teens hit $3 million in revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach $5 million this year.<\/li>\n
- The brothers have implemented a series of systems to grow the business and eye future scale. <\/li>\n
- Junk Teens also relies on an app vibe coded by one of its teenage employees. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
In 2024, when Entrepreneur<\/em> first connected with brothers Kirk McKinney, 22, and Jacob McKinney, 21, their Greater Boston-based junk-removal business, Junk Teens<\/a>, was still a side hustle, albeit a $1.2 million one.\u00a0<\/p>\nImage Credit: Junk Teens. Kirk McKinney, left, and Jacob McKinney, right. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe then-teenaged brothers launched Junk Teens back in 2021 with a single pick-up truck. A pair of working speakers found at a dump grew into a collection of resellable items \u2014 $1,000 worth \u2014 sold on Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n
Now, the brothers\u2019 largely student-run service, which also serves Cape Cod and Rhode Island, operates eight trucks and has 25 full-time employees. The business has handled an estimated 7.4 million pounds of items, sorting usable goods for donation, resale or repurposing whenever possible.<\/p>\n
Junk Teens hit $3 million in revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach $5 million in revenue this year, per the company.<\/p>\n
The company also grew its community partnerships. A computer drive with Computers 4 People<\/a> distributed refurbished laptops and desktops to under-resourced communities, and a partnership with WellStrong on the Cape raised funds for wellness and peer-support programs that aid substance abuse recovery.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s how the McKinney brothers unlocked their blue-collar business\u2019s massive growth \u2014 and what\u2019s next for Junk Teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Breaking out of the bottleneck\u00a0<\/h2>\n
For a long time, Jacob scheduled employee routes and figured out where to dispose of the items they picked up. Managing it all was challenging when the business had a fleet of three to four trucks, just half of what it is now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was working 12 hours a day, nonstop,\u201d Jacob recalls. \u201cSo I didn\u2019t really have any more time to try to figure out how to hire someone else or anything like that. Long story short, one of the biggest first things we did was delegate my job position.\u201d<\/p>\n
The brothers split Jacob\u2019s role into several different ones, which helped streamline employee bookings and hiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe promoted to manager one of our guys who had been with us for a couple years who was taking a gap year from college,\u201d Kirk adds, \u201cand gave him some of the responsibilities that Jake had, like calling in the employees every day and reviewing the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that in place, Jacob broke out of the bottleneck; he had more time to work with Kirk on building better systems and training, allowing the business to scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Photo-Jul-12-2025-6-53-26-PM-rotated.jpg?w=768\")
Image Credit: Junk Teens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nTaking advantage of technology and AI \u2014 including vibe coding\u00a0<\/h2>\n
When Junk Teens hit $1.2 million in revenue in 2024, the entirety of the business\u2019s day-to-day operations existed on Apple Notes. \u200a<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Jake would sort those out and copy and paste those schedules to the guys that were going out every day,\u201d Kirk explains. \u201cThat was how we ran our business. It was basically a $1 million side hustle at that point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, Junk Teens is taking advantage of tech tools. The company uses Jobber<\/a> for customer relationship management, GoHighLevel<\/a> for customer data collection and Connecteam<\/a> for employee management.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe business is also embracing AI in its many forms, from the built-in \u201cslight automation\u201d that makes sense of data across the software programs it uses, to vibe coding its very own app.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Junk Teens employee who was on the team for several years and had basic tech skills built the app, using Base44<\/a> and ChatGPT<\/a> for a lot of the UI and UX referencing. The app features a leaderboard and other statistics that help track employee performance \u2014 for instance, an employee\u2019s revenue per hour or closing rate.<\/p>\n\u201cOur entire app was developed by a teenager,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cThat\u2019s another interesting thing \u2014 that technology\u2019s at the point where high school kids can create full apps. And our entire company uses that app every single day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Photo-Apr-15-2022-11-23-10-AM-rotated.jpg?w=768\")
Image Credit: Junk Teens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nIn the early days, Kirk edited content and posted videos on social media when he had the time. But Junk Teens has since systemized its social media strategy too. Now, Kirk collects footage when he\u2019s out on the job, then outsources the editing to help realize his vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About eight months ago, Kirk brought other Junk Teens team members on board too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI started training other guys on our team to go out there with Meta Glasses and GoPros and film some of their day-to-day operations and what they\u2019re doing out in the field every day,\u201d Kirk explains. \u201cSo now I have all this great content to work with, and then I can kind of be the translator between that footage and the team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently, Junk Teens has surpassed 213,000 followers on TikTok, 269,000 followers on Instagram and 69,000 subscribers on YouTube.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/Photo-Jun-25-2025-9-49-20-AM-rotated.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Junk Teens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNot only has systemizing Junk Teens\u2019 social media approach helped market the business, but it\u2019s also served as a major team-building tool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA company is just a group of people at the end of the day, and when you see yourself in these videos and the social media\u2019s capturing it, you\u2019re a part of that, and it really elevates the culture,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cThen new people see what we have going on here, and it actually attracts more people who want to work with us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cultivating a vibrant culture around a young team<\/h2>\n
Most of Junk Teens\u2019 employees are high school or college students, and the company aims to pay them more than its competitors to attract top talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On average, that pay works out to about $25 to $30 an hour, including hourly rates, commissions and tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the employees feel like they\u2019re building the company with us because they\u2019re also building their opportunity as the company grows,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cBecause of that, we have a lot of forward-thinking people, and I think that us all being young is a part of why that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Junk Teens loses some employees when the school year starts back up, the seasonality of junk removal aligns well with the ebb and flow, and the brothers always plan for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/IMG_2648-rotated.jpeg?w=768\")
Image Credit: Junk Teens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe business\u2019s volume nearly doubles in the summer months; the new Cape Cod location alone booked $350,000 in services during peak season last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Junk Teens\u2019 young team members bring an open-mindedness and high energy that make for a vibrant company culture, the co-founders note.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that scenario where someone had something happen in their life where they might be a little down coming in the next day, they get picked right back up because there\u2019s 10 or 15 other guys that all have high energy around them,\u201d Jacob adds. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to still act sad or down when you\u2019re in that type of environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perfecting systems for a nationwide scale<\/h2>\n
Now, the McKinney brothers are focused on perfecting their business\u2019s systems as they eye a national expansion, ideally within the next couple of years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aFor me, the most exciting thing is empowering the youth,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cWith technology, there are so many opportunities to make money. But everyone\u2019s always going to need junk removed. There\u2019s always going to be high schoolers looking for after-school and summer jobs. And young people are looking for different career paths other than the traditional college route.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The co-founders receive daily DMs from young people asking for advice on starting a business. They would encourage anyone who\u2019s considering it to stop procrastinating and go for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever a perfect roadmap unless you already have $1 million and are a business expert, which we were not, and most people starting businesses are not,\u201d Jacob says. \u201cSo start, even if it\u2019s not going to be the business that you retire with. We just started with something that we thought was adventurous and entertaining, not even something that we thought would make us the most money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This article is part of our ongoing\u00a0Young Entrepreneur\u00ae\u00a0series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a young business owner.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n- Junk Teens hit $3 million in revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach $5 million this year.<\/li>\n
- The brothers have implemented a series of systems to grow the business and eye future scale. <\/li>\n
- Junk Teens also relies on an app vibe coded by one of its teenage employees. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
In 2024, when Entrepreneur<\/em> first connected with brothers Kirk McKinney, 22, and Jacob McKinney, 21, their Greater Boston-based junk-removal business, Junk Teens<\/a>, was still a side hustle, albeit a $1.2 million one.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/464904600_567460049197099_4864448227900614189_n.jpg?w=1024\")
Image Credit: Junk Teens. Kirk McKinney, left, and Jacob McKinney, right. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe then-teenaged brothers launched Junk Teens back in 2021 with a single pick-up truck. A pair of working speakers found at a dump grew into a collection of resellable items \u2014 $1,000 worth \u2014 sold on Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n
Now, the brothers\u2019 largely student-run service, which also serves Cape Cod and Rhode Island, operates eight trucks and has 25 full-time employees. The business has handled an estimated 7.4 million pounds of items, sorting usable goods for donation, resale or repurposing whenever possible.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
In 2024, when Entrepreneur<\/em> first connected with brothers Kirk McKinney, 22, and Jacob McKinney, 21, their Greater Boston-based junk-removal business, Junk Teens<\/a>, was still a side hustle, albeit a $1.2 million one.\u00a0<\/p>\n The then-teenaged brothers launched Junk Teens back in 2021 with a single pick-up truck. A pair of working speakers found at a dump grew into a collection of resellable items \u2014 $1,000 worth \u2014 sold on Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n Now, the brothers\u2019 largely student-run service, which also serves Cape Cod and Rhode Island, operates eight trucks and has 25 full-time employees. The business has handled an estimated 7.4 million pounds of items, sorting usable goods for donation, resale or repurposing whenever possible.<\/p>\n Junk Teens hit $3 million in revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach $5 million in revenue this year, per the company.<\/p>\n The company also grew its community partnerships. A computer drive with Computers 4 People<\/a> distributed refurbished laptops and desktops to under-resourced communities, and a partnership with WellStrong on the Cape raised funds for wellness and peer-support programs that aid substance abuse recovery.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the McKinney brothers unlocked their blue-collar business\u2019s massive growth \u2014 and what\u2019s next for Junk Teens.\u00a0<\/p>\n For a long time, Jacob scheduled employee routes and figured out where to dispose of the items they picked up. Managing it all was challenging when the business had a fleet of three to four trucks, just half of what it is now.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was working 12 hours a day, nonstop,\u201d Jacob recalls. \u201cSo I didn\u2019t really have any more time to try to figure out how to hire someone else or anything like that. Long story short, one of the biggest first things we did was delegate my job position.\u201d<\/p>\n The brothers split Jacob\u2019s role into several different ones, which helped streamline employee bookings and hiring.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe promoted to manager one of our guys who had been with us for a couple years who was taking a gap year from college,\u201d Kirk adds, \u201cand gave him some of the responsibilities that Jake had, like calling in the employees every day and reviewing the schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n With that in place, Jacob broke out of the bottleneck; he had more time to work with Kirk on building better systems and training, allowing the business to scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Junk Teens hit $1.2 million in revenue in 2024, the entirety of the business\u2019s day-to-day operations existed on Apple Notes. \u200a<\/p>\n \u201cThen Jake would sort those out and copy and paste those schedules to the guys that were going out every day,\u201d Kirk explains. \u201cThat was how we ran our business. It was basically a $1 million side hustle at that point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, Junk Teens is taking advantage of tech tools. The company uses Jobber<\/a> for customer relationship management, GoHighLevel<\/a> for customer data collection and Connecteam<\/a> for employee management.\u00a0<\/p>\n The business is also embracing AI in its many forms, from the built-in \u201cslight automation\u201d that makes sense of data across the software programs it uses, to vibe coding its very own app.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Junk Teens employee who was on the team for several years and had basic tech skills built the app, using Base44<\/a> and ChatGPT<\/a> for a lot of the UI and UX referencing. The app features a leaderboard and other statistics that help track employee performance \u2014 for instance, an employee\u2019s revenue per hour or closing rate.<\/p>\n \u201cOur entire app was developed by a teenager,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cThat\u2019s another interesting thing \u2014 that technology\u2019s at the point where high school kids can create full apps. And our entire company uses that app every single day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In the early days, Kirk edited content and posted videos on social media when he had the time. But Junk Teens has since systemized its social media strategy too. Now, Kirk collects footage when he\u2019s out on the job, then outsources the editing to help realize his vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n About eight months ago, Kirk brought other Junk Teens team members on board too.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI started training other guys on our team to go out there with Meta Glasses and GoPros and film some of their day-to-day operations and what they\u2019re doing out in the field every day,\u201d Kirk explains. \u201cSo now I have all this great content to work with, and then I can kind of be the translator between that footage and the team.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Currently, Junk Teens has surpassed 213,000 followers on TikTok, 269,000 followers on Instagram and 69,000 subscribers on YouTube.<\/p>\n Not only has systemizing Junk Teens\u2019 social media approach helped market the business, but it\u2019s also served as a major team-building tool.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA company is just a group of people at the end of the day, and when you see yourself in these videos and the social media\u2019s capturing it, you\u2019re a part of that, and it really elevates the culture,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cThen new people see what we have going on here, and it actually attracts more people who want to work with us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Most of Junk Teens\u2019 employees are high school or college students, and the company aims to pay them more than its competitors to attract top talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n On average, that pay works out to about $25 to $30 an hour, including hourly rates, commissions and tips.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the employees feel like they\u2019re building the company with us because they\u2019re also building their opportunity as the company grows,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cBecause of that, we have a lot of forward-thinking people, and I think that us all being young is a part of why that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Junk Teens loses some employees when the school year starts back up, the seasonality of junk removal aligns well with the ebb and flow, and the brothers always plan for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n The business\u2019s volume nearly doubles in the summer months; the new Cape Cod location alone booked $350,000 in services during peak season last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Junk Teens\u2019 young team members bring an open-mindedness and high energy that make for a vibrant company culture, the co-founders note.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn that scenario where someone had something happen in their life where they might be a little down coming in the next day, they get picked right back up because there\u2019s 10 or 15 other guys that all have high energy around them,\u201d Jacob adds. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to still act sad or down when you\u2019re in that type of environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, the McKinney brothers are focused on perfecting their business\u2019s systems as they eye a national expansion, ideally within the next couple of years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aFor me, the most exciting thing is empowering the youth,\u201d Kirk says. \u201cWith technology, there are so many opportunities to make money. But everyone\u2019s always going to need junk removed. There\u2019s always going to be high schoolers looking for after-school and summer jobs. And young people are looking for different career paths other than the traditional college route.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The co-founders receive daily DMs from young people asking for advice on starting a business. They would encourage anyone who\u2019s considering it to stop procrastinating and go for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s ever a perfect roadmap unless you already have $1 million and are a business expert, which we were not, and most people starting businesses are not,\u201d Jacob says. \u201cSo start, even if it\u2019s not going to be the business that you retire with. We just started with something that we thought was adventurous and entertaining, not even something that we thought would make us the most money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This article is part of our ongoing\u00a0Young Entrepreneur\u00ae\u00a0series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a young business owner.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n In 2024, when Entrepreneur<\/em> first connected with brothers Kirk McKinney, 22, and Jacob McKinney, 21, their Greater Boston-based junk-removal business, Junk Teens<\/a>, was still a side hustle, albeit a $1.2 million one.\u00a0<\/p>\n The then-teenaged brothers launched Junk Teens back in 2021 with a single pick-up truck. A pair of working speakers found at a dump grew into a collection of resellable items \u2014 $1,000 worth \u2014 sold on Facebook Marketplace.<\/p>\n Now, the brothers\u2019 largely student-run service, which also serves Cape Cod and Rhode Island, operates eight trucks and has 25 full-time employees. The business has handled an estimated 7.4 million pounds of items, sorting usable goods for donation, resale or repurposing whenever possible.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBreaking out of the bottleneck\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Taking advantage of technology and AI \u2014 including vibe coding\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Cultivating a vibrant culture around a young team<\/h2>\n
Perfecting systems for a nationwide scale<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n