Junk Teens: From a Teen Side Hustle to a $5 Million Blue-Collar Business
In 2024, Entrepreneur first connected with brothers Kirk McKinney, 22, and Jacob McKinney, 21, who had turned their Greater Boston-based junk-removal startup, Junk Teens, into a $1.2 million side hustle. Fast forward just a couple of years, and this burgeoning business has soared, hitting $3 million in revenue in 2025 and projected to reach $5 million in 2026.
What started in 2021 with a single pickup truck and a $1,000 haul of resellable items discovered at a dump quickly evolved. Selling on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, the brothers leveraged their entrepreneurial spirit to build a service that today operates eight trucks and employs 25 full-time staff, primarily students. Their service area has expanded beyond Greater Boston to include Cape Cod and Rhode Island.
Junk Teens has handled an estimated 7.4 million pounds of items, emphasizing sustainability by sorting goods for donation, resale, or repurposing whenever possible. This approach aligns with growing consumer demand for eco-conscious businesses and demonstrates the brothers’ commitment to community impact.
Breaking Out of the Bottleneck
Scaling a hands-on business like junk removal comes with operational challenges. For the McKinney brothers, one of the biggest hurdles was the bottleneck caused by Jacob managing employee routes and disposal logistics. When the fleet was three to four trucks strong, the workload was overwhelming.
“I was working 12 hours a day, nonstop,” Jacob recalls. Delegating his responsibilities was a crucial step. The brothers divided Jacob’s role into several positions, facilitating smoother hiring and employee scheduling.
Kirk adds, “We promoted one of our guys who had been with us for a couple years and was taking a gap year from college. He took over tasks like calling employees daily and managing schedules.” This strategic delegation allowed Jacob to refocus on building better systems and training, enabling the business to scale effectively.
Harnessing Technology and AI—Including a Teen-Coded App
In the early days, Junk Teens’ operational logistics were managed through Apple Notes, manually copied and pasted into schedules—a simple but effective system for a $1.2 million business. However, as growth accelerated, the brothers embraced more sophisticated technology solutions.
Today, Junk Teens employs Jobber for customer relationship management, GoHighLevel for customer data collection, and Connecteam for employee management. These tools streamline workflows and improve communication across the company.
A standout innovation is the company’s own app, developed by a teenage employee with basic tech skills. Utilizing platforms like Base44 and AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT for UI/UX design, this “vibe-coded” app includes features like leaderboards and performance metrics that track employees’ revenue per hour and closing rates.
“Our entire app was developed by a teenager,” Kirk says proudly. “That technology’s at the point where high school kids can create full apps, and our entire company uses that app every single day.”
Social media also plays a strategic role in Junk Teens’ growth. Initially, Kirk managed content creation himself, posting videos when time allowed. Now, the process is systematized. Kirk gathers footage during jobs and outsources editing to bring his creative vision to life. Additionally, other team members have been trained to film daily operations using Meta Glasses and GoPros, enriching the content pipeline.
With over 213,000 followers on TikTok, 269,000 on Instagram, and 69,000 YouTube subscribers, Junk Teens’ digital presence significantly fuels brand awareness and recruitment.
Beyond marketing, the social media approach fosters a strong company culture. Kirk notes, “When you see yourself in these videos, you’re a part of that, and it really elevates the culture. Then new people see what we have going on here, and it actually attracts more people who want to work with us.”
Cultivating a Vibrant Culture Around a Young Team
Junk Teens is largely staffed by high school and college students, a demographic the McKinney brothers actively seek to empower. Offering wages averaging $25 to $30 an hour—including commissions and tips—the company outpaces many competitors in attracting top young talent.
“A lot of employees feel like they’re building the company with us because they’re also building their opportunity as the company grows,” Kirk explains. This shared growth mindset, combined with the youthfulness of the team, fuels forward-thinking and energy.
Seasonality is an inherent challenge in the junk removal industry. However, the business’s volume nearly doubles during summer months, with the Cape Cod location alone booking $350,000 in services during peak season last year. The brothers have adapted their operations to accommodate the ebb and flow of student availability as the school year begins and ends.
The young team’s open-mindedness and high energy contribute to a vibrant work environment. Jacob observes, “If someone comes in feeling down, they get lifted right back up because there’s 10 or 15 other guys with high energy around them. It’s impossible to still act sad or down in that type of environment.”
Perfecting Systems for Nationwide Expansion
Looking ahead, the McKinney brothers aim to perfect their business systems with an eye toward nationwide scaling within the next few years. This ambition builds on their commitment to empower youth and provide alternative career paths beyond traditional college routes.
“With technology, there are so many opportunities to make money,” Kirk says. “But everyone’s always going to need junk removed. There will always be high schoolers looking for after-school and summer jobs. Young people are searching for different career options.”
The brothers receive daily messages from young entrepreneurs seeking advice. Jacob encourages aspiring business owners to start without waiting for perfection. “I don’t think there’s ever a perfect roadmap unless you already have $1 million and are a business expert, which we were not,” he says. “So start, even if it’s not going to be the business that you retire with. We started with something adventurous and entertaining, not necessarily something we thought would make the most money.”
This article is part of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges, and triumphs of being a young business owner.
Key Takeaways
- Junk Teens hit $3 million in revenue in 2025 and is projected to reach $5 million this year.
- The brothers have implemented a series of systems to grow the business and eye future scale.
- Junk Teens also relies on an app vibe coded by one of its teenage employees.
For a detailed look at how the McKinney brothers built Junk Teens from a startup to a thriving business, read more Here.
