How a 14-Year-Old Turned Heartbreak Into a $650,000 Nonprofit

What does it take to turn personal loss into global impact—before you can even drive?In this episode of Bay Area Innovators, host Steve Ispas sits down with Olivia Zhang, founder and CEO of Cancer Kids First, a nonprofit she launched at just 14 years old following the loss of two of the most important people in her life to cancer. The organization seeks to normalize the hospital experience for child cancer patients.Now a Harvard student and one of the youngest Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees in history, Olivia shares the full story behind Cancer Kids First—how it started at 3 a.m. with 87 research articles, how her founding team nearly gave up after 70 rejection emails, and how she learned to pitch her mission by leading with vulnerability rather than credentials.The conversation covers what it means to build a youth-led organization from the ground up, the real barriers young founders face when opening a bank account or approaching investors, and how Olivia balanced a 4.6 GPA, competitive swimming, and running a nonprofit simultaneously in high school.Olivia also reflects on earning the Princess Diana Legacy Award, being named a 2025 L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth honoree, and what comes next—including her decision to step down as CEO before graduating Harvard to keep Cancer Kids First truly youth-led.Watch the full episode for an inspiring conversation about resilience, leadership, and why age should never be a limit on purpose.