If you were to ask a teenager what his or her biggest fears are, I can guarantee most of your answers would consist of “failing school,” or “losing my iPod.” If you were to ask me what my biggest fear is, I would tell you “losing my little brother, Ilan.” Ilan, age 5, is my biggest motivational factor I have had in my life, thus far. The image of his little fragile skeleton, blond hair, and brown eyes is constantly rooted in the back of my mind. Often, I take him outside to play ball or ride scooters, but sometimes I look away for a moment, turn back around, and he is gone. I go in a panic, run back and forth, and interrogate the other kids outside. Luckily, he does not wander far and I am able to catch up with him. Even though I get him back, I always wonder “what if?” and find myself picturing him going missing. How would I be able to continue living my life without feeling guilty and gloomy? This leads me to often think about missing children in general. Even on a recent trip to Sesame Place, there were missing child announcements over the loudspeaker, literally, every 10 minutes. I don’t understand how parents are able to cope with the fact that their child just disappeared or was taken away. This is dreadful since I am only an older brother, and already, I feel the stress of having to worry all the time. Just imagine how hard it must be on the parents of the actual missing children. These aggravating thoughts have inspired me become active in the problem of missing children.
“According to the U.S. Justice Department, there are 1.3 million children reported missing or lost per year; almost 2000 children a day.” Once I looked that up, my concern grew. I knew that there was a way that I could help.
My chance came during junior year of high school; I became involved in teen entrepreneurship. While thinking about what kind of business I could start, I considered the field of child safety. I knew that child safety was important, but it was a burden on parents and often restrictive for children. This laid the foundation of my very own business, TattooID (pronounced tat-too-eed). I began to produce temporary safety tattoos that have a child’s initials and their parent’s contact phone number. I am hopeful that these would make it fun for kids to be safe, and if they ever get lost in a park, such as Sesame Place, they would only be a phone call away from being reunited with their parents.
Now, I put a tattoo onto my brother every time I leave the house with him. Thankfully, it has not been necessary, but just knowing that there’s that extra level of security eases my tensions. Through TattooID, I am not only offering tattoos, but I am also offering refuge for siblings, parents, and guardians everywhere.

-Steven Gordon (CEO and Founder)