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These Men Are Young, Successful, Bald and Making a Difference

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Here are some young people proving to us that hair loss doesn't have to hamper happiness and the pursuit of success.

Hair loss is often associated with old age, but as those in the hair loss community know, hair loss can and very frequently does start while a man is in the prime of his life. This can be traumatic, but it’s important that a person doesn’t let this natural occurrence deter him in any way. There are countless examples of young people who are suffer from hair loss but don’t let that fact stop them from living the lives that they want. This article celebrates a small handful of these people.

A young heir who’s losing his hair

One of the most famous “youths” with hair loss is Prince William of Wales, the 28-year-old who is second in line to the throne of Great Britain. In recent months most of the coverage of the prince has centered on his upcoming wedding to Kate Middleton (and her stunning 18-carat sapphire engagement ring); however, before this big announcement, William was often in the tabloids because of his hair -- or increasing lack thereof. The royal’s bald spot is a topic of greater concern to some journalists than such trifling matters as his humanitarian work on behalf of the homeless, disaster victims and environmental issues; his duties with the RAF; or his qualifications to become the future king of England.

Young commoners doing uncommon things

Of course, most “under 30” members of the hair loss community aren’t likely to be ruling a country, but many have had considerable impact on people’s lives. For example, Ryan Block, who is about 28 years old and was listed as being worth $20 million in 2008, is a highly influential technology journalist and critic. During his tenure as editor in chief of Engadget, a technology news Web site, he posted a leaked e-mail that reportedly decreased Apple’s market capitalization by almost $4 billion.

Michael Seibel, 27, is co-founder and CEO of Justin.tv, which is helping to revolutionize the video-streaming world. Justin.tv, which started as a way for another co-founder to broadcast his own life 24 hours a day, is now a platform that allows live video streaming of numerous programs. With 1.5 million downloads of its app on iPhone, Justin.tv has made significant inroads in its desire to make live streaming more mobile.

Just about 30 years old, Michael Nardy has devoted the past 10 years of his life to his company, Electronic Payments, which he started in his college dorm room. Formed in 2000 to help process card and check transactions, it came along at the right time as more and more people and companies began habitually using debit and credit cards more frequently. By 2008, Electronic Payments’ revenues had grown to $17.6 million and it was processing $1.5 billion annually.

Sweden’s Daniel Ek may not have been losing hair when he started his first business at age 14, but 14 years later his hairline is definitely receding. That’s not the case with his fortunes, his talents or his drive: His resume includes stints as CTO of Stardoll (an online game that boasts about 80 million users); CEO of μTorrent, a data-sharing service that has had more than 100 million downloads; and founder of Advertigo, an advertising company. His most recent project is co-creating Spotify, a music-streaming service that has 10 million users.

The young aren’t all Internet focused

Joe Ordia, president and CEO of Ordia Solutions, will be turning 30 this year. In 2005 he co-founded the firm, which focuses on equipping public safety agencies and frontline personnel with (as per his bio) “interoperable technologies to effectively communicate, collaborate, coordinate, command and control” during a range of emergency situations.

Shawn Hay is perhaps an “iffy” for this list; it depends on whether one considers someone whose hair is really closely cropped as belonging in the “bald” classification. But assuming this is acceptable, Hay is noteworthy for being the owner of the Hey Papi Promotions Network Company, which radio station 93.9 WKYS named “the top Christian Marketing & Promotions Company in the DC metropolitan area.” Among the events he has promoted are the National Pan-Hellenic Council Community fundraiser; the Voices of Praise; Run-DMC’s Citywide Foster Care Adoption Walk and the 2010 Stellar Awards.

These individuals are just the tip of the bald iceberg; every day, men under 30 with high foreheads or shiny domes are creating new Internet advances, teaching the next generation of leaders, treating and curing the ill, or working on finding solutions to our most vexing problems. It’s not easy being young and balding, but these fine fellows won’t let a little thing like fewer follicles get in their way.