How I Lost $1 Million by the Time I Was 21 Years Old Don't make the same mistakes I did.

By Neil Patel Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Jeffrey Coolidge | Getty Images

Entrepreneur Network partner Neil Patel started an ad agency when he was 16. He learned internet marketing on his own because other agencies couldn't do one simple thing -- get his website to rank on Google.

Getting ranked on Google is more competitive now, but when Patel was 16, it was relatively easy. He realized that these agencies were ripping him off, and so he decided to do for himself what others couldn't. He got good enough at it that he began making quite a bit of money, but also realized that he disliked working as a consultant.

So, instead, Patel decided to open up his own business, which might not seem revolutionary now but was fairly new at the time: a cloud computing business. This field has grown massively since Patel first started his business, but he probably doesn't deserve the credit for that. After all, Patel's business failed -- but not before he had pumped a million dollars into it.

In this video, Patel wants to tell you the story of how he started that business and where it went wrong so that you can avoid losing money the way he did in the future.

Click play to learn more.

Related: 7 Secrets That Will Help You Become a Millionaire in the Internet Age

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Neil Patel

Co-founder of NP Digital

Neil Patel is the co-founder of NP Digital. The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies. Neil is a New York Times bestselling author and was recognized as a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 30 by President Obama and a top 100 entrepreneur under the age of 35 by the United Nations.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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