Business and Creativity: Turning Memories into Coloring Books
This month, Wharton Global Youth is getting creative with AI and crayons. Coloring books are an essential part of childhood, and what happens when a young entrepreneur reimagines them using cutting-edge technology?
In this episode of Future of the Business World, we meet Evan Perez, a high school student from Rhode Island whose startup, Color Your Life, blends creativity, family memories, and artificial intelligence to help kids step away from screens and engage with something more meaningful.
Click the arrow above to listen to the 20-minute podcast interview. An edited transcript appears below.
Wharton Global Youth Program: Hello and welcome to Future of the Business World, the podcast where young innovators, creators and change makers share the big ideas shaping their futures and ours. I’m Diana Drake with the Wharton Global Youth Program at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Today, we’re heading to the state of Rhode Island to meet a high school entrepreneur who is blending creativity, technology and childhood imagination in a whole new way.
Evan Perez is the co-founder of Color Your Life, a startup he launched with his friend Adrian Bautista, that turns kids favorite family moments into personalized AI-powered coloring books. Evan took first place in the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE’s) annual Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, and he’s here to tell us how he built a business that helps children see their own stories come to life on the page. Let’s get to it!
Evan Perez, welcome to Future of the Business World.
Evan Perez: Thank you, Diana, so much for this opportunity to speak with you.
Wharton Global Youth: Tell us about yourself, where you live and go to school.
Evan: Well, currently, we’re in Times Square [in New York City]. We’re at the NFTE [World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge 2025]. However, I’m from Rhode Island, the smallest state representing America, and I go to the Met High School at the Entrepreneurship Center in Providence.
Wharton Global Youth: That’s so exciting. So, you guys are competing in a Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship competition right now?
Evan: Yes, tomorrow’s the big day.
Wharton Global Youth: And you’ll go against other teams from around the world?
Evan: Yes, I believe representing 14 different countries,
Wharton Global Youth: That’s amazing. I wish you luck. We can talk more about that in a minute. But [first], congratulations on winning the 2025 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. That’s super exciting. Your business, Color Your Life is described as a subscription business that allows children to use AI technology to create personalized coloring books featuring real-life pictures. Tell me how and why you came up with this idea?
Evan: It started with a personal problem in my own family. My twin siblings are six years old, and we gave them tablets. We were unaware of the consequences that it would have. Since then, I’ve done a lot of research on excessive screen time, screen addiction, the impacts that that could have, including overstimulation, the risk of anxiety, depression and even physical health, things like sleep and vision. And so, we wanted to make a tool in my family to help them balance screen time better. And that tool became a business that any parent can have.
Wharton Global Youth: Explain to me how Color Your Life works. Can you describe how these images are generated and used? Paint a picture for us. Tell us about some of your clients.
Evan: Yeah, I’d love to. It’s super simple. We wanted to make it as easy as possible. So you go onto our platform, you upload 20 pictures just on your phone, selecting different pictures, you pay for whatever package you want. Our flagship [product] is our $16.00, three-month subscription. And then in about a week and a half time, at most, you receive the coloring book of front and back, original photo with the coloring page next to it of your child. In the background, our technology is running different filters to make sure that all your photos are safe, that your data is private and secure, and that it’s automated for printing. And then from there, you just enjoy and you color.
Wharton Global Youth: Have you had a couple clients? Can you illustrate it for us with a story?
Evan: My most memorable and most meaningful client was actually [during the pilot phase of the business]. It was a little girl who was in the hospital for a heart transplant, and we wanted to treat her with something. This is something that I have a close connection with as someone who also had open-heart surgery only a couple of years ago. And so, we simply got a few pictures, made a coloring book, and sent it to her.
Wharton Global Youth: That’s really beautiful. So, tell me how the AI technology works specifically, and how did you learn the technology behind it?
Evan: This is where I have to give a lot of kudos to Adrian. I’m the front end. I started with the brand story and my personal family [experiencing] this problem. However, I knew that there was a lot of different technology pieces and puzzles, but I didn’t know how to put them together. Adrian came along and I asked for his help. He loved the idea and eventually we partnered. And so, we have a proprietary software that turns your photos into a coloring book. As I mentioned earlier, it has all those steps and filters when it comes to the AI component. We leverage AI image generation, and so it converts your original photo into a personalized coloring page.
Wharton Global Youth: It sounds like he’s got some good tech expertise for you, so you guys make a good pair. We can talk more about that in a minute. On Future of the Business World, we always like to explore the entrepreneurial energy behind these cool ideas. Tell us more about the Entrepreneurship Center at your high school and how that helped you to partner with Adrian to think through some of the details of your business plan.
Evan: Of course. The Entrepreneurship Center at [my high school] is the only free-standing entrepreneurship center for a public high school in the state. I feel very fortunate for that, as I’m not paying for school. We go in and essentially, we learn. We take a full year’s time to really develop those presentation skills, formulating a business plan about your problem, your underlying magic, your solution, and then we start pitching [the idea]. Eventually, that led me here to the world competition. We’re all in a class together and it’s an exclusive class. We have about 100 applicants throughout the whole school and about 30 enter [the class] It’s rigorous, it’s fun. We learn. We get high school credits through our maths, our literacy, because entrepreneurship is about so many different branches of learning. And it’s been a lot of fun.
Wharton Global Youth: It sounds like also you have some good mentorship happening in that program as well; som good guidance.
Evan: Yes, I truly believe in all my heart that is the reason we won a year ago now. And I’m not just saying that, just to say that, but it’s kind of how I’ve felt for a long time.
“When it comes to our own philosophy, we really want to utilize innovative technology. We want to use AI in a way that will benefit children, parents, people, while minimizing its risks and its harms as much as possible.” – Evan Perez, co-founder, Color Your Life
Wharton Global Youth: Let’s discuss some of the specifics of your business. How does the subscription service operate? And also, have you sold many coloring books yet? What is your pricing plan and how will you market your product? You touched on a few of these things, but I’d like to talk more about it.
Evan: Of course. When we go live, you can simply come onto our platform, place an order and upload your 20 pictures. We have a three-month subscription model that comes to $16 a month. We actually have a whole line of products, so the prices vary. Whether you want [fewer] pictures, more pictures, whether you want a longer subscription tier at six months or one year. Our proprietary software allows us to be very flexible without impacting the cost structure itself.
And as far as where we’ll market, we’ve gotten a lot of exposure with NFTE. It’s been our biggest focus all year. Jodie Woodruff is our teacher at the Entrepreneurship Center [who] has really coached us so well when it comes to those presentation skills, and when it comes to marketing.
When we launch, we’re going to continue presenting Color Your Life at PTAs and elementary schools, at conferences in front of parents and educators, at spaces for children like daycares and libraries and school assemblies. However, we also really want to utilize social media to its fullest potential, whether that be on Pinterest, where hands-on creative activities do really well, or Facebook that has mostly parents on their platform — I believe the total age is 24 to 35. [We also want to market on] the other major social media platforms that each have their own unique basis. We are really going to utilize those platforms. And we’re going to run a high-profile social media blitz. We’re going to start in major cities in New England and then take it around the country.
Wharton Global Youth: Big plans for sure. Let’s talk more about your collaboration with Adrian. He also graduated from your high school, correct? So, he’s no longer there — one year out. Is he in college or is he in the workforce? What is he doing now?
Evan: He’s currently a freshman in at the University of Rhode Island. He’s studying Computer Sciences and is on a pathway to study cybersecurity, as well.
Wharton Global Youth: Can you talk more about what strengths each of you bring to the business? I know you said he’s the tech guy and you’re more the outward-looking guy, but what does that really look like in your partnership?
Evan: When it comes to our partnership, there’s, of course, the obvious business, operations, sales, service, collections. And then there’s his role, which is the technology —making sure everything is running and smooth, and building smoothly, the coding and the technical skills. On a personal level, it’s also been very mutual, as well. He also ran his own business, capturing leads and marketing for local businesses around Rhode Island. And just today, he [said], Evan, make sure you’re asking people for their business cards, their LinkedIn, connecting with people. And I tell him, hey, when you answer this question, you have to remember these key words and this answer to this question, and your body language. We really complement each other and we help each other to succeed. It has been very mutual, and I’ve been very happy that I didn’t have to go through this alone.
Wharton Global Youth: Yeah, that’s great, because a lot of times I think people think of entrepreneurship as one driven person who’s passionate about one idea and they’re trying to make it come to life. But brainstorming and having a partner is so much a part of the entrepreneurial journey, as well. And it sounds like you guys have figured that out along the way.
Let’s zoom out for a minute. AI-generated images are both cutting edge and they’re kind of controversial these days too. Have you thought about the strengths and challenges of AI in today’s world? I’m curious how you feel about the AI revolution that’s transforming so many lives and industries, and do you think your AI-generated images are still meaningful and personal for kids?
Evan: There’s a lot to unpack in that question, and I’m still thinking about it as well as I continue to develop my own opinions. However, the first concern is privacy. We want to make sure that when it comes to our business, that parents’ sensitive data are always private. We want to make sure that when it comes to AI, everyone using these platforms has their own privacy to their data.
Unfortunately, and if there was one takeaway — I believe a teacher told me this and it always stuck with me — innovation always comes first, prior to ethics. And as someone who really cares about that deeply, I just want to shed light on the ethics. When it comes to our own philosophy, we really want to utilize innovative technology. We want to use AI in a way that will benefit children, parents, people, while minimizing its risks and its harms as much as possible. A growing use case for everyday use of AI is well-being. We want to be careful about that, about asking AI about your personal problems, your stressors. We want to use AI to get people to spend less time on screens, less time on social media and more time with each other: less isolated and more connected.
Wharton Global Youth: You’re tackling a problem that’s out there right now, and it sounds like that was the starting point for everything. Yes, all right, so, I’ve heard you talk about launch. Tell me what’s next. Do you have a vision for adding new features to Color Your Life and how do you plan to grow the business?
Evan: We’re going to start off with our standard 20-page, three-month subscription for our Color Your Life books. However, there’s so much room to grow. We want to start off with our target market of four- to 10-year-olds. They are developing their fine motor skills. At age three and four, they start to form those core memories. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t branch off to other target markets — to grandparents, to parents and adult coloring books.
It’s been a big goal of ours, — we’ve said this at the nationals and we’re going to say this tomorrow night — to get into nursing homes where the elderly can color their lives through therapeutic activity. And even further, there’s also so much flexibility when it comes to our pricing and our packages. There [are] family bundles, dual copies, there’s a longer subscription tier, at six months and one year. Of course, the different types of books that I mentioned, whether it’s the weddings or the birthdays, and there [are] also bulk orders. We want to price our products in a way that’s affordable and accessible, while also making our business sustainable and profitable.
Wharton Global Youth: You are really thinking and talking like an entrepreneur. Evan, It’s great to hear. And what is your proposed launch date?
Evan: As of now, our proposed launch date is January 3. We’re aiming for that Q-1 release date.
Wharton Global Youth: Nice. 2026 All right, you guys are busy.
Evan: And if you’d like to learn more, you could go on our webpage at coloryourlife.co. That that has our mailing list. So, you could sign up and be the first to see and receive a coloring book yourself.
Wharton Global Youth: Winning the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, competition is a big deal. What has it been like through this process? How did you prepare? What do you feel set Color Your Life apart from some of your competitors? I’m sure you’ve seen all types of businesses throughout this journey. And what does winning mean to you personally?
Evan: That’s a great question. Personally, I never thought of myself to be the one on the stage, in front of the cameras, in front of the spotlight. So, it’s been a huge adjustment — the preparation took a lot. We were [practicing] all week until nationals, and the last month for Globals, we’ve been practicing, we’ve been rehearsing, we’ve been anticipating different questions that judges will ask and preparing in that way, as well as receiving all sorts of feedback from our mentors, Jodie Woodruff, who’s been mentoring us and coaching us through this experience, and parents in our close network. And it paid off. We did end up winning the national competition. It was such a new experience. I remember coming home the next day to school and at the Met in Rhode Island. It was so heartwarming to see that my friends and family were proud of me. It’s just sometimes you get so focused that you really lose touch with the actual experience itself and how that impacts the people around you. I just want to keep going and really not stop.
Wharton Global Youth: Tomorrow’s competition is global, correct?
Evan. Yes, it’s Globals. Tomorrow night’s final is going to be at the United Nations [in New York City] actually.
Wharton Global Youth: Wow, that’s so cool. That’s great. I wish you luck with that. But I want to know how you and Adrian have celebrated. Did you take a moment just to celebrate together?
Evan: Of course. The night of the competition, we went around Times Square, we had pizza, we ate gelato, and when we came back home, we did a huge celebration in my class, and people were proud of me. We definitely did celebrate. Adrian is in college and we have about a 40-minute commute time. He came over, we had dinner, and we just really celebrated. It was truly great.
Wharton Global Youth: Gotta celebrate the wins, right? How have you grown as an entrepreneur through this whole experience? Do you plan to pursue entrepreneurship after high school? How will the entrepreneurial mindset help to guide whatever you choose to do in the future?
Evan: That’s a great question. It’s been transformational for me. I started our entrepreneurship program at school a year ago. At the time, I was sitting around the class with everyone else, I was kind of in my own shell. And now, we’re on stage and we’re presenting. Even around school, I’ve just had more confidence, and I’ve been able to take up more space and offer my own value as a person. It’s been very, very validating.
As for the future and in my career, I’m going to study psychology and education, being an educator in some type of way. I’m still thinking [about how I will pursue education], but as a teacher to uplift other people and to create the same impact that my teachers have created for me. This journey of having the entrepreneurship mindset and really thinking out of the box and not knowing your potential is really what uplifted me. I learned to think bigger.
Wharton Global Youth: So, other than the one you made for your twin siblings, do you have your own coloring book? A Color Your Life coloring book?
Evan: I made one for me and my older brother, as well. And this one was a little different. It wasn’t 20 pages in the month. It was more like a photo album. We took old pictures from trips we went on, vacations, really core memories of ours, and we made one for ourselves, as well.
Wharton Global Youth: All right. Evan, let’s end with our lightning round, which we like to do on Future of the Business World. Answer these questions as quickly as you can. What is something about you that would surprise us?
Evan: I spend sometimes I think I spend more time inside my head than outside.
Wharton Global Youth: What is a favorite app on your phone right now?
Evan: It’s called How We Feel. It’s a mindfulness app, and you just choose an emotion.
Wharton Global Youth: One tool that you can’t live without while you’re working on your business?
Evan: A notebook and a pen. Can’t live without that.
Wharton Global Youth: One snack you can’t live without.
Evan: Cheez-its. It’s a problem.
Wharton Global Youth: That’s funny, because my last podcast guest said the same thing.
The hardest part of being a teen entrepreneur, in a few words?
Evan: People not invalidating what you want to do, not believing in you.
Wharton Global Youth: Your biggest business challenge to date?
Evan: Anticipating questions. Not anticipating questions, but answering them in a way that is best for judges.
Wharton Global Youth: What would you be caught binge-watching at midnight?
Evan: Spiderverse movies.
Wharton Global Youth: You are starting your own business-themed talk show. Who is your first guest, and what might you ask them?
Evan: Probably my mentors, Jodie Woodruff and Brandon Lane. I have a talk show with them every day that I want people to listen to.
Wharton Global Youth: Evan Perez, thank you so much for joining us on Future of the Business World.
Evan: Thank you so much.
Conversation Starters
Evan launched his business in response to a challenge in his own family. How do everyday problems in your life or community hint at possible business ideas?
What ethical concerns does Evan address when discussing building his product with AI? What other ethical considerations related to AI come to mind?
What does Evan’s journey show about the role of confidence and communication in entrepreneurship?
Hero Image Photo Shot By: Townsend Walton, Unsplash