Exclusive | My Gen Alpha kid bought a vending machine as a summer rush – it was a great life lesson

He is a mini-tycoon who makes money.

An intrepid South Florida man with a brain job found himself a pretty sophisticated side hustle this summer — owning and operating his own vending machine.

Adrian Peña, 12, decided to take a bite out of the snack rocket after a TikTok video sparked his entrepreneurial spirit.

The middle-school-aged munchie looked into his savings, figured out his budget, and began scouring eBay and Facebook for a used machine — which he ended up buying for $1,500.

“I did my research,” Peña proudly told The Post about his new venture.

The pint-sized vendor knew just the place to put his dispenser, too — the waiting area of ​​one of the places where his father, a pediatric dentist, sees patients.

Peña then secured his investment with chips, drinks and candy bought in bulk — then sat back and waited for the dough to roll.

However, the profit didn’t start piling up overnight.

“That office wasn’t that busy,” he said. “My father was only seeing five or six patients [there] one day.”

So the savvy salesman asked his people to help him move the car to a more trafficked location—resulting in an immediate uptick in sales.

“Business is a lot of trial and error,” Peña explained. “When you see one thing go wrong, you have to turn around and try something else.”

The burgeoning baron also kept a close eye on which products were popular with customers – for example, he quickly noticed that plantain chips were selling quickly.

So he adjusted his inventory accordingly—further increasing profits.

Peña’s mother, Richelle, confessed to The Post that she was initially anxious to let her son loose on TikTok, but was surprised by what a great educational resource the social media site turned out to be when used properly.

“He saw a video [about vending machines] and started searching more, and then the algorithm started serving him information about the business,” she said, calling her “curious” son a “mini Google.”

And while some may balk at such a young child being so ambitious, the proud mum is all for Adrian grabbing the learning experience.

“It’s not so much about the money,” Richelle said, explaining that her son is learning important life lessons about the value of hard work, perseverance and creativity.

Fortunately for Adrian, he already has his entrepreneurial parents as living role models.

Richelle and her husband, Dr. William Peña, recently sold their business, American Pediatric Dental Group, for a whopping eight figures.

Now, they are preparing to launch their next company, HealthBiz Mastery, which will teach medical professionals how to start their own small businesses.

As for the tycoon-in-training, he’s already made hundreds of dollars thanks to his vending machine – allowing him to buy clothes, video games and a 3D printer.

But while the confectioner is basking in his success, he’s also busy setting up his machines – and thinking about his next business move.

“Maybe I can buy a second one soon,” he said.