Age is not a factor when it comes to innovation. The likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs started their respective companies at an early age. You can also include in this category Sergei Brin of Google and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook. However, those who are hitting paydirt in Silicon Valley have become much younger. How young? How about 21-year-old Dylan Field raising $3.8 million for his creation named Figma.

It is wise to speculate that Figma is a play of the word pigment which is highly important in this new browser-based photo editing program. But despite his relatively young age, he is already a household name in the tech industry. Field was a recipient of the Thiel Fellowship and he has worked with companies such as O'Reilly Media, Microsoft Research and LinkedIn.

The Thiel Fellowship is awarded by the Thiel Foundation to students who have created breakthrough innovations. Every year, about 20 to 25 students below 20 years old are chosen as fellows and they each receive $100,000 over two years and other resources that will make them discontinue higher education and focus on their world-changing idea. Other famous fellows include UpStart founder Paul Gu and UnCollege founder Dale J. Stephens.

A California native, Field thought of Figma by the time he was studying math and computer science at Brown University. He stopped school to work on this concept which he claims that can bring out the artist in all people. His software will break the notion that only professional graphic designers and devoted photography enthusiasts can manipulate sophisticated programs for editing photos. It will also make photo processing more dynamic because desktop computers can be taken out of the equation.

While Field recently declined an interview with technology website Techcrunch, he first discussed Figma during an appearance in the NBC Today Show in August 2012. Once his software is fully operational, he joins a list of developers who have made it to the limelight thanks to applications devoted to photo sharing and editing. The most famous of which is Instagram that was bought by Facebook for $1 billion and now has a video sharing mode.

From there, others followed suit. Snapchat, an application that allows users to send photographs and recorded videos to a select group of people, recently raised $60 million in funding. Not bad for four Harvard students whose average age is 23 and has already earned $20 million in stock. These developments are living proof of Josh Miller's essay regarding the ability of the young ones to address the ever-changing needs in technology.

However, Dylan Field's success with Figma might not come easily. Google Plus has a new photo editor that can give him a run for his money. Meanwhile, Pixlr is something that cannot be disregarded. Despite the competition, the $3.8 million that he raised is more than enough to paint a clear picture of what he is up to.