For young girls, fifth grade can be an exciting time, especially when it comes to decorating your locker. However, a fifth grader named Maddie Bradshaw wasn’t able to find anything to make her locker unique and colorful. So she decided to take action and create her own decorations. After her uncle had given her 50 bottle caps from and old Coke machine, she decorated them with sparkles and different designs. Her locker was now personalized and decorated just the way she wanted. Her friends started asking is she could make them some for their own lockers. Now Maddie knew that other girls were interested in her product and were willing to pay for them, she saw an opportunity.
At the age of thirteen, Maddie was well on her way to creating a successful business. Alongside her mother and younger sister Margot, Maddie named her company M3 Girl Designs. M3 Girl Designs main product was a decorated bottle cap that could be attached to a necklace by a magnet, or Snap Caps as they are called. Snap Caps are designed to be exchangeable, allowing young girls to interact and get to know each other via jewelry.
With the small amount of $300, Maddie was able to get her feet wet in the jewelry industry. However, as orders piled up Maddie and her mother knew they needed help, so they took a chance and appeared on a show called Shark Tank. Shark Tank, for those who don’t know, is a T.V. series where entrepreneurs can pitch their idea to big investors. Maddie was able to hook Mark Cuban, Robert Herjevic and Lori Greine to invest in M3 Girl Designs. Maddie gained expertise in the marketing world and money to help her continue on her dream of design.
After her Shark Tank appearance in 2012, Maddie sales took off. M3 Girl Designs is now a national brand and she is able to sell roughly 50,000 necklaces in a two month period. Now Maddie is 16 and continuing to develop and expand her company.
“The great thing about our company is that it’s growing with me. […]As my tastes change, so will the products.” ~Maddie Bradshaw
Maddie Bradshaw is an inspiration for entrepreneurs. At the young age of ten, Maddie knew that she wanted to help other young girls show their personality through fun jewelry items. Age and experience mean very little in the entrepreneurship world, and Maddie is a prime example of this. She was ten years old and was simply decorating bottle caps. She had no college education or experience in the marketing world, but she was able to create a nationwide brand. As Maddie puts it, “Follow your passion. If you come up with an idea and you love it, chances are other people will, too.”
It just blows my mind that she was able to take something so simple as a bottle cap and turn it into jewelry to make a profit. Also the fact that she was so young when she did this is truly mind boggling as well. It is people like Maddie who make me feel so unaccomplished with my life because she was able to start a business at the age of 10. However, all props to her because she is proof that anyone at any age can start a business.
Though I do not have a locker to decorate, I can agree that I respect Maddie because she took a large need and constructed a simple solution to fill that need.
It is neat to me how she came up with an idea and began to develop it. By going to Sharktank for help, they were able to aid her and create a very successful business because of Maddie’s passion for her bottle cap necklaces.