Zolli Candy is a healthy, sugar free candy company that was founded by Alina Morse at only 10 years old. Over the years, this company has only grown to what is now a $6 million business. When Alina was very young, her parents always told her that candy was bad for her teeth, so she was never able to enjoy it when candy was offered to her. This made her question why there couldn’t be healthy candy that doesn’t hurt her teeth, but actually cleans them. Healthy candy was a niche market and very few people, if anyone, had broken into it yet, so, Alina and her dad worked together to build it. What is so inspiring to me about this story is the fact that even at a young age, Alina was thinking about ways to solve problems that she encountered. Even though she was very young, she wasn’t going to let that stop her or let anyone tell her that she couldn’t do it. This story shows me that you never know how big a company could be unless you try to start it. If Alina had simply said “Someone else should invent healthy candy” and left it at that, then someone else would have come along and done just that, making all the sales that Alina could have made. Not only is Alina benefitting financially from the decision she made ten years ago to start her company, but she is inspiring young people all around the world to become entrepreneurs. She also uses her company for good by starting her very own 501(c)(3) called Million Smiles Initiative. This organization gets schools and classrooms on board about teaching kids to take care of their teeth using Zolli Candy. I love that Alina didn’t just stop at Zolli Candy, but expanded her company in order to do even more good. She is clearly a hard worker and passionate about what she does, which are two extremely important things in being an entrepreneur, and it inspires me to want to do the same.
Wow! I love that all it took was one little thought, and Alina knew what she wanted. I also really like that she stuck with it, despite her age. Typically, it’s hard to focus on one thing as a kid, but she nailed it. It is almost like her and her dad thought, “Does candy HAVE to be bad for your teeth?” Boom. Revolutionary idea. It is so cool that she didn’t stop after she had success with the candy. It leads me to believe that maybe entrepreneurs inspire not only others, but themselves with what they never thought they could do. Of course, others inspire them a lot too. But after seeing the success they created for themself I bet it is hard to feel like things are impossible. Dream big and achieve bigger!