Everyone loves a good sweet treat. But nobody likes cavities. Candy is a big culprit for causing tooth decay, due to high sugar content. Fourteen-year-old Alina Morse saw an opportunity: candy that is “tooth friendly”. Alina founded Zollipops, a company that sells sugar free candy, mainly lollipops. Alina got the idea when her father warned her that candy will “rot her teeth”. She researched for two years, testing many candy prototypes. She finally invested $3750 and started the company, when she perfected a recipe using xylitol and erythritol, natural sweeteners that reduce plaque. Her father also contributed $3750. Her product was an instant success, selling 70,000 units in one year. By 2018, sales had reached $6 million.
Alina is a unique child because she easily sees problems and thinks of solutions to the problems. The big problem she saw was the absence in the market for candy that is safe for teeth. Alina was driven by her desire to have sweets. She could not stand the thought of going without candy, simply because it was bad for her teeth. Her ability to see problems is an entrepreneurial trait
Alina became the entrepreneur she is today at a young age, through her parents’ encouragement. She is certainly a unique child. While most other children were reading story books or watching television while they were young kids, Alina was reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Her parents bought her the book in hopes of raising a child that had ambitions and a creative spirit. It was a clear success. Alina credits the book with giving her the ability and mindset to build a company with a vision.
A lot can be learned from Alina’s story. It is inspiring to see that something as simple as candy can make such a difference, have an impact, and be so easy to inspire creativity. Alina took a lollipop and transformed the industry to include a niche- dental conscious candy lovers. Some key points to learn is to not get caught up on thinking too big and to not be afraid to try something new. Put in the hard work and determination, even if it takes months or years of trials and testing. An entrepreneur does not give up.
https://moneyweek.com/economy/entrepreneurs/600654/alina-morse-the-teenager-who-made-a-million
I love that instead of the classic eye role when your parents would say candy rots your teeth out, she instead think, “if that’s true then I could totally solve that.” my parents still tell me that but personally I think it’s worth it. But i love that she invented something like that. I don’t know how old she was but in the picture she looks so young. That’s awesome. now i really want a zollipop.