In 2010, Hart Main was just a 13 year old boy from Ohio who wanted to save $1,500 to buy a bike.  In order to save up, Hart created a product called ManCans. The idea came to him when his sister was selling candles for a school fundraiser.  He realized that most candle scents were “too girly” and wanted to create candles that would appeal more towards men.  He put the candles soup cans instead of glass, because he felt it was more masculine.  Hart used all his savings to buy a candle making kit, and soon was running a successful business.

In the first 6 months of his company, Hart Main handmade over 20,000 candles in the kitchen of his home. His family bought soup from grocery stores and ate them, and then used the cans for the candles. When Hart realized it was unrealistic for the family to eat so much canned soup, he began donating cans of soup to his local soup kitchen, and they would return the cans to him when they were done. His donations to the soup kitchen gained media attention, which made his business take off.

In spring of 2011, he purchased a warehouse and hired 5 full time employees.  In 2014, a candle company approached him and offered to manufacture the candles for him. ManCans were soon in full production, as well as a second product line he created called SheCans. Now, ManCans are sold in over 150 stores across the US and makes over six figures a year.  A portion of every sale is donated to food banks, and Hart has also published a book.

Hart Main’s story shows principles of passion and dedication.  He saw the appeal for manly candles, and joined that with the need from food banks and soup kitchens to create a product that benefited everyone.  He shows strong traits of entrepreneurship because of his passion and dedication, and all the hard work he put into making his product a reality.

Zollipops are a healthy, natural, sugar-free, vegan, and tooth-friendly candy.  Alina Morse, founder and CEO of Zolli Candy, had always wanted to start a business. In 2012, at the age of 7, Morse and her dad were at the bank.  When the teller offered her a lollipop, her dad told her no because it would ruin her teeth.  That’s when her idea for Zollipops were born.  She set out to create a line of candy that wouldn’t ruin your teeth!  After two years of research and experiments, she found a formula that worked.  She invested all the money she had ($4000) and her father matched it.  They found a manufacturing plant with the equipment they needed, and eventually pitched their product to whole foods.

With their product in whole foods, they sold seventy thousand in the first year.  That number continued to double every year after.  Zollipops began being sold in Kroger, Walmart, and Amazon too. By 2018, Zolli Candy was making $6 Million a year in sales, and was both Amazons best selling sugar free candy and their best selling lollipops. By 2019, Zolli Candy was being sold in 25,000 stores in multiple countries.

Now, Aliana is 17 years old. Zolli Candy now sells multiple types of candy and is worth millions.  Zolli Candy has donated 2,000,000 Zollipops to the American Dental Association, as well as 10% of their profits. Aliana was the youngest person to appear on the cover of entrepreneur magazine and has appeared in multiple TV shows.  In 2016, she was invited to the white house for the easter egg roll – where Zolli Candys were the only type of candy served.  Aliana is still the CEO of Zolli Candy, which she balances along with being a high school student and dancer.

Her story is unique because she took what most kids complain about (not being allowed candy), and instead of doing the same as her peers, she spent years trying to solve the problem.  It shows how passionate she was about the issue, and the strong entrepreneurship traits that she possesses.  Her story shows principles of dedication and passion.

Ryan Hickman is the thirteen-year-old creator of Ryan’s Recycling Company. At age 3, Ryan didn’t like seeing trash lying around.  He collected his family’s recyclables and went with his dad to take them to the recycling center.  He received $5 from the trip and became inspired to continue collecting recyclables, making the world around him cleaner.  Ryan went door to door in his neighborhood collecting neighbor’s bottles, and his parent’s coworkers and friends would send theirs to him too. By the time Ryan was 7, he started Ryan’s Recycling company.

In 2016, Ryan’s story went viral in the media.  He appeared on several talk and radio shows, such as Ellen, Today, and Little Big Shots. He was featured on dozens of tv programs, named CNN’s young wonder and named the citizen of the year of his hometown, as well as being a top finalist for Time Magazine’s kid of the year award.

Now, at age 13, Ryan’s company has continued to grow.  He has customers from all over his county in California.  He sells merchandise with the tagline “Make the Sea Trash Free”, where all his proceeds go to a marine rescue organization. He also created another nonprofit with the mission to educate kids and adults about the importance of recycling.  Ryan has donated 1.7 million cans and bottles and donated almost $15,000 through charity through his merchandise sales.

Ryan shows signs of innovation because at such a young age, he saw a problem and worked to make a difference.  He not only works to make the world a better place but is working to teach others on how to do the same.  His stories show principles of innovation, dedication, and compassion.

When Mikaila Ulmer was 4, she was stung by a bee twice in one week.  This made her very interested in bees.  After studying them more, she found that bee’s population were dying and set out to help them.  Around the same time this happened, an event called Austin’s Lemonade Day took place.  Mikaila decided she wanted to make something for the event and took her grandmothers lemonade recipe and innovated it by adding honey to it instead of just sugar. After that, she began selling the lemonade at a stand in her neighborhood and was eventually asked by a local restaurant if they could sell it there.  She began bottling the lemonade, and a percentage of profits to help save bees, naming her company ‘Me & the Bees’.

At age 11, Mikaila went on shark tank and received $60,000.  At age 12, Mikala signed a $11 million deal with whole foods to sell her product in their store, and soon after was invited to Washington D.C. to meet the president.  Mikala is now 17, a freshman in college, and a millionaire.  In the last ten years of her business, she has made millions in revenue, released a book, started a nonprofit, and donated over 1.3 million dollars towards saving bees. Me & the Bees has one multiple awards and is now selling in over 1,500 stores nationwide.  Mikaila travels the country for public speaking events, holds workshops to teach more about helping bees, and participates in many entrepreneurship panels.

Mikaila’s story is particularly inspiring because her product took of so fast and became so succesfull. It shows she carries strong entrepreneurial traits, because she took something she loved and turned it into a business that helped the community, and she stayed dedicated to her business.  I think it’s inspiring that she has and continues to do so much while being a student.  Her story shows principles of dedication, inspiration, and compassion.

As a young child growing up in Scotland, Fraser Doherty grew up being taught how to make jam with his grandmother. At age fourteen, he began making his own jams, soon creating a recipe for a jam that was 100% fruit.  Soon, he began selling his jams door to door in his neighborhood. He then began selling at a stand at his local farmers market and delivering to customers outside his neighborhood. By age 16, he dropped out of school and made jam full time. The product demand was so high that he began renting a factory a few days a month to make his jams which he named SuperJam. At age seventeen, he partnered with a supermarket franchise called Waitrose, and became the youngest ever supplier to a major supermarket. At age 18, Fraser Doherty became one of the youngest self-made millionaires in the United Kingdom. Over the past 15 years of the company, they have sold millions of jars of jams and made millions in revenue.  Fraser went on to receive many awards (even some from prince Charles and the Queen), create a company, and published three books.  He also became the cofounder of Beer52, one of the leading craft beer companies in the UK.

Fraser Doherty’s story is extremely unique, inspiring, and innovative.  He took a family recipe and created something amazing out of it. I think it is very inspiring that something he started by selling things door to door, within three years made him one of the youngest millionaires in the UK.  His story shows his commitment and passion to his brand and shows the entrepreneurial traits he carries.  Fraser’s story of SuperJam stands to show anyone that if they truly believe in what they’re doing, to persist in their craft and see what possibilities it holds.

Lily Born was eight years old when she invented the kangaroo cup.  Her motivation to start this business came from her grandfather. He had Parkinson’s disease, and she noticed it made him knock over glasses and often spilled his drinks. After seeing this, Lily set out to make a no-spill, no-tip cup that could be used for kids or adults.  After trying multiple designs, she came upon the ‘kangaroo cup’ design.  The cup has 3 equal length legs attached, and the name came from the way a kangaroo uses its tail as a third leg to balance itself.  Lily’s story is unique and shows she is an entrepreneur because at such a young age, she was able to notice problems around her and come up with several solutions before landing on her final one. The kangaroo cups are interesting and innovative because even though there are several no spill cups, hers is the only one with the unique 3 leg design.  Lily’s story and creation is very inspiring. She had the ability, inspiration, and persistence to continue trying different types of cups and not give up until she found the one that worked best.  At 8 years old, she was featured on talk shows, interviews, and now (at 16), she has sold tens of thousands of cups.  Lily’s company has showed principles of commitment, intelligence, and creativity.