Briefly imagine yourself at age 7 years old; probably playing in dirt in the backyard or having a neighborhood lemonade stand with subpar lemonade.  Well, not for this 7-year-old (now 13), Alina Morse. She was finding ways to create healthy and beneficial lollipops. She was inspired because one day she was asked if she wanted a sucker, but her dad wouldn’t let her because it’s bad for her teeth. Alina decided to come up a mixture that made lollipops enjoyable and tooth friendly. Finally, with the help of her parents they came up with a solution by replacing sugar with natural sweeteners like xylitol and erythritol. Both of those materials have been shown to reduce plaque and oral bacteria. 

Immediatly, Zollipops took off and stores like Whole Foods picked up the product. Zollipops are sold in 7,500 stores, is projected to drive $5 million to $6 million in retail sales THIS YEAR. Don’t you wish you had thought of creating of healthy sweets instead of selling lemonade in your driveway? Now, her mom is a designer and organizer for the company and her dad is the manger plus co-salesman at trade shows. The company may have expanded financially, but the company has a grand total of 6 full time employers and several independent contractors. 

Betsy Johnson, the founder and creator of Swim Zip. A company that is designed for any age, to protect them from the harsh realities of the sun, but in a fashionable way. With the options of suits, short sleeves, pull overs, hats, and many more options, those articles of clothing have UPF 50+. Betsy did a good job of reaching every type of summer clothing and with the protection. Depending on the piece you want, the prices range from $12-$75 which is very reasonable.

After reading an article about Swim Zip, it was mentioned that many companies have tried copying but have failed but Swim Zip is unique and quality product. Another great thing about Swim Zip is they are reaching all types of customers. Not only does this include all shapes, sizes, and ages, but it widens their customer target. I respect how Swim Zip is offering products of plus sizes and more modest pieces of clothing. From a girls perspective, most swimwear companies usually don’t offer suits that are able to be worn with family members (lol). In saying that, I like how they are targeting more than one type of person.

The idea sparked after Betsy received the news of being diagnosed with skin cancer at the age of 26. She said it took her a bit to bring herself together, but once she did, she decided to use her motivation to protect others. She came up with Swim Zip originally to potentially save her own children and loved ones from skin cancer, but then proceeded to expand her company. 

Mihir Garimella, not your average kid originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania built his first motion censored light switch at the age of 11, just in cases he forgot to turn off the lights when in bed. That is just the beginning of this kid’s legendary life. Next up, at age 12 he built a robot that listened to sound samples of his violin and then tuned it accordingly. Fast forward a few years, mind you all these accomplishments took place before high school ended. Mihir won the Google Science Fair, he was a TEDx speaker, as well as designed a concussion detection kit that was reasonably priced, created a math app which read and solved handwritten problems, and was a co-author on paper about brain tumor diagnosis via image processing algorithms. By far one of the most accomplished kid I have ever read about!

That’s not all either! The product that put him on the map was, Firefly. A drone that got its inspiration from a fruit fly. Garimella was fascinated at how they were able to escape the danger of being swatted away. He was curious to see if he could apply similar maneuvers to his drone. With the help of professors at well renown universities and research, he was determined to make a drone that was smaller, able to escape easily, and still capable of doing its job. Mirhir has the hope of using his drone to help others. He said, “The idea is that you take (my) drone, plug in different sensors based on whatever task you’re trying to accomplish, and the drone would use those sensors to carry out a mission,” he says. “So, in a search and rescue situation after an earthquake, you could plug in a thermal camera and the drone would use that to find people who are trapped.”.

Now being a student at Stanford University, he is planning on putting the Firefly on the market within the next year or two. 

A young entrepreneur at just the age of 4, Mikaila Ulmer decided to change a negative story into a positive. Like most little kids, Mikaila was afraid of bees and the reasoning be(e)ing she was stung by one. Well, being stung twice, she grew a fear of them but also a strange interest. She took the initiative and grew fonder about bees and what they do for the world. While the interest became greater, at the same time her sweet Granny Helen sent her a cookbook with the recipe Flaxseed Lemonade.

With that recipe and a little bit of her own twist, “Me & the Bees Lemonade” has taken off. Mikaila uses local honey and donates a percentage of the profits.  The donations from the lemonade goes to local and international organizations fighting hard to save the bees honey. Her slogan: “Buy a Bottle…Save a Bee.”

The award winning product is being sold now in Whole Foods and is flying off the shelves as we speak.

Over Labor Day weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio, two kids decided to have a lemonade stand to finish off summer the right way. After making about $150 in the weekend span, the parents wanted to teach Beatrice Weidner and Jack Zerbe about being generous with their money. They decided to donate their money to  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, which wasn’t just a random choice. The hospital has a special place in Beatrice and her mothers heart.  When Beatrice was only six months old, she was diagnosed with a rare liver disease, and was in need of a liver transplant. After many months of waiting, they found out her mother, Hillary Weidner was a perfect match.

In a recent interview, Hillary says, “There’s over 100,000 people right now on a waiting list. And so we want to donate funds towards a place that can help change that”. They advertised on social media to get the word out and within a short amount of time they raised $50,000. They managed to reach this goal only a couple of days.

One of my favorite stores, Alter’d State, founded in 2012 by Aaron Walters. This type of clothing store is targeted to mothers and daughters looking for fashion forward clothing but also a more conservative look. Not only is it just a clothing store, but they offer jewelry, decorations for homes, and little trinkets. More on the pricier side when it compares to other brands, but the unique thing about them is on Monday’s they donate 10% of the net proceeds to a charity that was picked earlier in the month. Alter’d State sells charity brands in their stores such as The Giving Keys and Toms. How I feel about this brand along with many other customers, yes, we might be paying more for a shirt than one at Target, but some of that money is going to a good cause. In saying that, I find it okay to splurge and treat myself a little more. 

Originally, the name was Alter’d State Christian Store. Walters decided to cut that name because he felt as if its limited potential to shopping there with the label “Christian” being in the name. The company hires anyone with different backgrounds and religions because Walters wanted all to feel welcome. With more than 59 stores and in nineteen states, Alter’d State is still expanding. The company does a good job of keeping the idea of it being a Christian store subtle. It’s not the fact that Walters doesn’t want people to know they are a Christians brand, but more of a plus when the customer connects the dots. There are little things that are happening in the store that give the hint that it has a Christian background. For example, KLOVE music is usually playing in the background, they have a prayer request book in the fitting room, and their mission statement is obvious and that is donating money to charity.