When she was 7 years old, Gabby Goodwin had a BIG problem, her hair bows wouldn’t stay in. Frustrated by constantly losing her clips, Gabby and her mom developed the “Double-Faced Double Snap Barrette”. What started small, slowly grew, and Gabby eventually became CEO of her company. Now, this company includes so much more than just bows for young girls, it also includes a line of plant-based hair care like shampoos and creams. What was once just the simple frustrations of a child, grew into a prosperous and motivating organization.

When Mikaila Ulmer was just 4 years old, she had a lemonade stand as a lot of kids do, but she stuck with it. A lemonade stand is something so basic, yet things like that aren’t often considered. What makes her product different is that every purchase of Me & the Bees lemonade is donated to help protect the honeybees. The brands positioning is what makes it so special. A focus on community, and protecting the environment appeals to a lot of people because there’s now engagement and an emotional connection to a purchase. It is inspiring, also, to see a community who recognizes a good idea, and helps to build this wonderful company.

With people who were willing to support her and a product with a purpose, now about 15 years down the line, Mikaila Ulmer is donating 10% of annual profits back to the environment. This goes to prove that even young people can find a purpose and inspire change.

Alina Morse was just nine years old when she began her first entrepreneurial venture — Zollipops. These sugar-free candies were created with a simple yet powerful mission: to prevent childhood tooth decay. The first thing I think of when I hear “sugar-free” is a diet my parents can only dream of maintaining. But Alina took that concept and changed her perspective of who could benefit from this product, helping tackle one of the leading chronic childhood diseases in a innovative way. Now, ten years later, and Zollipops has grown into Zollicandy, a brand that offers not just lollipops, but a long list of sugar-free sweets. Zollicandy shifted the consumer market. These products are different from big candy companies like Mars, Nestle, or Herhsey because of their focus on oral health while still being yummy. What kid would want a lollipop that wasn’t sweet? Alina saw a problem and created an enjoyable solution.

Maxx Yung claims that entrepreneurship is about selling a passion. In his scholarship award winning essay, Yung writes about the badminton racket stringing services he provides. This simply started with his high school team, and has spread across the New York City and Long Island regions. What makes him different than any other professional? He has the equipment, and he’s gained the expertise. Maxx Yung has established himself by offering a lower price point, even when he could be charging two times what he does. Why? Because he cares so much about badminton, he wants to make it more easily accessible to everyone. THAT is truly what he’s selling.

Vasya Tremsin, CEO & Founder of Torch Sensors

Wild fires in California, everyone knows about them, but what’s being done to stop them? Vasya Tremsin developed Torch Sensors, a sensor that can detect gas, temperature, and humidity from extensive mileage in order to detect and predict fires. This was a significant geographical problem where no exponential progress was being made towards a solution. Torch Sensors was just a high school science fair project to begin with, but that was irrelevant. With determination, passion, and constructive criticism, Tremsin continued down his path of success. He claims it was difficult to gain trust due to his age. “As a very young person, I’ve had to prove that our technology does what we claim it does,” he says. “Because it’s so novel and has not been done before, there’s a lot of initial skepticism about what our product can do.” After initial product explanation, and continued discussion, it is backed by evidence that Torch Sensors has won the hearts of many. Now, the team actually can’t keep up with the heavy demand for sensor placements. This is good problem to have that can be resolved simply with increased production rates after more revenue has been brought in.