Alina Morse at the age of 9 created Zolli Candy. This creation is a line of sugar-free, tooth-friendly candy made at being a delicious healthy alternative to candy. The idea came to her in a bank at the age of seven while waiting in line with her dad. The fact that a child at the age of nine could come up with such revolutionary concept is very unique. Her initial problem she wanted to solve was dental health. Dental health is not a common angle to take in the candy industry. Her desire to make candy not hurt cavities but actually help them was not only a marketable solution to a big problem, but an issue that she cared about and made so she could enjoy candy whenever she wants. Her sugar-free, tooth-friendly Zolli Pops now are sold nationwide. This shows her innovative approach to reinventing a common everyday product. While this product wasn’t 1-0, it still is a new market space which she has plenty of room to expand. Alina is driven by her own personal cavities’ stories and the pain that, that cost her not only during the dentist appointment, but also in not being able to have as many sweet treats. Motivated by her desire for candy, but also healthy teeth she created a sugar free and lower acidity candy which helps keep the mouth at its normal acidity which is its healthy equilibrium. When candy is introduced, the mouth typically becomes acidic, and this eats away at the enamel and the sugar helps infection/bacteria to grow in these created crevasses. Her business model stands out due to the social impact of the problem and her innovation in a crowded section of candy. She had multiple programs such as “Million Smiles Initiative”, where she educates children about teeth health. This shows that she doesn’t care exclusively about profit and cares more for the health of society. Alina shows great entrepreneurial traits from such a young age such as: confidence, perseverance, and a strong imagination. She also thinks very innovatively not only to help her eat her sweet treats, but also to help others. All this and still making a profit on a global level is pretty intense for a girl so young and these qualities are inspirational to how the human mind can do anything if you truly care and try. I’ve learned the importance of this perseverance to not only overcome the obstacles life throws at you, but also overcome obstacles in new markets. Anyone who truly cares about what they are working on and has passion in their subject will find a way to make it work, and to me that is all that matters. We might not have every answer but using your imagination and then applying it through hard work is the best possible way to find success.
Author Archive for Peyton Ahlquist
Neil Deshmukh stands out from the rest in the tech world for his many discovery achievements at MIT and these innovative ideas led him to creating an app called PlantumAI. This app uses AI technology to help farmers make important decisions. It combines Deshmukh’s advanced Ai technology with a deep understanding of agriculture challenges and patterns. This helps with optimizing crop production and reduce pesticide use. What makes Deshmukh so unique is his ability to find a global issue and combine his advanced knowledge of a subject to help others. Deshmukh is driven by his desire to help the underprivileged communities. He gets this drive from visiting his grandparents in India and seeing firsthand food shortages and effects of pesticides. This business model is very interesting as it uses new technology to be able to help the specific niche of farming. This is super smart as farmers will pay a lot of money for optimization. This makes his niche his own as he invented the type of AI which is utilized in his program. He shows signs of innovation and adaptability by using his knowledge to help another field. He also is working with towns in India while being in the US, so he has to be flexible. Deshmukh will continue to improve his own Ai in order to make his app more accurate and probably expand the app to other fields as more technology is invented or introduced to the AI scene. To me Deshmukh showed me the best example of how purpose driven design is so powerful and how solving problems and helping is more “profitable” than making a lot of money.
George Matus is one of the biggest innovators of commercial and military Drone use. He created his first drone at only the age of 12, and by 16 he founded Teal Drones, which is a multimillion-dollar company which was the first of its kind to develop a stable flying quadcopter which could fly 70+mph. George is driven by his love for drones and seeing a gap in technology. He has a vision for the future, and he believes he can fix it and be a part of the future. This can be seen by his decision to start building drones for the military. His business model capitalizes on different wants than what current technology can provide. He focuses on making fast and inexpensive drones. So, he has a small section he works in, but this section is one of the biggest and most important as the military is interested in this sector. This makes him a great entrepreneur, because he recognized that on a consumer level he was outmatched by other companies and would be stomped out. So, he shifted and found a new niche in the military and unmanned drones. This shows his ability to adapt to new circumstances and to flow with the market. He focuses on finding ways to mass produce his drones while maintaining the quality. Teal Drones are innovating by working on cheap IR drones in order to spot and identify targets from a remote location for the military. This would benefit the military by allowing them to avoid using large, bulky, and slow drones that could alert the enemy to their presence, thereby minimizing the risk of escalating tensions. Smaller, more agile drones can enhance stealth and improve reconnaissance capabilities, making operations more efficient and less detectable. Personally, his ability to adapt and find his niche is my favorite part of George Matus. Even though his invention is similar to others he modified it to fit the specific need of the military and now has a multimillion-dollar contract with them for only altering minute details. This is inspiring as my own idea has its own unique field and I can draw a lot of parallels from his struggles of big corporations to his niche search. I have learned a lot about the ability to adapt and to find your own spot in the market. This is the most valuable advice I’ve received surrounding entrepreneurship as it makes me be flexible and listen to many different ideas. 