Author Archive for waltonrj21

Peggy Wang and EGO

Peggy Wang is a young entrepreneur who helped in starting Ego. Ego focuses on a sandbox style video game creator experience. Early in its development stages, Ego has worked with AI to help players develop and create sandbox style games into a simulation for prospective players and has raised nearly 7.5 million. Similar styles deal with well-known games such as “The Sims” and “Minecraft.” Ego’s comparative advantage deals with their ability to develop games through AI prompts such as ChatGPT. For many, AI has been seen as a cheat or shortcut in many cases. In the eyes of the entrepreneurial mind though, AI is an ever-growing resource which has opened unlimited possibilities and access to new beginnings.

Peggy Wang and her startup EGO has a main focus on simplifying the production of new simulation type games without the use of code through AI. Wang believes the use of AI promotes unlimited unique possibilities, providing experiences and processes that have yet to be implemented. Wang states “We’re building a game that people can play forever.” In a highly male dominated industry, Wang is bringing forth a new perspective reaching for male and female prospective gamers.

The use of AI has been extremely controversial over the last few years. The creative ability has amazed many through apps such as ChatGPT and OpenAI. Young entrepreneurs such as Peggy Wang are using these new resources to further creativity in areas such as gaming and graphic technology. While many are hesitant to use such resources, EGO believes in capitalizing on them and has been consistent in striving to gain “first mover advantage” and being “first at bat” in the use of AI and its endless knowledge to help others in the development of games and new tech in which a majority of young consumers are most interested in.

The Ultimate 30 Under 30 Forbes List of 2025 – GreekReporter.com

 

Me & The Bees Lemonade

Mikaila Ulmer is a prime example of young entrepreneur starting their own business from scratch. Her business, “Me & The Bees Lemonade started from a good ole “tried-and-tested” family recipe. Born in Houston Texas, the geographical location was a huge benefit for her startup as Texas is known to have some of the best fresh squeezed homemade lemonade in the country. She began her entrepreneurial business venture when she was just 5 years old by selling her great grandmother’s recipe from the 1940’s. This wholesome and creative decision the passing down of family tradition would spark ideas for expansion and years of success. In 2015, “Me & The Bees” made an appearance on the show Shark Tank. Ulmer and her family’s decision to ask for an investment to support the growth of the business helped tremendously. Not only did she receive $60,000, “Me & The Bees” received a large amount of positive feedback and recognition, leading to a rapidly growing customer base.

Today, Ulmer’s lemonade receives over half a million units each year in its now 1,500 locations of purchase. But Ulmer doesn’t plan on stopping there as she is working towards the development of new product lines such as natural beeswax lip balm. Ulmer has stuck out from other similar businesses as she excels in maintaining and building relationships with current and prospective customers through her ability to market a brand which is focused on natural, homemade, family recipes. Ulmer was also able to spark emotion in her customers as her first lemonade stands held a unique and innovative sign that stated, “Lemonade $3, Smiles Free!” This short phrase holds volume as it was able to make people smile and created a welcoming environment for prospective customers to approach and buy ice cold refreshing lemonade.

Ulmer’s story of success holds a much deeper meaning. It goes to show just how creative and capable we are early in our lives. A simple idea such as setting up a lemonade stand and selling to customers can help develop an entrepreneurial mindset bound for future success in areas such as sales, marketing, and product development. Whatever chapter of your life you may be in, remember that there are plenty of resources and opportunities at hand to pursue and successfully create your own business venture.

Mikaila Ulmer: The Teenager Reinventing The Lemonade Stand | Finance Friday

15 Most Successful Teen Entrepreneurs and Business Owners

Mikaila Ulmer – Wikipedia

Bre Pettis with MakerBot and Thingiverse

Bre Pettis is very well known in the growing community of 3d printing. He has had a major impact on how new companies have shaped their products and services. Born in 1972, he is not considered a young entrepreneur but a key example of first mover advantage. First Mover Advantage is when a company is first in bringing a new service or product to the market. In November of 2008, Bre Pettis and Zach Smith cofounded an online 3d printing community driven interface named Thingiverse. Thingiverse was designed to be open to all and would allow users to design in 3d software and post it for others to download. Its success grew Pettis’s resume and rapport in the 3d printing community and helped him fund his dream. By 2009, Pettis and Smith had started their own 3d printer business Makerbot. MakerBot would soon become one of the first and most popular at home 3d print build kits where everyday users could design and develop their own ideas in physical prototypes.

Although highly successful, being one of the first major companies to implement DIY printers came with its downsides. MakerBot was a pioneer in a new industry and had to suffer from first time mistakes. At first, the 3d printers were marketed towards a niche customer base who already had a minor understanding of soldering and mechanical assembly. In the meantime, other companies saw this problem and began introducing prebuilt 3d printers which needed little to no assembly. It helped market to a much larger group of prospective customers who ideally favored simplicity. While MakerBot took a hit in sales they still had a strategic advantage in their rapport and overall consumer base. MakerBot got to work designing new printers which would become some of the most user friendly and convenient products in the 3d printing community. With the help of Thingiverse, a large online platform grew that did not discriminate against users of other 3d printers. I believe this helped MakerBot in the long run as myself and many others who have acknowledged the higher product standard which MakerBot’s machines are able to produce is worth its higher price in the long run.

Over the past 5 years I have used Thingiverse to help build everything from a simple camera lens adapter to a working guitar. I currently own a MakerBot and Ender style printer which have helped me create just about anything my heart desires. Thanks to entrepreneurs like Pettis and Smith, I and millions of other tinkering minds are able to put almost any idea in the palm of our hands.

 

Check out this awesome Netflix Documentary on 3d printing if you have the time. It covers the history of 3d Printing as well as Pettis’s shark like outlook on taking over the 3d printing world.

Print the Legend | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

MakerBot's Bre Pettis on the Next Industrial Revolution

 

Stephen Weaver

Stephen Weaver is a Grove City College Alumni who graduated in 2019. He is now working in sales development for a new startup named Nearpod. Nearpod focuses on bringing innovative virtual classrooms. Their goal is to “Foster a love of learning in every student and create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.” Virtual classes have become extremely important especially in hard times such as Covid-19. Covid shut down many schools who were forced to find new ways of integrating interactive learning with students stuck at home or in quarantine. Nearpod’s platform ensures that no student is left behind and emphasizes that “Learning never stops.” With many other competitors, Nearpod differentiates itself by allowing access to over 22,000 lessons and videos as well as interactive activities in a plethora of courses.

Weaver doesn’t spend the entirety of his time working with innovating Nearpod. He is blessed with free time to focus on his own business ventures. In his free time, he has been working on a project involving 3d printed homes. Weaver’s goal is to provide the homeless and poor countries of the world with cheap and innovative housing. 3d printed housing has been slowly making itself known but is far from perfection. 3d Printed houses focuses on placing foundations, walls, floors, and stairs through a form of material such as cement pushed through a large programmable 3d printer. These massive 3d printers build a home layer by layer which can be time consuming but is extremely efficient.

Google’s 80/20 rule strongly resonates to this idea of having time allotted to your own ideas, thoughts, and ventures. Google lets their engineers focus 20 percent of time to one’s own ideas and projects. This is key for all workers and especially entrepreneurs with keeping a creative mindset. Without it, one’s natural internal drive and passion and work moral can diminish. Weaver is blessed with the free time to focus on his own ideas and has put it towards a great cause that will hopefully take off!

Incorporating Nearpod with a Thematic Unit - Nearpod BlogHannah begins construction on “first multi-storey 3D-printed house in ...

Source: Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

More about Stephen Weaver: Alumni Corner | Grove City College Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (gccentrepreneurship.com)

Luke Gilligan-Resensebox

Luke Gilligan is a Grove City Entrepreneur alumnus with a vision to help create a better life for those struggling with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. Gilligan was selected as one of the Pittsburgh Regions Rising Stars in the startup sector. Around six million Americans deal with these issues and Gilligan states that Dementia and Alzheimer’s “Touches everyone in one way or another.” This quote truly resonates with me as I have seen dementia firsthand. I lost my grandfather in 2021 mainly from natural causes. He lived a beautiful life and accomplished a multitude of things such as coaching and playing in the National Football League. Unfortunately, his many years in active play led to some issues later on in life. As his time was dwindling, I remember the pain throughout our family as things became foggy. I have always and continue to know my father as a strong man who would rarely let his emotions affect others. As his father’s memory declined, his pain grew. The thought of speaking with a close loved one as they slowly forget is something that no one should have to go through. Gilligan also states that patients were treated “like children” which is a sad truth in many nursing homes which I have witnessed firsthand. To mitigate such problems, Gilligan created the Connect and Comfort Kit. This kit is a toolbox of items and activities which target each of the “five senses to utilize a nuanced approach to therapy aimed at increasing brain health and eliciting long-term memories.” His vision to implement this approach is not only innovative but a necessity for patients and family who suffer from these issues. Gilligan’s story has succeeded in pulling my heartstrings and I would strongly advise you to check out more about his innovation.

Student entrepreneur named Pittsburgh 5 Founders under 25

Resense | Dementia Friendly Engagement Tools – Resense LLC (helloresense.com)

DaisyMakes

Shipping & Support – Daisy Makes

Today I had the opportunity to hear from a Grove City graduate on her entrepreneurship adventure. Amy Mucha is a young entrepreneur who graduated from Grove City College with a focus in mathematics. After graduating, she decided to create her own business, Daisy Pops. Daisy Pops is now a growing business with a main focus in Kent, OH.

In their beginnings, Daisy Pops focused on producing cake pops for local consumers. They started with a traditional round ball of cake dough which was given a flavor, placed on a popsicle stick and wrapped up for sale. Amy created a list of innovative and delicious flavors for her customers to choose from.

After a while, business was profitable, but Amy knew there was more to achieve. She turned her focus towards innovation. Traditionally, cake pops are made by hand and rolled into a ball. Amy noticed a flaw in the quality control of cake pops, as it was tough to stay consistent in size. To fix this issue, she innovated the cake pop business by introducing a sister company named DaisyMakes. While learning more about DaisyMakes, my interest inclined.

For years I was blessed with the opportunity to work with 3D printers and have owned two for about 4 years. As Amy explained the mission of  DaisyMakes, my view on 3D printing was reestablished. Amy began using 3d Printers to design a product that would be similar to a cookie cutter for precise cake pops. It also allowed making custom designs on the cake pop much more feasible. Soon after implementing 3d printing technology, customers reached out asking to purchase the 3d printed items.

A new business proposition was established, and Amy ran with it. Now, DaisyMakes is turning over the majority of profit and Amy has done a phenomenal job at creating consumer relationships. DaisyMakes is now using around 30 3D printers including Enders and Bamboos to keep up with demand. 3D printers are not exactly the fastest way to create products, but they are one of the cheapest which leads to a high profit. I am beyond blessed to have purchased my first 3d printer in 2019 and now own two. Amy’s success has persuaded me to stay involved in 3d printing and search for problems that need to be fixed. Please check out her website and support a former Grove City graduate and now entrepreneur!!

Daisy Makes