Some of the best entrepreneurs are simply good at addition. Robert Luo was passionate about fashion and he was passionate about reducing food waste – so what did he do? He added. By combining the two passions he formed his business, Mi Terro. Mi Terro is a company that turns waste, particularly food waste, into fashion items. His first fashion-from-waste product was a duffle bag; the company utilized natural cork and plastic garbage from the ocean to make them. People have made bags using unique materials before, but this was the first of its kind. After this endeavor Luo began to think of other ways to help further reduce waste. An idea came to him while at his uncle’s dairy farm in China. His uncle’s dairy buyer had switched to another supplier, leaving his uncle with endless buckets of spoiled milk. Where most would see a problem, Robert Luo saw an opportunity. Using biogenetics, this milk could be processed into fiber which could then be made into T-shirts. Luo could turn spoiled milk into consumable apparel, and if there were any doubts in his mind about general interest in this product, they were soon quenched when his Kickstarter fundraiser collected all the needed money in just 2 hours! People like the idea of turning waste into something usable – and not just buyers, investors are interested as well. He’s been working with many different companies that are fascinated by the product and that realize its potential. Despite his present success, Luo’s business had not begun well. He says he cold-emailed 1000 journalists and of the mere six that replied, all of them said no. It was Luo’s admirable perseverance that got his company off the ground, he suffered so many sleepless and stressful times to get where he is now.
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When Mikaila Ulmer was 4, she received a 1940’s cookbook from her grandma that would lead to a multi-million-dollar company in just a few years. One of the recipes was for flaxseed lemonade and Mikaila decided to give it her own twist by adding honey instead of only sugar. She came up with this idea when she was stung by bees twice in one week and began to research them and their importance. Mikaila then began to sell her lemonade, called Me & the Bees, locally to support organizations protecting honeybees. Since the beginning of her business, she has given 10% of her profits to charities that protect honeybees. In 2015, Mikaila pitched her business on Shark Tank and landed a $60,000 deal with Daymond John, to put toward growing her business. In just a few years, Mikaila’s lemonade now sold in over 1,500 stores and is carried in many major retailers such as Whole Foods and Kroger. Since then, Mikaila has expanded her business to include other honey and beeswax-based product such as lip balm. Mikaila is now 17 and, in addition to her company Me and the Bees, she works with the Health Hive Foundation, “a nonprofit to further help the mission of saving the pollinators.”
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Have you seen these shoes?
These are BANGS Shoes, created by Hanna Davis. After teaching in China, she noticed the green canvas work shoes worn by locals and was inspired to create change. She came up with the idea to use shoes to help workers provide for their families and build self-sufficiency in other countries. Backed by her family, she was able to invest in an initial shipment. She had a website, business cards, and a model. She paid the manufacturing fee and was delivered no product. As she started over and began to save again, she worked as a bartender. One night she struck up a conversation with an elderly couple who took an interest in her. They began to ask her about herself, and Hanna began to grow uneasy at the targeted questions, not wanting to disclose the specifics. She took down their information and later that week, decided to look him up. The man turned out to be a retired VF executive. VF is a corporation that owns outdoor adventure and apparel companies such as Vans, Supreme, The North Face, Jansport Dickies, and more. Two months later, George and Gayle Darrah become signed investors and business partners.
BANGS Shoes comes from the Chinese character “to help” and the brand prioritizes self-sufficiency. They source their materials ethically and employ the working class to help manufacture their products. They then take 20% of their profits and loan them through a non-profit to help other entrepreneurs get started. They have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs in over 12 different markets in 79 countries.
Today, BANGS can be found all over Instagram, promoting outdoor adventure, encouragement, and positivity. Their unique shoes are a talking point and a casual staple in closets. On their webpage, they feature which rotates to highlight one of their entrepreneurs. Another section, titled “15 Things You Can Do Right Now” encourages movement and connection. Through its mission statement and engagement with customers, the brand effectively uses its platform to help others and create positive change in local economies.
If you would like to check them out you can find their Instagram Here
Or click to view their Website.
Mark is a recent 2020 graduate from Grove City College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship. He started his business, Treecup Tea, during his sophomore year at Grove City College. Through a development process of his product, he learned a lot about branding and what it takes to start a business. He began selling samples of his grandmother’s chai tea recipe at local events and pop-up shops out of Dixie cups. He now has 4 different flavors of tea packaged in sleek glass bottles, and he sells it in large stores such as Whole Foods and local farmers markets. His success took time and hard work. Although Mark experienced setbacks and help along the way, that is what grew into the success he has today.
Mark’s tea business is especially unique due to his passion behind the cause he helps with. For each tea that is bought, a tree in Haiti is planted. This serves to combat deforestation in one of the most poverty-stricken places in the world. Mark accomplishes this through partnering with a foundation called Haiti Friends. Mark values transparency in marketing, so he feels strongly about sticking to this purpose behind the business.
Mark is driven by the commitment to “Jesus Christ and follows the leading of the Holy Spirit. He wants to manifest God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven.” Mark is led by the Lord in everything he does and does not focus on the money. His purpose is bigger than the profit he makes, and this is apparent in his business. I believe this is what makes Treecup Tea unique and a great idea. It can be hard to find businesses that truly stick to their cause and do not drift from their true mission when they are blinded by success as their sole purpose and fall into the trap of greed.
I find Mark’s story truly inspiring because even through setbacks, he found a way to work through them and dig deeper. I can apply this to my own life and future business career because it is important to keep in mind that setbacks are what help us learn and grow. I aim to have a Christ-centered focus in everything I do just as Mark does. As Mark puts it, “if your business isn’t about God then what is it all for?”
Ben Stern was a freshman in high school when he was taking biology. The topic of recycling came up and Stern began to turn his entrepreneurial wheels. At the age of 16, Stern had brainstormed a single-use shampoo ball. This idea was spurred from the thought that “the furthest room away from the recycling bin was the bathroom”. He saw his mom disposing of a tide pod and wanted to eliminate as much waste as possible. The Nohbo Ball was pitched on Shark Tank in front of billionaire investors in 2016. Stern eventually landed a deal with Mark Cuban, who secured an investment of $100,000 for 25% stake in the company. Thanks to the help of Cuban and his own entrepreneurial drive, Stern now has purchasing agreements in Europe for 76 million units. An idea that started in a high school classroom has turned into over three million in further investments.
Stern claims that his innovation is not without obstacles, however. Starting a company from scratch can seem like an insurmountable task, especially for a teenager with no practical business-world experience. Product development was seen as very challenging to begin. The chemistry for the product had to be redesigned due to the powder-based product breaking up. Stern has since pivoted to a liquid drop-based design that is more effective. Stern partnered with Absolutely Natural, a manufacturing cosmetics company, and has been able to scale production, seeing that the Nohbo Ball produces 180 million drops per year.
This story is not only inspiring to me nut also extremely relevant. Stern took a simple problem based on relevant information that he was learning in the classroom and implemented it in his own entrepreneurial sense. The product was not only innovative, as it adapted towards today’s climate of ecofriendly products and sustainability, but Stern faced many obstacles along the way. Stern did not have a straight path to success, but he had to entirely redesign his product to see that it fully worked and could continue to be scaled.
For more about Stern’s story, click here.
Sprout and Lentil is the only mom-and-pop vegan cafe on Aquidneck Island. Founded in 2019 by the husband and wife team of Carmen Foy and Matt Sole, Sprout and Lentil has grown from being a booth at a farmers’ market to having its own independent retail business located in the center of Middletown, RI. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Foy – who was born in Spain – trained at the Cordon Bleu in France and then worked for twelve years as a chef aboard yachts.
Foy and Sole have stayed true to their business mantra of “Food with a Mission” by serving only plant-based foods. For instance, Foy ordered granola and then returned it to the producer it contained honey. She and her husband are dedicated to a purely vegan business. Additionally, the owners have created a special niche serving their community for people who are vegan, vegetarians, and kosher. Foy and Sole know their target customers very well and have seen that there is a high demand for quality vegan products. Some may ask, “Who would ever want to pay for a $16 burger?” or “Why isn’t the 50 cent spicy ketchup included with my fries?” Without doubt, the prices are high and sauces are not included with fries, burgers, nor cauliflower nuggets. A gourmet truffle oil dressing retails for eleven dollars. Perhaps it is hard to believe here in western Pennsylvania, but their local customers – hard core vegan regulars, and tourists – do buy and enjoy the expensive truffle oil dressing as well as the $16 burgers. The customers believe that the high prices are worth the money for what they receive. Foy and Sole have created a demand for specialty vegan food.
Please take a look at Sprout and Lentil’s website:
http://sproutandlentil.com/
The Sustainable Ocean Alliance is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Their main goal is to accelerate solutions for ocean sustainability. They are seeking to clean the oceans and help bring the importance of ocean health into the public eye. Since its founding the SOA has raised over 3 million dollars for ocean startups around the world. It is the type of startup that upon first glance looks like the brain child of a wealthy venture capitalist seeking to use his capital to impact positive change. However, the SOA started in a much different way and was started by a much different person.
The founder of the SOA is a young lady named Daniela V. Fernandez. She came up with the idea in her college dorm room while she was studying at Georgetown University. Fernandez is passionate about the ocean and wanted to come up with a solution for its growing pollution problems. Since the conception of the idea five years ago the SOA has experienced a large amount of growth. They now support over 150 startups related to ocean health in 60 different countries. Fernandez is the young leader of a highly successful social enterprise.
There are a few traits about Fernandez that make her unique and the perfect person for running an organization like the SOA. The first entrepreneurial traits she possesses is no fear of taking risks. Few college students sit in their dorm rooms and think they have what it takes to save the oceans. Fernandez thought she could (and so far she is). The second trait she possesses is selflessness. She did not start the SOA because she thought it would make her rich and famous. She started it because she saw a real need for action before it was too late. Fernandez did not have a desire to make a lot of money but she wanted to start a business that would help millions of people. The SOA is creating real change in the world’s oceans and it would not be where it is today without Daniela Fernandez.
As a sophomore in high school, Jason Li, founded iReTron.com. Li cares deeply for the environment which overall inspired his creation. iReTron basically encourages or rewards people to “go green”. Electronics are found to be one of the fastest growing portions of trash; Li’s goal is to help lessen the amount of trash found on the earth. The solution Li found is reusing and recycling old electronics. iReTron.com helps an individual sell, upgrade, or recycle their used gadget in the most convenient and efficient way possible. Most people have electronics and gadgets siting at home in a drawer, you might as well make some money off of it or make the world a greener place. At the age of seventeen iReTron made an impact on Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran when Li took his business idea to a famous TV show known as, Shark Tank. iReTron earned a $100,000 investment.
Li was not satisfied with his highly successful iReTron business so he decided to found his second social enterprise, UProspie. UProspie is a web platform that helps increase the accessibility to higher education. This goes to show how motivated Li is and how hard he works.
I admire the fact that Li was risky enough to put his effort into two separate businesses. I have learned a lot from Li for example, one needs to be willing to risk the RIGHT amount, one needs to believe in their idea, and one needs to be creative when thinking up a business idea. Li changed the idea of getting rid of electronics and made it into something that can help improve the earth. Li is a terrific example of just how successful a young entrepreneur can be.
I think it is safe to say that most people remember their first bee sting as a painful experience. Getting stung is not pleasant and most of us learned from a young age to steer clear of bees. However, if you are a passionate, innovative 15-year-old named Mikaila Ulmer your first bee sting is a major factor in your story. 11 years before starting her business Mikaila was stung by a bee. The bee sting combined with the timely arrival of a family lemonade recipe catapulted her into action. Since that timely sting and via the encouragement of her family Mikaila has since grown her lemonade business exponentially over the last 11 years. What started as a fun way to make some spending money and help educate people about bees has become a growing enterprise for Mikaila. Nowadays, Mikaila’s lemonade comes in 6 different flavors and is sold in regional Whole Foods, Kroger’s, and restaurants near her home in Texas. So how did Mikaila become one of the most well-known young entrepreneurs in the country?
One of the biggest factors in Mikaila’s success has been the support of her family. Entrepreneurs often have good family and friends who encourage them to take risks and keep their head up when things aren’t going well in business. This was true in the case of Mikaila. Another important trait I noticed when reading about Mikaila is her desire to care for the environment. Most individuals do not start a business that helps support one of their biggest fears. When Mikaila was stung she began researching all about bees and decided to start a business to support healthy bee colonies. Creating spaces for bees to safely produce honey can prevent them from making nests near residential areas. Mikaila is helping bees thrive by selling a product she loves and believes in. She is a young entrepreneur full of drive and desire. Her lemonade business is just the beginning of her entrepreneurial career.
https://www.digitalfoodlab.com/en/foodtech-database/grove-labs
Gabe Blanchet is the co-founder of the grove ecosystem which is a device that allows you to grown plants inside in a way that also decorates your house. Gabe designed this while finishing school at MIT. His inspiration for this was to allow for people to be able to have a garden no matter where they live. Gabe looked into the idea that certain areas can only grow crops for a certain duration of the year, however people in those areas still want to have gardens. So, Gabe decided to construct an indoor garden for himself. After collaborating with fellow students, he found that this idea could be profitable. Although after talking with people he found that his idea needs to be more appealing to people to want them to put it into their homes. After much redesign, Gabe and his fellow students were able to make a fashionable design to put into your home and from there Grove Labs was created.
Gabe took the idea of gardening and found a problem that people in certain areas had and was able to create a product to meet those needs. Along with just solving the problem and using the left side of his brain after talking with fellow students, he found that the idea does not only need to perform but be appealing to the customers more. Here we see Gabe had to exercise the right side of his brain and open up to the idea of interior designing and allowing a product not only to function but to look the part as well. I find Gabe inspirational because he has shown that in the world today to be innovative you cannot just have something that works it needs to work and appeal to customers. He shows how a young entrepreneur needs to be able to adapt and learn new things to allow his idea to grow and flourish.