In 2013, at the age of only 13 years old, Rachel Zietz, a varsity high school lacrosse player, discovered the market for quality, durable lacrosse equipment for a less expensive price. After talking to investors she was given $2,700 to start her company. Her line of products is limited to rebounders and practice goals, in other words, she does not sell any personal equipment (pads, sticks, helmets, gloves, etc.). However, she has been very successful.
Her first year she sold $200,000 worth of equipment, and two years later Gladiator Lacrosse had over $1 million in revenue. She has been honored by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s 2015 for being a finalist for their Entrepreneur Award.
Rachel Zietz saw a problem: over-expensive, poor quality practice lacrosse equipment, and she fixed it, redesigning the netting and frames, to ensure durability. Her idea was simple and played into her area of expertise and passion, and fixed something which was an annoyance to many people, which fits perfectly with the entrepreneurship way.
She was young when she started her company, showing that age has no ceiling, (something that her parents who are also entrepreneurs in Florida, have been sure to impress upon her).
Personally, this is a very encouraging story for myself, just showing how youth is not a hindrance to anything, and that combining entrepreneurship and personal passions can have amazing outcomes.
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http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/27/8-young-entrepreneurs-making-serious.html?slide=7
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/print-edition/2015/02/20/how-14-year-old-rachel-zietz-built-a-1-million.html
Thanks for the article, Zach! Good luck with your entrepreneurial endeavors!
This is the ideal example of looking for innovation in things we love. It’s really cool that rachel was able to see the need in lacrosse and no just complain about it, but actually go and try to find a better way. It’s also great to see how she didn’t let her age stop her from starting a great company.
Speaking from experience, lacrosse is an expensive sport in all areas. Equipment and training aids are very expensive and sometimes not durable or hard to set up. She saw a problem and tackled it to create a great business idea that will surely do well as she is offering quality at a lower price.