Jack Bonneau was eight years old when his business began. Jack was a major fan of Legos and wanted to get a 400 dollar set. But, like most 8 year olds, he did not have the money to buy this. So his dad suggested that he should start a lemonade stand. Instead of a typical lemonade stand in front of his house, they decided to go to the local farmers market. This helped him to learn about working with the farmers market, insurance, building a lemonade stand, how much to charge, supplies, expenses and how to sell. He was very successful and after a few weeks he was able to buy his Lego set. Instead of being satisfied with his success, he wanted to show his business to his friends as well. They all had a good time and this lead to Jack seeing a real business opportunity. He wanted to help other kids who want to operate their own lemonade stand, but don’t have the time, commitment or money to operate one at a farmers market. To help the business grow, he decided to go on Shark Tank to pitch his idea. Jack appeared in Season 8, Episode 8 of Shark Tank, he struck a deal with billionaire investor Chris Sacca and became the youngest boy ever to pitch and make a deal on Shark Tank. After this, his business began to thrive, over 100 kids and their parents worked at Jack’s Stands (total of 4 stands) and they are adding two new stands at the Southwest Plaza Mall Holiday Marketplace for 7 weeks over the holidays. Jack continued to look for new ways to help his business expand, and the newest edition was a new startup company, Teen Hustl. This company would allow teenager’s to deliver meals on their bikes or skateboards. The main mission of this company was to give teenagers the same opportunity that he gave to younger kids.
Jack is inspirational because he always wanted to help others out. He found a way to make a profit for himself, and instead of just focusing on himself he wanted to first help out his friends then help out other children. He goes on to eventually want to help teenagers so that they have the same opportunity. Overall, Jack is a very caring and passionate entrepreneur.
this is a really neat example because it shows how there is no lower age limit to good business ideas. A good venture can come from a kid looking to earn enough to buy a Lego set.
What a great story! Jack truly shows how age is just a number and you can achieve anything you want to do. He also shows real courage by attending the shark tank TV show and it paid off.
I remember seeing Jack’s pitch on Shark Tank! His mission to help other kids understand and start their own businesses is particularly admirable, especially considering that he very well may be training his future competitors
This is such a cool story! It is really cool how he saw lemonade stands in front of house were not very successful, so he was able to notice that there were more people who went to that farmers markets so there he set up shop. This makes his idea super unique and something most kids don’t think of.