Lots of 13 year old’s in the United States love playing sports, but very few create major changes their respective sport. Perhaps that’s because there’s only one Rachel Zietz, founder and CEO of Gladiator Lacrosse. Back in 2012, this young athlete found herself in a rather difficult position of wanting to improve her skills in lacrosse but lacking quality equipment to do so. The high quality equipment was far too expensive and the more reasonably priced equipment was shabby at best. With no way to improve her skills, Zietz began searching for a way to solve this problem.

The Zietz family can certainly be called an entrepreneurial family. Rachel’s father Sam is the CEO of Touchsuite, her mom Shelia is a cooperate attorney, and even her little brother Jorden is the founder and CEO of GameReef . Enrolled in an entrepreneurial program called YEA!, Rachel never expected to follow in her father’s footsteps and create a legitimate business. However, all that changed when she won the elevator pitch competition. She then ran full speed ahead with her new business plan: Gladiator Lacrosse.

Many people would think twice about investing in and contributing to a 13 year old girl’s company, but Rachel refused to let her age stop her from success. She wrote business plans, collaborated with professional sports designers and lacrosse players to create designs for her products, figured out ways to make high quality equipment at an affordable price, and began the first shipment process. By the time she completed the YEA! program, she was ready to go and armed with a 45 ft box of Gladiator Lacrosse goals and rebounders.

Since then, the business has continued to grow and Rachel became one of the most prominent teenage entrepreneurs in the world. Gladiator Lacrosse is a multi-million dollar business with distribution points both online and in major retail stores such as DICK’S Sporting Goods. It has garnered a lot of attention from business tycoons and professional athletes alike. Casey Powell, Rachel’s lacrosse idol, has partnered with her to create the “Casey Powell Signature Edition” line. The company has continued to produce more and more products with their founding goal constantly in mind: high quality equipment for an affordable price.

Rachel has also gained a lot of publicity and interest thanks to her game-changing business idea. She was recognized by TIME Magazine as one of the Most Influential Teens in 2016, in the company of people like Laurie Hernadez and former President Barack Obama’s two daughters. She’s appeared on season seven of ABC’s Shark Tank, was recognized on multiple occasions by Florida’s Governor Rick Scott in 2016, and even won the Governor’s Young Entrepreneur Award.  She’s been featured in many publications, including the New York Times, USA Today, Forbes Magazine, TIME Magazine, and many more. Furthermore, her equipment earned the bid as the goal provider for the 2018 FIL’s Men’s World Lacrosse Championships.

Today, Rachel continues to produce new products that revolutionize the game of lacrosse. She wants players to have the opportunity to improve their skills with the best equipment possible. She is personally involved in the design and creation of her products, ensuring that they live up to her very high expectations. She continues to step up her game so that other athlete’s and young entrepreneurs can too.

You can hear more about Rachel’s story and Gladiator Lacrosse on her website http://www.gladiatorlacrosse.com/about-us/

See her new developments alongside other young entrepreneurs online at https://medium.com/startup-grind/50-millennial-founders-their-startups-to-watch-in-2018-63b4c82c8b78