10-year-old Mikaila Ulmer earns $60K investment for lemonade business
theGRIO REPORT - A 10-year-old's lemonade business just got a whole lot bigger. Last week, Mikaila Ulmer went on ABC's Shark Tank to present her new line of lemonade...
AÂ 10-year-old’s lemonade business just got a whole lot bigger.
Last week, Mikaila Ulmer went on ABC’s Shark Tank to present her new line of lemonade, called ‘BeeSweet.’ One of the hit show’s judges, FUBU CEO Daymond John, was so impressed with Ulmer’s pitch that he decided to invest $60,000 and a 25 percent stake in her enterprise.
Just like that.
“Partnering with Mikaila made perfect sense,” John said, according to Black Enterprise. “She’s a great kid with a head for business and branding. She’s got a great idea, and I’m happy to help take BeeSweet to the next level,” John said.
Mikaila got the idea for the business when she was just four-years-old and was stung twice by bees, reports the New Pittsburgh Courier.
Watch 10-year-old Mikaila Ulmer describe her budding lemonade business:
“I didn’t enjoy the bee stings at all,” the Austin, Texas native says on her official website. “They scared me. But then something strange happened. I became fascinated with bees. I learned all about what they do for me and our ecosystem.”
But as Mikaila researched, she discovered that bees were edging close to endangered territory, so she decided to use local honey in her lemonade recipe. Adapting the recipe from a 1940s cookbook, she set to work using local bees’ honey and becoming an advocate for the little stingers in the process.
Currently, Mikaila’s lemonade line is available in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana Whole Foods an on her website, though we expect to see it begin to grow nationwide after her Shark Tank appearance!
