DAVIE, Fla. – Business-minded students from NSU University School in Davie gathered Tuesday to hear from entrepreneur and fellow teen Mikaila Ulmer.
The 18-year-old turned saving bees into her lucrative full time job with her product, Me & the Bees Lemonade.
“I learned through picture books and videos that bees are important pollinators and dying at an alarming rate, so this was my kindergarten-minded-way of saving the bees,” Ulmer said.
Ulmer, who is from Austin, Texas, eventually began creating and selling lemonade from home as a little girl and decided to tweak her grandma’s recipe by adding honey.
“Each flavor is sweetened by honey and inspired by my great granny’s 1940s cookbook, and each sale saves a bee,” she said.
At age 10, Ulmer and her father appeared on Shark Tank, where she earned a $60,000 investment from Daymond John.
Tuesday’s University School audience included some students with businesses of their own.
“It’s an RFID phone wallet that’s part of a travel bundle, which also includes a camera cover and a really cool cleaning tool,” Lily Miller, student and CEO of ProFin Technologies, explained to Local 10 as she showed off her product.
The ProFin Tech team was eager to share their ideas with Ulmer and learn from the young founder and CEO.
“My biggest takeaway was to not lose hope in your product,” said student and CMO of ProFin Technologies Luke Salman.
Added Ulmer: “I see nothing but bright things from them.”
Me & the Bees Lemonade is sold locally at Target, Fresh Market, Whole Foods, and Publix, as well as other retailers nationwide.