A 10 Year Old Mogul Teaches Others how to ‘BeeSweet’

CBS News June 10, 2015,

Not many people can hold their own against the big dogs, or “sharks” to be politically correct, on the show Shark Tank. They rarely have sympathy for the old and young, and hold nothing back if you come in unprepared. Luckily, one little girl impressed the sharks with her sweet sweet lemonade. She realized she can go further with honey, rather than vinegar.

We’re talking about Austin, Texas native Mikaila Ulmer, who is only 10 years old and the founder of BeeSweet Lemonade. At the early age of four, Ulmer had big plans to be involved in the Action Children’s Business Fair and Austin Lemonade Day.

Mikaila

She was stung twice by bees and instead of complaining, her parents encouraged her to research why honeybees were critical to the ecosystem. And it started from there.

Soon after, her great grandmother Helen mailed Mikaila a 1940s cookbook containing her flax seed lemonade recipe. Mikaila was then inspired to make something that would help honeybees and use her great grandmother’s delicious recipe. Out of that, BeeSweet Lemonade was born.

Mikaila’s recipe is unique from other lemonade recipes because instead of using lots of sugars, she sweetens every batch with honey from local bees. She has started selling BeeSweet Lemonade at youth entrepreneurial events across the country, and a portion of the profits are donated to organizations fighting the preservation of honeybees.




BeeSweet

Shark Tank investor Daymond John was touched by Mikaila’s story, and the former FUBU CEO invested $60,000 for a 25% stake in the lemonade company. John is working closely with Ulmer as her mentor and is helping to expand her professional network.

“Partnering with Mikaila made perfect sense. 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.” – Dame Johnson

The investment will allow BeeSweet Lemonade to make larger batches of the lemonade and meet customer demands.

“I’m so excited to have someone with as much experience as Daymond on my team. This is a great opportunity to have more people try my lemonade and save even more bees.” – Mikaila Ulmer

Order Mikaila’s BeeSweet Lemonade here:http://beesweetlemonade.com/
She has a number of flavors and includes recipes as well. BeeSweet Lemonade is also available at multiple Whole Foods and other grocers.

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