Lemonade Maker

When Mikaila Ulmer was 4 years old, she was stung by bees. “I became terrified of them,” she says. Mikaila’s parents had her learn about bees to overcome her fear. She learned that our food supply relies on bees, but many species are dying out.

That same summer, Mikaila was looking for a way to earn money. She flipped through a cookbook her great-granny had given her and found a recipe for lemonade. Mikaila decided to make and sell that lemonade, but with a special ingredient: honey!

When Mikaila Ulmer was 4 years old, she was stung by bees. “I became terrified of them,” she says. Mikaila’s parents told her to learn about bees. They thought it would make her less afraid. She learned that bees are an important part of growing the food we eat. But many species are dying out.

That same summer, Mikaila was looking for a way to earn money. She flipped through a cookbook her great-granny had given her. In it, she found a recipe for lemonade. Mikaila decided to make and sell that lemonade. But she made it with a special ingredient: honey!

At first, Mikaila sold her lemonade from a stand. She set up her stand in front of her house in Austin, Texas. She donated part of every sale to bee organizations. Mikaila loved running her business. She also loved helping bees. She ran the lemonade stand for a few years. But then she wanted to grow her business. So she went on the TV show Shark Tank. She was 10 years old at the time. On the show, Mikaila won money to help her get started!

Mikaila called her company Me & the Bees. It grew from one lemonade stand to a national drink company that makes millions of dollars. Today Mikaila is studying business. She attends Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She is still chief executive officer. But her parents are helping run the business while she’s at college.

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