Mikail Ulmer is a 17-year-old social entrepreneur, bee ambassador, student, and author. She is the CEO of Me & Bees Lemonade that gives out a portion of its revenue to the bee conservation industry.
Mikail Ulmer started competing in business when she was in kindergarten. She has expanded her brand through TV appearances in big shows like Shark Tank for almost ten years. Her company’s headquarters are in Austin, Texas. Almost 40 states consume Lemonade, which has more than 1500 grocery stores.
I was four years old when I got my first injury from a bee sting. That day was full of drama. I couldn’t understand how the small animal could cause such a big bruise. I remember the pool of friends we were playing with at my neighbor’s party very well. We were very happy, dancing to every type of music we heard, then something hit my face. Then, I responded by hitting the animal, and it got stuck on my neck for a few seconds.
I cried at the moment until all my family members arrived. My neck was burning. The large aloe of plants in our neighborhood was the source of this stinging animal. My father tore a single aloe leaf and told me to hold it against my neck. I obeyed the instruction for almost 3 hours.
While on a family cookout, another bee hammered my neck a few weeks later. The sting on my ear made it large. One could tell my eyes were not balanced. It taught me to stay indoors. I became an introvert, a behavior that I didn’t have.
This time I wanted to avoid any interaction with the external environment. I even got scared of flying insects. My family members started complaining about my behavior. Finally, my parents had to talk to me about the issue. ‘Mikailaa Ulmer, if you make a decision to hate bees, it’s okay. But you must go out and be happy with our mother nature. Come out and get more knowledge about bees.’ The following week I spent hours studying bees.
Instead of sitting indoors, I decided to spend my days in Twin Oaks Library. It was a cool place. But, unfortunately, our climate was full of heat. So every Monday, my parents had to take me to the library. My mother recently told me I was scared whenever a flying insect passed near me.
I had many questions that needed some quick answers. My appreciation goes to all my kindergarten teachers because I knew how to write and read at a tender age. This provided an edge for capturing much information.
Parsing through many books to find the required information was my behavior. My mother helped me borrow some books. I explored as many topics as possible. A single book took me three days to clear. This time I only focused on bees’ books.
I was only 4.5 years old, so I could not grasp complex content. However, the few pictures on various pages gave me a hint. To add to that, I investigated bee pollination using YouTube videos. I realized that bees played a major role in our final agricultural products like fruits and vegetables.
For some reason, I could tell why those bees were a little scary. But unfortunately, the lifespan of a bee is very short, and they are dying at a higher rate. So I started brainstorming on anything I could do to save them.
Without my knowledge, I was making great steps in the world of business. That is: identifying a problem in society, researching it, and finding the right solution. Getting to know something you are passionate about at a younger age can be sweet. But, if you are not passionate about something, it will be boring.
So through the help of my parents, I set up a company to manufacture products through honey. Me & Bees Lemonade have grown fast. We have a team of hardworking employees. Furthermore, some family members are always there to ensure I am taking the right direction. I believe we shall hit the billion market revenue in the coming five years.
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