Episode 8 · Mikaila Ulmer, age 4 — Austin, Texas
The Kid Who Put the Bee In Business
She got stung by a bee twice in one week. Instead of running away, she went into business with them.
13 min listen · ages 5-7
The Kid Who Put the Bee In Business
Summary
When Mikaila Ulmer was four, she was stung by a bee — and then stung again days later. Terrified, she started reading everything she could about bees, and discovered they were in trouble. With her great-grandmother's flaxseed lemonade recipe, a spoonful of local honey and a hand-painted stand in her front yard, she started selling lemonade to help save the bees. That stand became Me & the Bees Lemonade, a Shark Tank deal, and bottles on shelves in stores across America.
The Story
Austin, Texas. Mikaila Ulmer is four years old, playing outside, when a bee stings her. A few days later, another one does it again. She is done with bees forever.
Her parents made her a deal: instead of being afraid, learn about them. So Mikaila read books about honeybees, and what she found surprised her — the bees weren't out to get her. They were in trouble. Whole colonies were disappearing.
Right around then, two things landed on the kitchen table: a children's business competition, and a 1940s cookbook from her great-grandmother Helen with a recipe for flaxseed lemonade.
Mikaila put them together. She made the old family lemonade, sweetened it with local honey instead of plain sugar, and set up a stand in the front yard. Every bottle bought a little help for the bees — she gave part of what she earned to organizations working to protect them.
People kept coming back. The stand grew into farmers' market tables, then a deal with a local pizza shop, then whole-store shelves. Her little brother Jacob helped label bottles. Her family drove the coolers.
At eleven, Mikaila walked onto Shark Tank and pitched her lemonade to a row of investors, explaining bee colony collapse and her margins in the same breath. Daymond John invested $60,000 for a share of the company.
After the show the orders exploded. Me & the Bees ended up in thousands of stores, and Mikaila kept doing the part she started with: teaching kids about bees, speaking about them, and putting money back into saving them.
She has been to the White House, written a book, won a scholarship to Emory University, and joined a national board that helps kids start businesses. All of it began with two bee stings and a decision not to be afraid.
Timeline
Age 4
Mikaila is stung by bees twice in one week — and starts researching them instead of avoiding them.
2009
Using great-grandmother Helen's flaxseed lemonade recipe plus local honey, she opens a front-yard stand for a kids' business competition.
2010–2014
Farmers' markets, a local pizza shop, then real store shelves. Her brother Jacob helps with bottles.
2015
At eleven she pitches on Shark Tank; Daymond John invests $60,000.
2016–2019
Me & the Bees expands to thousands of stores nationwide; Mikaila speaks about bees and youth entrepreneurship.
2020
She publishes a book about her journey and keeps donating a share of profits to bee-protection groups.
2024
Named to the Lemonade Day national board and heads to Emory University on scholarship.
Key Takeaways
- ✓The thing that scares you can become the thing you understand best.
- ✓A good idea can start with something already in your family's kitchen.
- ✓A business can be built to help something bigger than itself.
- ✓Four years old is not too young to start.
Fun Facts
Photos & Field Notes
Sources
Me & the Bees Lemonade, official company history
Mikaila's background, the origins of the company and its mission to help save the bees.
Fox News, Mikaila Ulmer first-person account
Being stung twice, her fear of bees, and the research that changed how she saw them.
CNBC, Mikaila Ulmer / Shark Tank coverage
The Shark Tank appearance, the Daymond John investment and the company's growth after the show.
Shark Tank Blog / Shark Tank Companies
The pitch itself and the deal terms presented on the show.
New Hope Network, Delicious Living and The Shelby Report
Trademark, investment and retail expansion reporting.
StyleBlueprint (2025), Mikaila Ulmer profile
Childhood details — chores, the family garden, butterfly habitat and chickens.
The Legacy Lab, Mikaila Ulmer interview
Additional biography and her brother Jacob's involvement.
Lemonade Day National / BusinessWire (October 2024)
The Emory University scholarship and her appointment to the Lemonade Day national board.
Transcript
HostAustin, Texas. A four-year-old gets stung by a bee. Then, a few days later, it happens again.
MikailaI was so scared of bees. So my parents told me to learn about them.
HostWhat she learned was that the bees were the ones in trouble. So she got out her great-grandmother's lemonade recipe.
HostSeven years later she's on national television, explaining colony collapse to a room full of investors.
Full transcript continues in the show notes.
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