Long before I understood entrepreneurship, I was already doing it.<\/p>\n
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At 7 years old, I was taking things from around my house and selling them to neighbors and friends. It was simple, but I loved the process. I was always selling something.<\/p>\n
By 9, after getting my first iPad, that instinct turned into creation. I taught myself how to build social media<\/a> pages, experimenting with content and learning how to capture attention. I did not think of it as marketing. I just enjoyed building.<\/p>\n Then, in March 2020, everything changed. I was in sixth grade when I found out we would be home for what was supposed to be five weeks because of COVID. Instead of wasting that time, I decided to use it. I started researching business ideas<\/a>.<\/p>\n That’s when I created my apparel business<\/a>. Although it was successful, I realized I still had a lot left to learn when I applied to colleges.<\/p>\n I built a six-figure business as a teen<\/strong><\/p>\n From my bedroom, I began designing and selling T-shirts, hoodies, and stickers. The designs were beach-inspired, reflecting a lifestyle that felt far from the uncertainty of the world at the time. It became more than a way to make money. It was an outlet. An escape.<\/p>\n At 20, I built my first website and launched what would become Coastal Cool.<\/p>\n With a $500 loan from my parents, which I paid back within my first week of sales, I turned that small idea into something real. I had no team and no investors \u2014 just a laptop and a willingness to figure things out.<\/p>\n Over the next six years, that project grew into a six-figure global brand. My products have been featured on national television and shipped worldwide. Every purchase removes one pound of ocean plastic, turning what started as a bedroom project into a mission-driven company<\/a>.<\/p>\n Through this journey, I have traveled, met incredible people, and inspired others to start building their own ideas.<\/p>\n My childhood was different than most of my peers<\/strong><\/p>\n While most kids were experiencing middle school and high school<\/a> in a traditional way, I was growing up in a different environment. At 13, I was sitting in boardrooms with executives four times my age and in industries I had no experience in.<\/p>\n At the same time, I was still a kid, so high school became a balance between two worlds. While others focused on sports and social plans, I was thinking about strategy, growth, and the next move. I was always working, always thinking.<\/p>\n It was never just about the money. It was about the experience, the people, and the process of building something from nothing. No matter how much I accomplished, I always wanted more. To do more. To see more. To learn more.<\/p>\n But those years are also among the last of my childhood. There were moments when it felt like I had the mindset of someone much older. That became clear during the college application process<\/a>.<\/p>\n