Cassie Marks (14) – MADE Competition Competitor and UCM Business Camp graduate.
Not all cupcake recipes are public. Cassie Marks’ sure aren’t. This 14 year old Warrensburg, Missouri student has developed a secret concoction for the sweetest form of entrepreneurship you can find: home-made, customized cupcakes. During the “Entrepreneurship or Bust Business Camp” hosted by the Small Business Technology and Development Center on the campus of the University of Central Missouri, Marks had the opportunity to explore what entrepreneurship looks, sounds, and smells like. To her, it was the sight of frosting, the sound of the oven timer, and the smell of warm batter baking in an oven to make fresh cupcakes. How did she find this spirit? “My entrepreneurial idea,” explains Marks, “became possible with support from my friends, family, and mentors.”
Better with Icing, Marks’ start-up idea will be competing against 14+ other students in a state-wide entrepreneurship competition held at the Missouri State Fair on August 12th. The MADE in Missouri Entrepreneurship Competition coordinated by the Missouri Valley Community Action Agency is set to cultivate entrepreneurship across Missouri by hosting this competition that provides Seed Funding for the top three winners in both the Youth and Open (adult) categories.
Marks seeks to add more critical acclaim to her idea by winning the competition. If she succeeds it will add to her collection. Marks was the “Best Public Pitch” winner at the Entrepreneurship or Bust Business Camp.
“I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I noticed that some companies have moral standings that I do not agree with.” says Marks who goes on to explain that, “The biggest problem for Always Better with Icing will probably be finding a way to find a stake in the market, especially when competing with big brands.”
If you intend to be at the State Fair this year in Sedalia, Missouri make sure you stop by the Lowell Mohler Assembly Hall and visit Marks at her exhibit booth to learn more about her idea. “I know that I worked and gave it my all, and to me, that is enough. For me,” states Marks, “I know that my business will be a success because I have what it takes. And so does my business. That is why Always Better with Icing will be a success, not only to me, but to everyone else as well.”
Tycoon Talk 