Youthful creativity, energy, ideas, hard work, and a stroke of good luck—these seem to be the factors that propel young entrepreneurs on their paths to founding successful businesses. We searched the Susquehanna Valley and found the youthful entrepreneurial spirit alive and well! Here are the stories of three businesses founded by young people—a 9-year-old Lancaster County boy following in the footsteps of his entrepreneurial parents, a “herd” of Gettysburg teens and 20-somethings making their own mark on history by showcasing today’s pop culture, and a popular Harrisburg coffee shop owner who began brewing up her business when she was 26.
It’s All in the Name: Elementary Coffee Co.
Photography by Amanda Lead Photography
Andrea Grove has a childhood memory of her first sips of coffee.
“We would visit friends of my parents from Mexico, and they always made a strong pot of coffee,” says Grove, 31, who grew up on a Shippensburg dairy farm.
“I was 6 or 7 years old, and they would give me a small cup, three or four ounces, with cream and sugar in it. And I thought it was the best thing,” Grove remembers.
Now that she’s founded Elementary Coffee Co., Harrisburg, Grove looks back on that memory and understands how coffee can bring people together.
“I was very shy growing up. To sit among the adults and be noticed and included—which coffee does—was very special,” Grove says.
Fast-forward to her college years: Grove graduated from Messiah College with an English degree, took a part-time job at an area brewery, then began working at Linglestown’s St. Thomas Roasters. She quickly worked her way up to manager and became “fascinated” by the coffee roasting process.
“It’s very sensory—you’re constantly tasting, touching, and smelling the beans, pulling samples to pinpoint the change from a green, earthly smell to one that’s like baked bread. It’s a chemical reaction with caramelization and an auditory aspect at the end—a popping from the first crack to the second crack,” says Grove. Sourcing and roasting coffee beans from the world’s three main growing regions (Africa, Central America, and Asia) is “like a treasure hunt.”
In November of 2014, at the age of 26, Grove launched Elementary Coffee Co. at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market, where she still maintains a stand Thursday through Saturday. She’s also preparing to launch a brick-and-mortar location at 256 North Street, Harrisburg, because “people want to drink coffee every day.”
One of Grove’s first concoctions was the Abacus, inspired by Turkish coffee with the natural flavors of cardamom and maple syrup.
“My goal is always to highlight the beauty and taste of coffee…there’s a false hipster experience at so many coffee shops today, but we are genuine,” Grove says. The market provided the perfect incubator for her business, she says, as it allowed her to grow a specialty coffee menu and form relationships with customers.
She’s also formed strategic partnerships, featuring Hershey’s Calicutt’s Spice Co. products in her handcrafted coffees, Harrisburg’s Frederic Loraschi Chocolate in her hot chocolate, Lancaster’s Harvest Moon Bagels, and East Berlin’s Apple Valley Creamery products.
“As a former dairy farmer, this was very important to me,” says Grove, whose work ethic developed from milking cows and earning wages around the age of 9 or 10.
“Coffee is an agricultural product, controlled by certain elements,” says Grove.
Which brings up the name of her business.
“The coffee roasting process uses elements of earth, fire, air, water—all the elements coming together,” Grove says. “There’s also a community feeling—we’re all learning, we all go to elementary school.”
Her advice to other young people starting a business is to “go for it. People get excited about seeing a young person open their own business, so communicate your vision. There’s a lot of help out there, and always continue to learn.”
So how much coffee does she personally drink? “I actually don’t drink all that much—one per day, sometimes two.” She admits, “I can get over-caffeinated very easily.”
Broad Street Market,Harrisburg 1233 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg
256 North St., Harrisburg (projected opening in June)
Ahead of the Game: Nerd Herd Gifts & Games
Photography by Jeremy Hess
Behind the landmark life-sized chess set on Gettysburg’s York Street (Rt. 30) is the teen-powered business Nerd Herd Gifts & Games.
The unique shop opened three years ago, founded by teens given a remarkable opportunity by Gettysburg business owner Timbrel Wallace of Lark: A Modern Marketplace. She offered a business incubator to her son and his friends, including retail space and mentorship.
Embracing their self-described nerd status, the teens focused on games and pop-culture merchandise, their business initially funded with seed money provided by Lark. Today, The Nerd Herd’s profits pay the teens’ wages and are reinvested in inventory.
“I jokingly call my friends nerds,” says Daniel Kowalski, 17. “We have passion but we also have a solid opportunity as an FLGS—Friendly Local Game Store.” He’s worked at The Nerd Herd for about a year.
“Everybody here loved games; we all bonded over them and the branding of the word nerd,” says Emma Sanders, 18, a two-year shop employee. Both she and Kowalski are seniors at Gettysburg High School.
The shop’s slogan, “Because everybody’s a nerd about something,” is painted in orange lettering behind the counter, quoting the teens’ middle school science teacher.
The Nerd Herd stocks more than 100 games, from games of strategy (Kowalski’s specialty—he’s the resident chess expert) to social party games (Sanders’ cup of tea), plus cooperative games.
“They’re games where you’re working together to solve a mystery, for example, or find cures to diseases like the game Pandemic,” says Mara Smeltzer, 20, a sophomore at Gettysburg College. “I’m a studio art major definitely considering illustrative work, perhaps for games. Being able to have hands-on experience with what makes a game appealing is great.”
The Nerd Herd also stocks colorful socks, pins, magnets, and fun tactile products like Slime and Silly Putty. Some products are classified into the shop’s Left Brain and Right Brain areas. There’s space for game testing and competitions in The Game Vault.
Ticket to Ride is 15-year-old Sam Rodgers’ favorite game. Players compete by trying to make the most connections between the gameboard’s cities with their railways.
Meantime, the teens are making valuable connections of their own. They work together to research and select products, develop displays, track sales, plan events, assign work schedules, and interact with customers.
“You have to be good with coming up with information on the spot,” says Rodgers, a Gettysburg High School sophomore.
“They have to work harder than if they worked as a cashier somewhere, but the reward is greater,” says Wallace.
One adult worker, mother of three Lea Haskins, staffs the shop during school hours. Haskins’ daughter is one of the original nerds. She says working with teens helps her stay young at heart.
“They’re so much more open and willing to try different things. Their imagination is fantastic, so we try to let them explore their own thought process, unless we see another option.”
Wallace, her husband Scott, and Haskins join the teens for monthly staff meetings where ideas and guidance flow.
“We plan on going as long as the kids are learning and growing, and it’s a positive experience,” says Wallace.
Twelve teens have worked at The Nerd Herd through the years; some of the college-age nerds will return to the shop this summer.
“They’re going to be ready for the corporate world and able to step up to the plate in different settings,” Wallace says. “They think it’s about board games and retail, but it’s more about the other skills. The biggest one is communication…that’s the biggest area of growth that the kids can use anywhere they go.”
10 York St., Gettysburg
It All Started with a Seed: Bud’s Outfitters
Photography by Jen Foster
Ethan “Bud” Lawrie hatched a plan when he was just 7 years old. He asked his parents if he could pick up “tons” of pinecones from their Conestoga, Lancaster County, yard and make something with them. He loaded the pinecones—pine tree seeds—into his sled, pulled them into the family’s workshop, and let an idea take root.
“I came up with the idea of fire starters,” says Lawrie, now 9. He describes the process of baking the pinecones (“to get the sap and bugs out”), wrapping them with string, and dipping them in wax upcycled from old candles. The string acts as a wick, and “the wax makes it look cool and helps the fire start” in fireplaces, wood stoves, or outdoor campfires, Lawrie says.
He was motivated to earn “rabbit money” so that he could buy a pet rabbit and all the supplies it would need, such as food.
“He already had a plan,” says dad Zadok Leggett. “We had just gotten a dog, so he had the idea to pay for a rabbit, then he wanted chickens. The dollars started overflowing in mason jars, so he started his own bank account.”
Mom Mandy Leggett says, “My first concern was we can’t violate labor laws, so we consulted our accountant and found he could work as a subsidiary of our business. The first year he made just under $600; last year he grossed around $1,700.”
Entrepreneurship runs in the family—the Leggetts founded Chapel Hill Forge in 2016 as a full-time business, showcasing Zad’s blacksmithing and carving skills, Mandy’s jewelry, and the family’s flair for upcycled products. Chapel Hill Forge products are available on Etsy, at craft shows, and at festivals.
Using the business name Bud’s Outfitters, Bud has since sold thousands of fire starters and branched out into additional products, including marshmallow shooters constructed from PVC pipes and his latest creation—hand-sewn owls.
Bud, who is home-schooled by his mother and grandmother, says his “maw maw” taught him how to sew little felt owls as a school project. “My mom posted a picture of the owls on Facebook and everybody basically lost their minds, and people started ordering them. I wasn’t really going to sell them,” Bud says with a laugh. But the orders are pouring in, providing a lesson in “meeting market demand.”
His sales, including calculating sales tax, provide many of his 4th grade math lessons.
Today, Bud is the proud owner of Daisy the rabbit and eight chickens that contribute eggs to the family’s meals. He’s treated himself to a few Lego sets and a calculator made of bamboo that he calls “slick,” but mostly he’s saving his hard-earned dollars to buy a truck once he’s old enough to drive. While the Leggetts are proud of their son’s success, they’re even prouder of his character.
“He’s always been very compassionate,” Mandy says. “He said things like, ‘I want to pay for this on my own since you already pay for so much,’ starting at 7 years old. He has a really unique childhood in that he has mom and dad all the time, with our business at home. We get to do it as a family…it’s a lifestyle of learning.”
Lawrie’s advice to other budding entrepreneurs? “My first tip is, ‘Don’t be shy. Say hi, and maybe they’ll buy one of your products,’” he says.
Bud’s Outfitters, available in Chapel Hill Forge’s Etsy shop:
