By Brandyn Huynh
One of the few good things that have come from the COVID-19 pandemic is the great deal of inspiration that student entrepreneurs have gained. With the quarantine becoming the new norm, students at MHS have come up with creative ways to stay busy. Starting a company is one of the ways that students have found relief.
Karrington Kenney is a senior at MHS and founder of the KBK Company, a business that specializes in vegan and cruelty-free skincare products. Kenney found inspiration by the circumstance she found herself in during the pandemic. “I’ve always known at some point in my life I’d like to start my own business, and with the coronavirus clearing my schedule, it just made me think that it was the perfect time to get started,” Kenney said in a Zoom interview.
Kenney sells homemade whipped body butters that are all vegan and cruelty-free. She said she attributes her success to the hard work she put in before launching her business. “I did all the research, designs, and saved money from my previous summer jobs to pay for everything I have now,” she said. Inspired by circumstance and the work she’s put in, Kenney successfully launched her business and, in the first six weeks, made “over a thousand dollars in profit,” Kenney said.
Senior Lynn Nguyen also founded her own business, Culynnary, which specializes in homemade baked goods and desserts. “There was this one night where I actually could not sleep, and of course, 4-a.m.Lynn wanted to bake,” Nguyen said over a Zoom interview. “I went down to the kitchen and filmed myself making Bánh Bò, which is a Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake.” From that moment on, Nguyen said her friends saw her videos and demanded that she start selling baked goods.
Nguyen said she attributes her success to her passion for baking. “My love for baking has kept me going, and it’s definitely the reason why Culynnary exists,” she said. Culynnary has successfully launched with “over $500 made in sales,” with the “biggest seller” being the acclaimed “bánh bó,” or honeycomb cake, Nguyen said.
Despite the challenges students have faced due to COVID-19 this past year, some continue to push forward by releasing products to the public. The growth of smaller businesses that have risen from this pandemic is a silver lining to a scary and unprecedented time.