SCRANTON, Pa. — Jaylin Lounds and Kaylee Sinkaus are third graders at Neil Armstrong Elementary School in Scranton, but they are also entrepreneurs who have created their own skin care products.
The girls say they were inspired by social media to make a more affordable option to some of the popular but expensive ones sold in beauty stores.
"Our shop is really cheap. And some products are inspired by some Sephora products, made by hand and it's all vegan," Jaylin said.
"It feels good when you put it on," Kaylee said.
The girls got an opportunity to pitch their products Shark Tank-style to a panel of school board members and administrators. The hope was to get their approval to sell some of the products to their fellow students.
"This is great to see this. The kids are doing this. I'm so thrilled to see the children are doing this, especially young girls. You don't get this," said Marie Merkel, a member of the Scranton School Board.
The panelists were also able to give the girls feedback on their products.
Board member Katie Gilmartin co-owns Nada & Co., a boutique that sells unique items. She had some pointers for the students.
"Branding is important, and you know you want to make sure that your image is consistent and that people know your product from someone else's product. And I hope they'll take some of those suggestions and think about them," Gilmartin said.
All three panelists gave the project the go-ahead, and the girls made their first sale.
Jaylin has big aspirations for her future.
"I wanted to be a business owner when I grow up so I can make a lot of money and we can live somewhere really cool like Florida."
The girls are hoping to start selling their products at the school soon.