Teen CEOs and 'baking geniuses' hope to inspire other young entrepreneurs
At the tender ages of 12 and 13, Nigel and Shane Mushambi of Houston, Texas are already busy businessmen. The two boys are the founders of 2 Bros in the Kitchen — a business that caters cupcakes, cake jars, cake pops and custom treats for any occasion. With the help of their family and community, the boys have been able to balance out orders, school assignments and charity work.
While their business has recently garnered attention on social media and local news — even earning them a spot on Good Morning America — Nigel and Shane aren’t new to the art of baking. Nigel tells Yahoo Lifestyle that they initially started baking at home around the ages of 3 and 4-years-old.
“Me and my brother were baking before we could reach the counter,” Shane told WLS Chicago.
Encouraged by early fans of their baking, they decided to put their talents to the test by participating in an annual baking competition and fundraiser “Cook Off for Camp” hosted by their local church. Owing, the boys say, to their grandma’s “secret recipe for filling,” they ultimately won.
After three consecutive wins — and countless rave reviews — the boys transformed their hobby into a lucrative opportunity.
Even though they only started last year, the two already boast a corporate client list and have been endorsed by many professional groups. The brothers tell Yahoo Lifestyle that they get a lot of local support. “Ironically,” Nigel says, “our dentist’s office, just called us today,” in regards to the most recent orders.
As shown from the photos posted to their nearly 2000-follower Instagram, their designs and flavors can range anywhere from classic to complex. The brothers share with Yahoo that although, “vanilla cupcakes are [their] best-sellers, [their] specialty is coffee cupcakes.” They say baking has taught them a lot, but now they are sharing those lessons with the masses.
Shane and Nigel have recently co-written a book called Beyond the Kitchen through which they share their greatest mishaps experienced while creating masterpieces. The cover features an illustration of the boys mixing ingredients in the kitchen, but the fine details make it special. The jars in the background are labeled with the boys’ “ingredients to success” — including work ethic, honesty and giving back.
Ultimately, they’ve credited their family for breathing life into their dreams, which they alluded to in the introduction. “To Mom for having our backs... [and] to Dad for all the late-night runs to get ingredients,” it reads. “To Aunt Tina for being our biggest cheerleader... [and] Grandma Carrie for inspiring us to start baking.”
According to the boys, business is booming, but they have more than just cake on their plates. As young philanthropists, the boys have used their own money to supply food and toys for both the hospitalized and homeless since they were under 5-years-old, donating over 200 meals to the homeless and toys to kids in hospital. Their mom tells Yahoo Lifestyle, “they’ve been giving to the needy for a long time.”
With almost every chapter of the book named after a lesson they've learned thus far, their book seeks to inspire young entrepreneurs nationwide and serves as a framework for young business owners on the rise. So far, it has reached 35 states and they’ve already self-published a bonus book using their savings.
That book, titled Edible Thoughts, is a compilation of “words of wisdom” by almost 30 black entrepreneurs under the age of 18 — the youngest of which is seven. Yahoo asked the brothers if they had any advice for children looking to start a business to which Nigel replied, “you don’t have to be perfect to be successful.”
As if that were not enough, Shane is already enrolled in college courses. But even with their heavy workload, the boys manage to balance it all out — even fitting in time for fun. During camp this summer, they participated in bean bag fights, basketball and archery amongst other activities. Their mother shared with Yahoo that the next step for 2 Bros is to start “making videos that will teach complex math topics in a fun way.”
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