The entrepreneurial spirit is also built from an early age, and sometimes the most genuine initiatives best reflect the power of an idea when given the space to grow. This is the case of Sophia Clavijo, who at just 16 years old has become one of the youngest entrepreneurs connected to our community, developing a cookie venture that is beginning to gain traction within her school environment.
Her project was born from a simple idea: transforming a personal skill into a small business initiative with its own identity. What makes this story particularly special is that her school chose to support her efforts by allowing her to sell her cookies in the school cafeteria, creating a real space where Sophia can experience entrepreneurship firsthand, interact with customers, and learn about consistency, organization, and value proposition from a very early stage.
Beyond the product itself, this experience represents a valuable example of how educational environments can also become spaces that foster creativity, autonomy, and entrepreneurial thinking in new generations. Every sale, every conversation, and every small step in this process contributes to a hands-on learning journey that strengthens essential skills for the future: initiative, responsibility, vision, and confidence in one’s abilities.
At the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, we celebrate stories like Sophia’s because they reflect the importance of nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset from an early stage and recognizing that new generations are also part of the economic ecosystem we are helping to build.
Supporting young entrepreneurs also means recognizing that tomorrow’s leadership often begins with small projects—yet ones filled with determination, creativity, and purpose.
Sophia represents that new energy that inspires, reminding us that every great business once began with a simple idea and an opportunity to believe in it.
We invite you to discover Sofi Cookieee:
https://www.instagram.com/sofi.cookieee?igsh=MWpyMWo1aTlud29u
