Valley Stream teen entrepreneur meets Obama
President Barack Obama meets Nia Froome, of Valley Stream, and other youthful entrepreneurs in the Oval Office. Froome, second from left, was crowned champion of the 2010 Oppenheimer Funds / NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. She and the runners-up visited the president Tuesday afternoon. (Oct. 12, 2010) Credit: Handout
Nia Froome, of Valley Stream, met with President Barack Obama, Tuesday, after being named the grand prize winner of a youth entrepreneurship contest for her vegan bakery plan.
Froome, 17, won $10,000 this month for her Mamma Nia’s Vegan Bakery, an online business she launched last year after being inspired by her mother, who gave up meat when she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago and is now in remission.
The senior at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn beat out 28 finalists in the Oppenheimer Funds-NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
She and three runners-up met with Obama Tuesday afternoon in the White House Oval Office.
"Business has been crazy so far, mostly due to word-of-mouth," said Froome, 17, who succeeded at local and regional levels to reach the Oct. 5 nationals. "I was mostly shocked to win."
Froome currently bakes vegan items ranging from cookies to cinnamon rolls in her parent's kitchen and each week fills about five orders, each typically for a dozen baked goods. She plans to relocate to a commercial kitchen this winter.
In the challenge, Froome presented a business plan and free samples to judges. She plans to donate part of her winnings to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a nonprofit that supports breast cancer research.
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