This story is an amazing example of why persistence is so important when launching and building a start-up. When Jen Perez (center below) was a student at the Art Institute of California – San Diego, she had a little family secret: a great recipe on how to make great toffee. Jen was in a design entrepreneur course that I taught; where students had to design a website for a business. So she took the opportunity to create a website for a product her family was about to launch.

Because both of her parents were diagnosed with cancer, this product’s success became a lifeline for her and her entire family.

Both of her parents suddenly became ill and the family which included 3 college age siblings, suddenly had severely decreased resources. Jen was determined to start a family business to support herself, her siblings and her parents. It started off as an immediate success with orders pouring in from corporate accounts. It was certain that the recipe was a hit and she continued to do research and development to broaden the line of products.