"So much for that B-minus.
That's the grade Aaron Greenwald received for a business plan he wrote for an undergraduate class at Washington University. His idea was to launch a line of gluten-free, dairy-free frozen pizzas," according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Less than two years later, his line of Bold Organics pizzas is now being sold nationwide in 1,600 grocery stores — and counting. They can be found in the freezer section in chains such as Dierbergs, Food Lion and Whole Foods as well as small specialty retailers.
Greenwald took a hiatus from school to pursue the business. He expects his New York-based company to reach $2 million in sales by the end of the year, he said.
Not bad for a 21-year-old.
To be sure, he's had help along the way. His "angel investors" — most of them family and friends — have pitched in more than $1 million in startup capital.
And professing to lack culinary skills himself, he teamed up with a spiky-haired chef who is well known around these parts. Eric Brenner was the chef and owner of Moxy, a popular bistro in the Central West End that had a mostly gluten-free menu until it closed in 2010.
More recently, Brenner has worked as a consultant to help revamp the restaurants in Isle of Capri casinos. Now he's moved to New York and come on board full-time with Greenwald as the marketing guy and the "chief culinary officer."