Child LABOR of ♥
RYAN KELLY
Ry’s Ruffery
A
s the founder and CEO of Ry’s Ruffery (rysruffery.com), 13-year-old Ryan Kelly is a successful kidpreneur whose dog treats are sold at PetSmart, Target and major retail stores across the country. Ryan, who lives in Stamford, Conn., started his business three years ago after his family adopted a beagle they named Barkley. When Ryan opened some store-bought dog treats for his new pet, the tidbits smelled awful. “Even Barkley didn’t like them,” he says. That’s when Ryan decided to try making his own all-natural dog treats. Today, the ambitious seventh-grader has turned his idea for a better dog biscuit into a prosperous business with projected sales of six figures this year, says mom Daniela Kelly. “The Internet has changed the game. Anybody can become a global company overnight,’’ says Jack E. Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA, which fosters entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills among K-12 students. Ryan says he read several dog food
54 BACK TO SCHOOL | FALL 2015
recipe books and asked a neighbor who is a veterinarian about the kinds of healthy foods dogs like.Then he headed to the family kitchen to mix up test batches of treats made with dog-licious foods such as cheese, peanut butter, pumpkin and blueberries. The treats were a hit with Barkley — and with other dogs in the neighborhood. Soon, people were calling Ryan’s mother to see where they could buy them. An impressed neighbor called ABC’s Shark Tank to get Ryan on the show in May 2013. On Shark Tank, which features product pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs to a panel of potential investors, Ryan made a deal with New York entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran for $25,000 in exchange for 25 percent of his business. Corcoran helped Ryan craft a new logo for the treats depicting Ryan and Barkley and assisted in redesigning his website. After the show aired, Ryan’s business skyrocketed. “It’s been absolutely life-changing,” says Kelly, who helps manage the business while Ryan is in school.
COURTESY OF RY’S RUFFERY; JERALD COUNCIL
Age: 13 | Stamford, Conn.