FORBES: How This Detroit Entrepreneur Went From Selling Tea Out Of Her Car To Shelves In Stores Nationwide

Nailah Ellis-Brown, founder of Ellis Island Tea, landed the deal of a lifetime thanks to a chance meeting at the 2017 Forbes Under 30 conference in Israel. But only someone like Nailah could take a conversation on a bus in Israel to the boardroom of Sam’s Club leading to a regional deal and ultimately ending in a nationwide distribution deal.

It was fellow Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Om Marwah the (former) Global Head of Behavioral Science and Director of Innovation at Walmart and Sam’s Club who opened the door but the rest was up to Nailah. The key ingredients to making this deal happen was a unique combination of persistence and vulnerability.