Not Just Raking In Cookie Dough

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Pledging a fraternity takes a lot of time, so when USC freshmen Barak Federman and Alex Evans-Pfeiffer finally joined Lambda Chi Alpha at the end of last semester, they could turn their attention elsewhere. So they came up with an idea to start Kuki Squared.

“We decided very quickly: What better way to dedicate our time than to business and philanthropy?” said Kuki Squared co-founder Federman.

Their company follows the often-replicated business model of Toms shoes. Every time a customer buys a cookie, it donates one to an underprivileged child.

The 19-year-olds launched Kuki with their own money. Evans-Pfeiffer, from the San Diego area, had some earnings from an internship and he’d also been saving his birthday cash over the years. Federman contributed some profits from a recycling company he’d already started in his hometown of Oklahoma City and also used his bar mitzvah money. They buy the cookies come from a bakery in the San Diego area, mark them up and then sell them online and at shops from there to Orange County.

A six-pack costs $13.99 while a 12-pack in a tin costs $29.99. That’s more expensive than most store-bought cookies, but Federman considers the philanthropy added value.

“People aren’t buying six Kukis, they’re buying 12 smiles,” he said.

They acknowledged that sometimes people don’t take them seriously because of their youth.

“Any negativity or stereotypes of others only fueled our drive to succeed,” said Evans-Pfeiffer.

Now that they’ve replaced pledging with running a business, juggling their courses at Marshall School of Business, their social lives have become tough again.

“The simple time crunch that is inevitable with college entrepreneurship proves a challenge we face every day,” said Federman.

– Funmi Akinyode

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