This Public High School Teacher Came Up With The $1 Billion Idea While Grading Papers. She's Now Worth $400 Million

Merrilee Kick, a former public high school teacher, has become one of America's richest self-made women after selling her ready-to-drink cocktail business, BuzzBallz, for at least $500 million. What started as a side hustle has now transformed into one of the biggest brands in the $2 billion ready-to-drink cocktail industry.

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Kick founded BuzzBallz in 2009, inspired by a simple idea while grading papers by her pool. “I thought I shouldn’t have this glass container out here,” she recalled to Forbes. “I should have a plastic, pool-safe type of cocktail.” From this spark of inspiration, BuzzBallz was born – fun, high-proof cocktails served in colorful, plastic spherical containers.

BuzzBallz quickly gained popularity and is now sold at supermarkets, liquor stores, and convenience stores across the U.S. "I've been living the American dream. We've built a legacy. We've become a contender in a space where women never went," Kick says. The brand has grown internationally, distributing 29 countries and an estimated annual revenue of $500 million. 

In April 2024, the drinks firm Sazerac acquired BuzzBallz in an all-cash deal estimated at $500 million, though Kick suggests the figure is much higher. It has also cemented her place among America's richest self-made women, with Forbes estimating her net worth at $400 million after taxes.

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Kick's journey is remarkable because she never raised money from investors. Instead, she bootstrapped the business from the ground up. She used a small inheritance, maxed out her credit cards, and took out a loan from a local community bank to get started. "I scraped and scrambled," she says. "I took every bit of every penny I could find and poured it into the business."

Her unique company started making a profit in its second year, with $1 million in sales and $100,000 in profit. By 2014, the brand was expanding quickly, and the drinks were sold at major retailers like Walmart and 7-Eleven. By 2019, annual sales were over $100 million.

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A key to BuzzBallz's success was owning its supply chain as Kick moved production of the patented plastic spheres and the spirits used in BuzzBallz in-house to ensure the brand’s quality and reliability.

Despite many investor offers over the years, Kick held onto her company until she found the right partner in Sazerac. "I wanted somebody that was going to come in and have big guns," she explains. Sazerac, which owns over 400 brands, brought the resources and expertise to scale BuzzBallz further.

As BuzzBallz moves forward, Kick and her family are still part of the business. "I didn’t sell because I didn’t like what I was doing or wanted to leave," she explains. "I sold for the exponential growth and because it’s selfish to hold it back. It really has legs."

From a teacher grading papers by the pool to a multimillionaire businessperson, Merrilee Kick’s story shows the power of a good idea and the determination to make it happen.

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