Elias Majid is working toward a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition & Food Science at Wayne State University this fall, but the young man isn’t waiting for someone to hire him out of college. He is taking matters into his own hands with his own company,
Eli Tea.
“I decided to create my own job and start this company,” Majid says.
Eli Tea is the product of Majid’s work with the
Blackstone LaunchPad program at Wayne State University. The program helps students jump start their own business with free training, consulting services and sometimes seed capital. Eli Tea is one of the fortunate companies to score a few thousand dollars in seed capital from the program’s Warrior Fund.
Eli Tea makes its own organic teas in Detroit. It launched its first tea 10 months ago and now has 30 selections to choose from, including Traverse City Cherry Festival Tea which is available at
Always Brewing Detroit coffee house in Grandmont Rosedale. That tea is made up of Traverse City cherries, hibiscus, rose and sunflower oil. Majid is working to create an American-style brand of tea with Eli Tea.
Majid is leveraging the Warrior Fund seed capital into making Eli Tea’s products available in more retail spaces later this year. “It (Blackstone LaunchPad) has been great at advancing my business and helping me get my product out and understanding my balance sheets,” Majis says. “It’s helping me scale up.”
Source: Elias Majid, owner of Eli Tea
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.