My mom says I came out of the womb asking questions. Why does this work? How do you make that? Can I try?
So when I was nine years old and I tasted the best popcorn of my life — warm, buttery, perfectly crunchy — the first thing I thought wasn't this is delicious. It was: how do I make this myself?
The Walk That Taught Me Everything
Every week, I walked to the store to buy popcorn. Every single week. It didn't matter what was going on — I was going.
It became my thing. My routine. My favorite day of the week.
But somewhere along the way, the walk changed. I stopped just going to buy. I started paying attention. How was the popcorn packaged? What flavors did they carry? Why was one bag GHS 12 and another GHS 20? Who was buying it? What were they reaching for first?
I didn't know it at the time, but I was doing market research. On foot. Every week. At age nine.
The store didn't know they were teaching me how to run a business. But they were.
I grew up watching my parents work hard. My mom is always building something — organizations, programs, ideas that help people. My dad too. And I used to wonder — when do I get to build something?
I didn't want to wait until I was grown.
The GHS 900 Decision
So when my parents gave me my GHS 900 allowance, I made a decision that surprised everyone, including me.
I didn't spend it. I invested it.
I told my mom I wanted to start a popcorn business. She looked at me for a long time. Then she said, "Okay. Show me your plan."
I didn't have one yet. But I made one.
And here's the thing — I already knew more than I realized. All those walks to the store had taught me what people actually buy, what catches your eye on a shelf, what feels worth the price. I researched where to buy kernels in Accra. I figured out the cost of oil, sugar, butter, and bags. I wrote down every single ingredient I needed and where to find it in the city. I calculated how much each bag would cost me to make, and how much I could sell it for.
GHS 5 to make. GHS 15 to sell. That's called a margin — I learned that word doing this.
20 Bags. One Day. Sold Out.
My first batch was 20 bags.
I was nervous. What if nobody wanted them? What if they tasted wrong? What if I lost all my money and had nothing to show for it?
But I popped the kernels, stirred the caramel, let it cool, filled the bags, sealed them tight — and when I opened that first finished bag and tasted it?
I knew.
I sold all 20 bags in one day.
The Flavor I'm Most Proud Of
The flavor I'm most proud of isn't the Caramel Crunch, even though that's the best seller. It's the Kelewele Crunch.
Kelewele is a Ghanaian street food — fried plantain seasoned with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. It's bold and warm and it tastes like home. I grew up eating it from vendors on the street and I thought — why hasn't anyone put this flavor on popcorn?
So I did.
People try it and their eyes go wide. They weren't expecting it. That's my favorite moment — when someone takes that first bite of Kelewele Crunch and they don't say anything for a second because the flavor caught them off guard.
That's the moment I make this for.
Is It Hard? Here's What I Tell Them.
People ask me if it's hard, running a business at 10.
Here's what I tell them: Everything worth doing is a little hard.
You have to make the popcorn even when you'd rather be playing. You have to count your money carefully. You have to smile and be professional at events even when you're tired. You have to listen when a customer wants something different, and figure out how to give it to them.
But you also get to watch someone reach into a bag and smile. You get to hold money that you earned. You get to say I built this.
And that feeling? That's better than any snack in the world.
I'm 10 years old. I live in Accra, Ghana. I started with GHS 900 from my parents — and a whole lot of walks to the store.
And It's Poppin! Popcorn is just getting started.
Michael · Founder & CEO · It's Poppin! Popcorn · Accra, Ghana