A family knife-sharpening business.

I started Edge of the Wedge with my dad in 2021 as a way to earn money to buy my first car. From the beginning, customers could book online and use a secure locker to drop off and pick up their knives. All orders were ready within 24 hours, making the process simple and reliable.

As word spread, the business grew year over year—from customers on Mercer Island to orders from across the Seattle area. I learned how to manage the day-to-day responsibilities of a business, promote it to new customers, and build strong customer relationships by answering questions, understanding what people needed, and making things right when a problem came up.

Balancing the business with baseball, school, and homework taught me how to manage my time. Saving what I earned also showed me the value of delayed gratification: I eventually saved enough to buy my first car and began setting money aside to invest in my future.

Edge of the Wedge donates 5% of its proceeds to Breakthrough T1D. The mission is personal to our family because my sister Clara lives with Type 1 diabetes and serves as a Youth Ambassador for the organization.