Bella Lin, 17, had the idea for a better guinea pig cage after one of her pets was snatched by an eagle while letting them roam in her backyard. After going through several models and investing $2,000 of her savings to launch GuineaLoft, she sold just under 11,000 cages in 2022. Last year her revenue amounted to $410,000, or roughly $34,000 a month. Lin, who is a senior at Khan Lab School in California, works 20 hours a week on her business and has considered delaying college to focus on the company. Traditional guinea pig cages are made with bars, roofs, and either a tarp or plastic bottom and can be difficult to clean. Lin’s design involves an open-floor enclosure for more visibility and mobility, featuring a 2-tiered bottom. The bottom is easy to throw out, and once customers run out, they have to come back to Lin’s Amazon store to restock. The company’s 25% profit margin on cages is being reinvested into marketing, audience research and product development. The GuineaLoft sells for $75 on Amazon. As if that’s not enough, after she created the guinea pig cage, she developed a side hustle selling athletic leggings for girls at a low price point. She launched TLeggings in 2019 and brought in $300,000 her first year.
