BuzzBallz Founder Donates $30 Million to Business School
Credit: Merrilee Kick. Photo courtesy of Texas Woman's University- Merrilee Kick, the founder of the beverage company BuzzBallz, donated $30 million to the business college at Texas Woman’s University.
- Kick’s MBA from TWU helped her launch the popular prepackaged spherical beverage company.
- Kick’s gift will result in the business college becoming her namesake and bolster innovation and entrepreneurship education.
- The gift will also help the college construct a new building.
Earning a master of business administration (MBA) degree from Texas Woman’s University helped Merrilee Kick launch an international cocktail company. Now, she’s returning the favor.
Kick, the founder of the popular prepackaged, spherical cocktail company BuzzBallz, announced a $30 million donation to her alma mater’s business school at Texas Woman’s University (TWU). That’s the largest single donation in the university’s history, and it will turn the business college into Kick’s namesake.
“I am profoundly moved by Merrilee Kick’s exceptional generosity in making this gift and am thrilled that she shares our vision for elevating the college of business by educating primarily women in business and entrepreneurship,” TWU business college Dean Rama Yelkur said in a press release.
“The Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship will undoubtedly add greater value and visibility, significantly amplifying our mission and impact on the future of business education.”
Kick’s master’s degree thesis became the basis for the business plan that led her to launch BuzzBallz/Southern Champion, according to the release. When it launched in 2009, it was the only woman-owned distillery, winery, and brewery combo in the U.S.
“My MBA from TWU enabled me to write a solid business plan for what became BuzzBallz, a billion-dollar company,” Kick said in a release.
“As a former educator and child of educators, teaching the next generation is important for our future. As my parents said, ‘A good teacher makes a difference.’ I have had some good teachers — and parents — who really cared about me and my success, and I am committed to make that happen for others, to make the world a better place.”
Kick’s gift will fund an institution with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as an endowed chair and entrepreneur-in-residence program. It will also help the college of business construct a new building.
“This gift affords us an opportunity to shine a huge light on the innovation and business acumen women bring to the table in our globally competitive economy,” Texas Woman’s Chancellor Carine Feyten said.
“I am doubly pleased that this extraordinary gift comes from Merrilee, a shining example of our pioneering spirit and an alumna who has risen to the level of entrepreneurial titan.”
An MBA has long been a way for students to advance their careers or start their own businesses. TWU offers concentrations in a number of high-demand areas, including entrepreneurship, human resource management, and business analytics.