Arian Foster, NFL players invest in 12-year-old entrepreneur's lemonade company

It's one thing to start your own company and convince investors to help your cause -- but how about doing it at 12 years old? For brainchild Mikaila Ulmer and her lemonade companyMe & The Bees Lemonade, no problem.

Ulmer started selling the flaxseed lemonade sweetened with honey from a stand in her hometown of Austin, Texas, using a family recipe from the 1940s her great-grandmother gave her.A portion of her lemonade profits go to organizations that work to fight colony collapse disorder, which has devastated bee populations. In other words, she is working to save the honey bees.

Ulmer has already been on "Shark Tank," receiving $60,000 dollars worth of investments, and appeared on "Good Morning America." But who she has recently caught the eye of is NFL players who want to invest in her company.

According to the Houston Chronicle, former and current NFL players Arian Foster, Glover Quin, Duane Brown, Jonathan Grimes, Omar Bolden, Bobby Wagner, Darius Slay, Sharrick McManis, EJ Manuel and Malik Jackson havecombined to invest $810,000 to back the young entrepreneur's lemonade.

The 12-year-old Austin native said she is happy to have the players on board as her company continues to blossom.

"It's awesome that I get to work with and around these two," Ulmer said while sitting next to Foster and Quin, according to the Houston Chronicle. "They're very smart. I learned a lot from them in the past couple of hours. I'm very happy that I'm able to work with them and they invested in my company and them helping us and mentoring us and believing in our mission. I think we have a better chance of achieving our goals. That keeps me pumped and excited every day."

Foster in turn also had positive things to say of Ulmer.

"She's so humble," Foster said Thursday at "Been Brilliant Entrepreneur Day" at Holthouse Boys & Girls Club in Houston, per the Houston Chronicle. "You always have to be open and willing to learn, and she is. I'm learning from her, too. It's a cycle. You have to keep an open mind and continue to grow."

"Of course, any time you invest in anything you look at if it's going to be profitable," Foster said. "We look for companies that match our main focus of developing a good product, but are also good people and do it for the right reasons. It's more than about money to us. We believe that investing in small black businesses is extremely important."

Quin also talked of the young girl's promising company and her wits.

"She's super smart. She's very special. Obviously she has a bright future," the Detroit Lions safety said. "Hopefully, I can be a part of it and nourish it and watch her grow. The sky is the limit. I'm very impressed with her."

-- Courtney Schellin