Girl's start-up help funds sea turtle conservation

While sitting in her father's Punta Gorda restaurant, Lexi Mariash, then 7, wrote the business plan for her company on the back of the children's menu using a red crayon. Lexi, now 12, has made that dream a reality and established Turtle Inc., which aims to help sea turtles.

“I remember in second grade my dad always did these events for nonprofits,” Lexi said. “I figured that we could sell pencils or crayons and stuff like that that people would buy. My dad helped me a lot to determine that this isn’t like a little kid on the side of the street selling lemonade. ”

As senior financial advisor of wealth management for Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., Brian Mariash recognized the potential his daughter had to succeed. 

“One of the things I’ve learned in business is one of the key differences isn’t the drive or the intelligence of people but if they’re given the resources,” Brian Mariash said. “For me, it was like she wanted to do this and I thought I would give her whatever she needed to do it.”

Both of her parents helped her put together her plan and helped create Turtle Inc. Lexi credits her mother, Jill Lynn Federici-Anderson, with helping her sort through some of her business ideas and helping with communications. 

The opportunity for Turtle Inc. to team up with Mote Marine Laboratory was born out of a conversation between Brian Mariash and Mote Board of Trustee member Dean Eisner. Eisner suggested that Lexi present Turtle Inc.'s business plan to the board of trustees. Like most startups, Lexi has had to learn how to pitch to sponsors and partners. 

“I was kind of nervous in the car because, what if they don’t say yes?” Mariash said. “They were very shocked at how young I was. I was definitely nervous but once I got into I wasn’t really that nervous.”

Lexi sold rainbow loom bracelets at the 2014 Turtle Run 5K hosted by Mote Marine Laboratory. During her presentation in Deceber 2013, she presented Mote with a $30 check, thus beginning a partnership with the organization. Her newest event to collect funds for turtles is a miniature golf tournament June 20, at Evie’s Family Golf Center, in Sarasota, with proceeds benefiting Mote Marine Laboratory. Her goal is to raise $5,000 that will be matched by Positive Tracks for a total donation of $10,000.

Lexi was first inspired to help sea turtles after a trip to the Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach when she was 7 years old. She fell in love with a stuffed animal sea turtle that she named Cheesy. Lexi, who splits her time between Tampa and Sarasota, makes sure to visit Mote Marine Laboratory whenever she is in town.  

She knows that Shelly and Montego are in the second tank at Mote and that a boat rutter injured both of them. She posed for a photo one time with Caleb, the smallest turtle at Mote. But Hang Tough is her favorite sea turtle because she had a chance to pet and feed him. 

“What I like is all the turtles at Mote aren’t just they're in captivity, they’re there to receive the care that Mote provides,” Lexi said.