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BIO



Andrea Cao is a young entrepreneur, horse trainer, and mentor. She is the founder of Q-Flex, CEO/founder of Andrea Equine, and continues to innovate new ideas.


You may have seen her on ABC's Shark Tank, or maybe you've read about her on Inc. or Business Insider. She has become the youngest entrepreneur to host on QVC, and the youngest Walmart vendor/supplier.

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Outside of her entrepreneurial pursuits, Andrea owns a ranch on the central coast of California where she trains performance horses and wild mustangs.



Timeline





From the start



Andrea was born a businesswoman. She started her first business at age 7, selling live frogs and lizards to her neighbors and classmates.


She continued to create and innovate new ideas and start new "businesses" including a haircare line (with amazing margins), equine shampoo, and even horse tack restoration.


Although most of this didn't result in much money, Andrea gained priceless experience that she still uses today in her current companies.



Q-Flex is born



At just age 13 Andrea created a product to help her mom, Hong, who would come home from her nursing job very sore. Upon returning home everyday, she would ask Andrea to massage her back for her.


Andrea knew she needed a better way, but found nothing on the market. Since other people were suffering from this same issue, she had to do something about it. Andrea drew up different designs, tested shapes and materials, and finally found the perfect product. She had it prototyped and set out to find a mould and manufacturer. She started out ordering batches of 20 at a time and setting out door to door selling them. She would pitch to local stores and wrote countless emails, and after a lot of hard work and hustle, she managed to sell 800 units of the now called "Q-Flex".



shark tank



While selling 800 units locally and just by word of mouth was quite the blessing, Andrea wasn't satisfied. She wanted her product to be seen and used by the whole world. But to do that, she needed the guidance and mentorship of experienced businesspeople.


In Matthew 7:7, Jesus says "Ask and you shall receive". Turns out the Lord definitely had Andrea's goal in His plan for her. On December 12, 2014, Andrea made a live pitch to the famous billionaire panel, the sharks, on the hit ABC show, Shark Tank. She walked out of the tank with lots of praise, an overwhelming feeling of adrenaline, and a partnership with the legendary Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran. Talk about great mentorship!



"The wave"



Minutes after the Shark Tank episode aired, sales increased exponentially. The company soon went from a door to door business with $20,000 in sales to a nationally known company with 2 billionaire investors and seven figures in revenue.


Soon after the show's exposure, Andrea was fortunate enough to have gotten the opportunity to share her story around the world. Her hope is to encourage other young people.


Andrea moved her company to fulfilment centers and manufacturers, a big change from the garage and studio office. Q-Flex is now offered on www.GetQFlex.com, is an Amazon best seller, Brookstone stores, Walmart stores, and numerous amazing small businesses across the country!



Equine



Horses have been a lifelong passion for Andrea. Early in her life, Andrea has gotten to grow her experience in many aspects of the equine industry, both exercising and training client horses of all aptitudes. She has recently dedicated her equine experience to learning all things horse language, behavior, and training.


Along the way she was able to purchase her own equestrian facility on the Central Coast of California. This facility allowed her to develop and refine her horse training approach, which she shares for free online. To learn more, visit the "Train" tab.



TAck



Sprouting from her passion for horses, Andrea

created Andrea Equine - a revolutionary equine tack and apparel company. Andrea Equine launched May 22, 2017.


Andrea Equine offers affordable clinician quality tack, all hand crafted in the USA with supple American leather. Andrea Equine tack is designed and used by Andrea herself, and she hopes other equestrians will love it as much as she does!


You can learn more about Andrea Equine by going to www.AndreaEquine.com and following @AndreaEquine on Instagram & Facebook.