Fourth in an ongoing series, the Kauffman Thoughtbook 2009 captures what we are thinking, learning, and discovering about education, entrepreneurship, and advancing innovation. This collection of more than forty essays is written by the talented Kauffman Foundation associates, partners, and experts who are pursuing the principles and vision set by our founder, Ewing Kauffman.

Fraser Doherty launched SuperJam when he was just ourteen, spending
countless hours in his parent’s kitchen making jam and selling it to neighbors in the
suburbs o Edinburgh, Scotland. Ater he realized how much he liked the jam—and
how much sugar he was putting into the sweet concoction—he decided to recrat
his grandmother’s recipe. He replaced old-ashioned sugar with juices derived rom
“superoods,” natural oods that are rich in nutrients and health benefts. Today, his
luxury SuperJams are sold in supermarket chains such as Tesco, Asda/Wal-Mart, and
Waitrose. He is now in discussions with retailers elsewhere in the world.

Doherty was involved with the frst Enterprise Week in the United Kingdom,
which served as the inspiration, along with Entrepreneurship Week USA 2007, or
the November 2008 Global Entrepreneurship Week. Since then, he’s shared his story
with countless young entrepreneurs o how a chance visit to a chicken arm inspired
him to take an entrepreneurial path. In 2008, Doherty and his company, SuperJam,
won frst place in the Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards competition.

When I ws ten yers old,  childhood riend nd I visited  r, nd I convinced
the rer to give us  box o eggs. I took the hoe nd explined to y o
nd dd tht we were going to keep the eggs wr so they would htch. We were
going to strt  chicken r—in the bck grdens o our house in the suburbs o
Edinburgh. my prents didn’t relly like the ide, but they thought they’d let us try
it. They didn’t expect tht two kids could fgure out how to htch eggs.

at ten yers old, I hd strted y frst business— siple ide ueled by dediction,
hrd work, nd the ironic confdence o y prents. Sdly, the locl ox soon te
y chickens, nd I hd to coe up with  new ide.