Chicken-keeping kit kids finish in the money

The chicken-keeping kit kids from east of Kansas City lost out to an Omaha hometown team in Warren Buffett’s Grow Your Own Business Challenge.

Simeon, 12, and Lilian Buie, 9, of Marshall had vied for the $5,000 first prize with a presentation of their business idea Sunday. A panel of experts, including Buffett, chose the Keep Track Sticky Back team from Omaha.

“The kids had a fantastic presentation,” said Rebecca Buie, their mom. “According to the judges, it was a really, really close decision.”

The Buie children came up with the Eggpreneur Kit as their business idea and offered it through their online business E E Farm. For $200, they promise a chicken coop, feed and other stuff, plus six chickens.

Urban and suburban dwellers interested in starting an egg business are their target market.

Although the siblings didn’t win the competition, they each received $500 and 10 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. B shares. Buffett leads Berkshire Hathaway, which operates much like an investment fund with a collection of stock holdings and businesses, including Helzberg Diamonds.

Each of the Berkshire B shares is worth $145.83 based on Monday’s closing stock price.

Perhaps more important, Buie said her children’s business got a lot of exposure, and they plan to keep the Eggpreneur Kit going. Besides, she said, one of the contacts they made was the national marketing person for 4-H.

This story was originally published May 18, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Chicken-keeping kit kids finish in the money."