Business1 min read

Meet Brian Troupe, 16, who made $25,000 selling ice cream from a boat

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

After zero sales on his first day on a pier at age 15, Troupe used about $820 of his savings to purchase a jon boat and launch waterborne operations. That initial pivot yielded nearly $6,000 in gross sales, prompting him to upgrade to a Sea-Doo Switch pontoon boat with a larger freezer for the 2026 season. By expanding his coverage to four anchoring locations and raising prices to $3 per premium item, he averaged $1,800 in weekend sales. He also presented his model to the Cecilton Town Council and entered a 64-participant Maryland entrepreneurship contest.

Key points

  • Troupe turned a failed pier venture into a high-earning maritime business by taking produ…: Troupe turned a failed pier venture into a high-earning maritime business by taking products directly to anchored boaters.
  • Upgrading to a pontoon boat allowed the operation to expand service to four distinct wate…: Upgrading to a pontoon boat allowed the operation to expand service to four distinct water locations and increase inventory capacity.
  • Creative equipment choices like fishing nets effectively resolved the physical challenge…: Creative equipment choices like fishing nets effectively resolved the physical challenge of delivering goods to vessels of varying heights.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Sixteen-year-old Brian Troupe turned an unsuccessful pier-side business idea into a floating ice cream business on the Bohemia River in Maryland. By the end of the 2026 summer season, his boat-based business, Troupe's Treats, had made more than $25,000 in gross sales. The young business owner started his journey at age 15 after a conversation with a neighbour gave him an idea. While they were out on the water, the neighbour mentioned that someone had once sold food to local boaters. Troupe enjoyed spending time on the water and saw a chance to earn some extra money while providing a service that few boaters could access during hot summer days. "I thought quite a bit about how I can kind of sneak past some food certifications and not have to have a sink on a boat and all of this extra equipment," Troupe told Entrepreneur magazine. "And still having something that a lot of boaters don't have on their boat."

Setbacks on the shore

Troupe's first attempt to sell ice cream did not go as planned. He set up a…

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