Meet the woman with Down syndrome who launched a cookie company, made over $1 million, and helps adults with disabilities
She couldn’t get funding. Nobody believed in her.
Meet Collette Divitto, the 31-year-old CEO of a successful cookie company. Divitto founded her sweet company – Collettey’s Cookies – after struggling to find a job after college.
Divitto – who was born with the genetic disorder Down syndrome – was bullied in high school. Nevertheless, Divitto attended and graduated Clemson University. Divitto was ready to be independent after Clemson University, but hiring managers kept saying, “It was great to meet you, Collette, but at this time we feel you are not a good fit for our company.”
During tough times, the one thing that always made Collette happy was baking.
“So actually, I always loved baking, since I was 4 years old. From high school, I had been taking baking classes,” Divitto told CBS News. “It was a hard time for me. I had no friends, I didn’t have a social life. I got bullied, I got picked on. And that’s why I had been taking baking classes.“
Devitto decided to turn her passion for baking into a career.