hen he was 13, Josh Elizetxe (BS Computer Information Systems ’13) didn’t have a computer at home, so he spent afternoons at the library, where he checked out computer time by the hour and taught himself programming and how to build websites. Fascinated and eager to help his family, the young entrepreneur began designing websites for local businesses.
“We didn’t grow up with a lot,” Elizetxe says. “I’m the youngest in my family. I never struggled for anything, but we had very humble beginnings. When I started, I just wanted to make money and help my parents.”
And make money he did. The driven teen devoted hours to learning about online advertising and SEO, then added marketing to his menu of services. Before long, companies were paying him monthly to promote their businesses online.
One day, Elizetxe’s dad shared a newspaper article about the Fleischer Scholars program, an immersion program for high-achieving high school juniors who are facing multiple barriers. Held at ASU’s Tempe campus, the program is a week-long experience funded by Mort Fleischer, a former CEO who overcame challenges in his youth and went on to become one of Arizona’s most successful entrepreneurs.
hen he was 13, Josh Elizetxe (BS Computer Information Systems ’13) didn’t have a computer at home, so he spent afternoons at the library, where he checked out computer time by the hour and taught himself programming and how to build websites. Fascinated and eager to help his family, the young entrepreneur began designing websites for local businesses.
“We didn’t grow up with a lot,” Elizetxe says. “I’m the youngest in my family. I never struggled for anything, but we had very humble beginnings. When I started, I just wanted to make money and help my parents.”
And make money he did. The driven teen devoted hours to learning about online advertising and SEO, then added marketing to his menu of services. Before long, companies were paying him monthly to promote their businesses online.
One day, Elizetxe’s dad shared a newspaper article about the Fleischer Scholars program, an immersion program for high-achieving high school juniors who are facing multiple barriers. Held at ASU’s Tempe campus, the program is a week-long experience funded by Mort Fleischer, a former CEO who overcame challenges in his youth and went on to become one of Arizona’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Inspiration from Fleischer Scholars
Then a student at Alhambra High School in Phoenix, Elizetxe applied to and was accepted in the program’s inaugural year. Looking back, he says the experience was life-changing and “a catalyst” for his future success.
He was among a cohort of like-minded, future first-generation college students who lived in Barrett, The Honors College dorms for five days, met W. P. Carey professors, and took workshops on scholarship programs and the college application process.
“The purpose of the program is to recruit students to higher education and show them the ropes,” Elizetxe explains, adding that it also offers the opportunity to build a circle of new friends and mentors. “After that summer, I went back to my senior year and became valedictorian of my class because I realized that I wanted to go to college — and it was possible.”
Two years and summa cum laude
Elizetxe was so inspired that he carried straight-As through college, graduating in just 24 months, at age 20.
Throughout those years, he achieved other milestones: Elizetxe continued building his business, running it from his dorm room, and expanding his network. By the time he graduated, he was generating millions in revenue. Though it was intense juggling a full roster of classes and the demands of a thriving business, he says the environment at the W. P. Carey School “couldn’t have been more supportive.”
Elizetxe’s original plan was to become a doctor, a field that promised a high salary and would enable him to help his family and also to contribute to the greater community in a meaningful way.
“The Fleischer Program opened me up to the world of business and showed me that there are multiple disciplines within business — that it’s not just accounting or finance,” he says. “As an entrepreneur and community leader, I could make my family proud and start making an impact sooner [rather than after years of medical school]. I was very drawn to that.”
A serial entrepreneur
Elizetxe also built a marketing and software company from the ground up and exited the business when he was 21. At that time, he had earned more than he ever imagined, so he treated himself to a couple of fancy cars and felt as if he was on top of the world. But that feeling only lasted a short while: He’d been operating in high gear for so long — putting in 16-hour days and pouring his heart and soul into the businesses — that when things came to a screeching halt after the sale, he felt burned out and depressed.
“Six months after I sold the company, I felt I didn’t have a purpose anymore,” he said in a Foundr podcast interview in April 2020. “I was like, OK, this is fun, but what am I going to do next? Whatever I do next has to be that much bigger than what I just did.”
Today, Elizetxe owns and operates two businesses: a financial wellness and personal finances firm, and a direct-to-consumer oral care company best known for its premier product, an at-home tooth-whitening system.
Disrupting the oral care industry
Elizetxe says the idea to enter the oral care market sparked after he had oral surgery and saw an opportunity to bring something new to the table in the space. Tooth-whitening products were generally offered at dental offices at a higher price point than the Snow product Elizetxe ultimately developed.
Known as “Josh Snow” on social media, Elizetxe and his team are committed to customer care. He calls them spontaneously to ask how the company is doing and what they can be doing better. “We treat our customers like we would investors: with respect,” he says, adding that the company has modified its product nearly 20 times based on feedback it received from customers.
Since the company launched a few years ago, Snow has proven itself to be a contender in the oral care market, attracting nearly 1 million followers on Instagram and delivering its products to a worldwide clientele. The company has been featured on The Doctors, the Wendy Williams and Kelly Clarkson shows, and in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and other fashion venues. Based in Phoenix, Snow has 30 employees and, according to Elizetxe, is “tracking toward” nine figures in annual revenue after sales skyrocketed in 2020.
Achieving balance and giving back
Having learned from his past experiences, the 28-year-old entrepreneur recognizes the need for life balance, so he aims to devote one-third of his time to business, one-third to the community, and one-third to family.
One cause Elizetxe is passionate about is providing oral care for underserved children. To that end, Snow donates a percentage of every sale to help address this need.
“Nearly 18 million children go without access to dental care in America,” he says. “I was one of those kids. So we want to help, right in our backyard.” Snow Oral Care has also donated to several other charitable organizations, including Feeding America. Elizetxe is also a board member of the Phoenix Coding Academy, a public high school that focuses on computer programming and technology.
The former Fleischer Scholar also gives back to the foundation that provided him with the resources and inspiration to pursue a college education. Now a Fleischer Foundation trustee, Elizetxe travels around the nation with Mort Fleischer to speak to new scholars in the immersion program.
He says that students often ask why they have to go to college to be successful, get rich, or drive a fancy car, when they could just start a thriving business as Elizetxe did.
“I say you can do both,” he says. “I went to college and I don’t regret it. I had a great time and learned a lot. I recommend it because anyone would benefit from that experience. When the business was booming while I was on the university campus at 20 years old, I still understood the community that I was building and the value of the education that I was getting.”