11/19/2025
For Women's Entrepreneurship Day, we're celebrating Collette Divitto, a 35-year-old woman with Down syndrome, who after repeated job rejections for not being a "good fit" decided to strike out on her own and start her own cookie company! Ten years after she founded Collettey's Cookies, Collette has sold over 700,000 cookies and now employs 15 other people, including several with disabilities.
"It is such a great feeling. I am so proud," she says. But Collette knows there is still a lot of work to do, especially to achieve her dream of helping more people with disabilities find employment. "My biggest challenge is reading all my emails," she says. "[There are] so many emails from people needing jobs so bad, and I want to help them now."
Collette perfected her craft in her family's kitchen for over ten years but, when she tried to make her love of baking into a career and applied for jobs at local bakeries, she was turned down countless times year after year. Finally, Collette, who said "it was really hurtful and I felt rejected a lot," had enough -- she started her own cookie company, Collettey’s Cookies, selling her signature cinnamon-dipped chocolate chip Amazing Cookie. She started out making 100 cookies per week for a local grocery store, but after a story by CBS Boston went viral, the surge of support allowed the young entrepreneur to move from a home-based business into an industrial kitchen in Boston.
Over the years, she vastly expanded production and built her company into a thriving business with her cookies sold in more than 1,000 stores nationwide. Today, Collette hopes to inspire other people with disabilities to pursue their dreams and find their own paths to success. "Don’t let people get you down, and never give up," she asserts. "If you find a road block, then find another road."
To learn more or order cookies, you can visit Collettey's Cookies website at https://www.colletteys.com/shop
For books that show Mighty Girls there are no limits to what she can be, we highly recommend "ABC What Can She Be?" for ages 2 to 5 (https://www.amightygirl.com/abc-what-can-she-be) and "Dress Like A Girl" for ages 3 to 7 (https://www.amightygirl.com/dress-like-a-girl)
You can also find books, games, and other resources to teach kids of all ages about entrepreneurship, saving, and spending in our blog post "Manage Money Like A Mighty Girl" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14495
For an excellent guide on how to make and manage money for girls ages 9 to 12, we recommend "A Smart Girl's Guide: Money" at https://www.amightygirl.com/smart-girls-money
There is also a helpful guide for teens on how to start their own businesses, "The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting A Business," at https://www.amightygirl.com/young-entrepreneur-s-guide-to-business
A great way to make socialization easier for kids with disabilities is to ensure that they are represented in children’s literature! For a selection of books featuring characters with disabilities for all ages, visit our blog post “Many Ways To Be Mighty: 35 Books Starring Mighty Girls with Disabilities” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=12992
