April 2009 Issue
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April 2009 $2.50 US
FUTURE CEO STARS
In This Issue
Participants become STARS at IIEE
FUTURE CEO STARS
APRIL 2009
In This Issue… 4 Ask GoVenture Media Spark 5
A Moving Experience NFTE, Inc.
7 Technically Speaking Chip Lowe 9 Signs of an Entrepreneur Réseau des CJE du Québec 11 Learning By Doing University of Florida 12 Sharing My Experience PA Leadership Team/Advanz 13 National Entrepreneurship Week 15 Participants Become Stars Illinois Institute of Entre. Ed. 16 Stretched to the MAX! National Museum of Education 18 Suit Cases For Kids NFIB YEF 21 For The Record... 23 Winners in North Dakota Marketplace for Kids 25 Ananth Ram and Arun Venkatraman 27 Our Sponsors
Max Aifer Won $10,000 with his “Plant Sitter” page 16 Published by The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education 1601 W Fifth Ave. #199 Columbus, OH 43212 www.entre-ed.org [email protected] Publisher: Dr. Cathy Ashmore Editor: Michael Ashmore Graphic Design: SPLASH Designs Student Advisory Board: Jasmin Auzenne Rachel Biro, Marcus Craft, Claire He, Chip Lowe, Kelly Rapp, Micah Toll Annual Subscription Available - $25.00 Contact: [email protected]
Ask GoVenture What types of financing are available to a business?
“
There are several sources of financing and you’ll want to consider them all to determine which best fits your needs. There are generally two types of financing: debt is a loan that you must repay, usually with interest; equity represents a purchase of ownership in a business. Love Money Money from family It could be debt or equity.
and
friends.
Banks and Credit Unions Normally offer debt, with some form of collateral required. Mutual Funds Professional equity investors who seek out various types of companies, especially stable ones. They primarily invest in public companies over private. Venture Capitalists Professional investors who seek out early stage, high growth companies to receive large capital gains from equity investments.
”
Angels Wealthy individuals who invest equity or debt for financial or emotional reasons. Investment Banks Act as brokers to connect people looking to invest with companies seeking financing and facilitate large-scale deals. Merchant Banks Similar to investment banks, but often invest their own funds. Strategic Investors May have a strategic interest in the activities of another business (partner, competitor). Government Invest for economic development reasons. General Public May invest for financial and/or emotional reasons. Private companies are significantly restricted from pursuing investment directly from the public.
GoVenture Educational Games and Simulations
for entrepreneurship, business, marketing, accounting, personal finance, investing, math, economics, career and life skills, and more! Perfect for home or school. Visit our website for product information, demo videos, free trials, and more!
GoVenture Activity Crossword Puzzle — Credit Card & Debt Financing Directions: Find the financial terms that match the crossword clue to fill in the puzzle.
ACROSS: 1. A ________ fee is charged when you use a cash advance 3. This rating is based on your history of borrowing and repayments. 5. Outstanding payment owed 6. The ____________ payment is the absolute least amount that you are required to pay back on a credit card each month 7. __________ is the total amount owed to a creditor, not including interest. 9. When you borrow money you are taking out a ______. 10. A credit _____ is the highest amount you can charge to your card. 11. One of the most well known credit card types
Entrepreneur Board Game Learn about business and accounting with a unique and fun group learning activity. For home or school. Ages 12 to adult.
DOWN: 2. The length of time over which a loan must be repaid: _____ period. 4. This charge is calculated yearly or daily on the current outstanding balance of a debt. Answers
5. People who cannot pay off their debts often go ______.
Across: 1. Transaction, 3. Credit, 5. Balance, 6. Minimum, 7. Principal, 9. Loan, 10. Limit, 11. VISA; Down: 2. Amortization, 4. Interest, 5. Bankrupt, 8. Annual
8. An ________ fee is charged yearly by some credit card companies for your use of their credit card.
Educational Games and Simulations toll free
1-800-331-2282 www.goventure.net
A Moving Experience
Arel Moodie and his partner Bert Gervais.
BY AREL MOODIE
I
n the spring of 2004 my best friend, Bert Gervais, and I were in college and wanted to move off campus. Together, with another friend, we had a horrible time finding a place. We searched for weeks until we found a decent three-bedroom apartment. Everything was fine until our third roommate let us know that he would no longer be attending school the following year. Since we now only needed a two bedroom place we had to do the whole process again. After going through this twice we figured there must be a better way. In discussing this with other students we found that we were not the only ones who went through this mess. My mentor once told me to never look for an opportunity, but look for a problem and work on its solution. Well here it was so Bert and I teamed up with another student, Matt Young, and decided to take action. We came up with the idea for placefinder.com, a website that deals specifically with finding off-campus housing, roommates and sublets for college students. We uncovered a huge need and a great solution, so then money would just come rolling in, right? Wrong! There was so much we didn’t know about business, and about building a website. We must have hit every single roadblock imaginable. We knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know how we were going
Through entrepreneurship education, NFTE, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com), helps young people from lowincome communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity. Since 1987, NFTE has reached over 150,000 young people, trained more than 3,700 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers, and continually improved its innovative entrepreneurship curriculum. Future CEO Stars
April 2009
to do it. We just didn’t know enough. We thought if we built it, the customers would just come. We launched the business in 2005 when we were nowhere near ready. There were huge problems with the website: it didn’t work properly, it was not user friendly and there were many complaints. So we decided to take the site down and spent the next two years fixing it. While other students went out to parties on weekends, we were in our apartment working. It came to a point where I personally felt like I was in the business of trying to develop a business! We began seeking experienced mentors, planning our marketing strategies, and reading as many books on the subject of business that we could. Many times I felt like quitting. Here I was, supposed to be this big-shot businessman, but my friends were making more money working part-time in the dining hall. I felt like a loser until I realized something that changed my world. It’s just as impossible to flip a coin 100 times and get heads all 100 times as it is to keep trying and always fail. There is a huge correlation between how much one can fail and how much success one can have. The more you fail increases your likelihood for future success. I’m happy to report that the sun is starting to rise for placefinder. com. It is finally becoming a great success at Binghamton University — so much so that we have already expanded to other schools. Others must think so too because we were recently featured in USA Today. Even though it was challenging, I would not trade the last three years of work for anything. Not only did I achieve business success, but I gained confidence and self knowledge that I don’t suspect I could have found anywhere else.
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Technically Speaking... with Chip Lowe Twitter has become the “next big thing” in the online community, but have you taken the time to understand exactly what its service offers? At first glance, Twitter seems to be a stripped-down version of Facebook or MySpace that only allows you to set your status, but in fact it is much more. To really benefit from your usage of Twitter, you must first understand the fundamentals of the service: first you must choose your username, which creates your Twitter profile at http://www.twitter.com/username. Once you have your own Twitter, you can tell the world what’s going on in your life – similar to setting your Facebook status. Only there’s a few limitations and a few advantages. Your “tweet” can only be 140 characters including spaces, so you must keep it short and to the point. However, to make up for that limitation, there are several Twitter-only features: When setting your status you can publish up to three different kinds of “tweets.” The first is your normal status tweet – you simply put up a statement. The second is a “reply” – to reply to someone you simply use the syntax @someone in your tweet and it will notify the user of your reply message. Finally, you can “re-tweet” what another Twitter user has posted. For example, @userone posts: “Wow, I love Twitter!” and user two wants to re-tweet that post: “RT @userone ‘Wow, I love Twitter!’” It’s that plain and simple. Now that you have a better understanding of what Twitter is in its basic form, you are certainly beginning to think of the possible uses of Twitter for teachers, parents, and students. Because Twitter displays every post of the other users that you “follow” updates from on your home page, it makes a convenient announcement center for teachers. Students and parents can then reply with any comments or questions to the teacher who has “tweeted” out the announcement. However, Twitter’s usefulness doesn’t end in the classroom – it obviously extends much farther. More and more businesses, especially locally-owned and new start-ups are jumping on board with Twitter for free advertising through promoting potential customers to sign-up as followers of their business account. This allows businesses to send out tweets with special coupon codes and notifications of in-store discounts and clearance weeks. You could even use it to launch a new advertising campaign! The possibilities are endless, but the text is short. Start Twittering today at www.twitter.com.
Chip is a member Of The Future CEO Stars Advisory Board, and President of his own Company CWD. Future CEO Stars
May May2009 2009
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Signs of An Entrepreneur By Katherine Korakakis
I
f you had asked Jonathan when he was a kid reading his financial times whether or not he would be an entrepreneur later on in life, he would of said no. But low and behold, after participating in his school entrepreneurship project called “Student Stock Exchange” (www.studentstockexchange.com), he was intrigued. “It was not just seeing my business that did it for me, it was seeing what others had created,” he says. While in college Jonathan launched his first venture after seeing an interview on television. “The man being interviewed on the news was describing his business, how it was growing and the benefits. I thought to myself, Wow! What an amazing idea. Why can’t I do that?”. So he did. He recruited a friend and worked all night every night for months. Three months later his business was launched. “The first three years were tough. We thought we would be rich right away, but we had to make many sacrifices and changes and try new things before it worked out.” While trying out new things, he bought out his first partner, a huge personal gamble, and broughy in a new partner; Carlo Pansera.
something to aim for. People think that you have to be an expert in the business you go into, but that’s not true. In my first business, I had no clue what I was doing, but I learned. Now, I’m an expert in my field! “ His advice: Look at what others are doing, look at what you like doing and look at what you spend your money on. That will give you a good indication of type of business to start.” He adds, “It’s a misconception that all businesses have to be innovative or new. That’s not true. All you have to do is capture a market share that is novel. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel”. Jonathan Valicenti came from humble beginnings. His parents were not entrepreneurial but they were hardworking. Jonathan is now 28 yrs old, lives in Montreal and is on top of his game!
After the success of his first business he launched two others. His current venture is Mirada Media; a digital signage company. Digital signage is the evolution of the traditional media vehicle for advertising, product promotion, and information display. The medium provides retailers and other businesses complete and centralized control of onpremise information presented through digital displays like plasma/LCD/DLP/LED screens, projectors, and kiosks. Updated instantly through digital signage software, these displays will show rich media content, such as images, flash videos, live television and data feeds. Jonathan believes that you have to “dream big in order to get big. If you have high expectations, it will give you
Future CEO Stars
April 2009
For more information about his company visit: www.miradamedia.com
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
LEARNING BY DOING
By Ted Astleford
S
tudents spend an immense amount of time focusing on business theory but often lack the opportunity to apply this theory in a real-world environment. Introducing GatorNest, the University of Florida’s exciting experiential learning incubator housed in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). The goals of this program are simply as follows: to teach students entrepreneurship and innovation by working through the real problems of real companies, to teach team dynamics, team management, and goal setting in an unscripted environment, and to stimulate the economy of the Gator Nation by assisting in the growth of new venture opportunities. As participants in GatorNest, students are able to engage their analytical and creative skills, ultimately enhancing the learning process while creating solutions to problems facing early-stage ventures. Outstanding students will perform much of the basic market research and analysis, earning valuable experience in the process and satisfying CEI’s mission to teach, coach and inspire students to be entrepreneurial. Projects are completed for campus organizations like our world famous butterfly museum and the UF Office of Technology Licensing, and also businesses in the local and state community such as the Big Cat Rescue and the Hippodrome State Theater. Gator Nest provides an outreach component while serving the needs of the students. The program welcomes all organizations to apply for consideration. All receive a basic evaluation and advice on future steps, and for those with high potential ideas, additional help is provided during an 8-week period in which teams of students meet at least once per week to complete project deliverables. Overall, students typically spend 8 hours per week on their projects. In the end, many clients show extreme satisfaction. “The professionalism found in the report was, in my experience, equal to or above the type of presentations I review on a regular basis” said one client, going on to say that he was “deeply appreciative of the students’ commitment to excellence, attention to detail and professionalism.”
And as one student commented, “GatorNest teaches from experience, something a book can’t provide.” Total immersion…learn by doing.
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
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Sharing My Experience By Ricci Minella
I
’ve felt the entrepreneurial spark in me since I’ve been about 13 years old. I saw a great opportunity happening on my street at about that age and knew that I had to jump on board or I would miss the boat. My neighbor Lee Hlavay had a lawn mower, a weed whacker, a blower and one customer. I asked him if I could do the weed whacking and the rest is history. We were both wide eyed, ambitious and eager to expand our operations. Before long we had a large portion of the landscaping business on our street and saw that it was time for a real expansion. My Dad bought the family a small pickup truck just as we were purchasing some new equipment for our freshly named landscaping business, “Foxwood Landscaping”. At this point we opened up our operations to anybody who would trust us with a lawn mower, traveling sometimes 30 to 40 minutes to cut a lawn. We were so eager to acquire a new customer that it didn’t even matter to us that we might have been losing money on the deal. We made our fair share of blunders and got burned pretty severely a couple times, but, we learned priceless information about people, the business world and most importantly ourselves. By 2008 we were netting around $13,000 for the year. I can’t say that owning my own landscaping company brought me to Duquesne University but it most certainly directed me in choosing my focus of study. The first time I looked at majors during the summer transition from high school to college the Entrepreneurship program stood out to me. At first I was afraid of choosing it as a major due to the uncertain nature of the field. After discussing the program with some of the students that were in the major I knew that it fit my personality pretty well and decided to give it a shot. Here I am, a senior Entrepreneurship major with no regrets about the decision I made. As president of the Duquesne Entrepreneurial Alliance I wanted to create an event that would support National Entrepreneurship Week 2009. We chose to collaborate with the Small Business Development Center, and the Pennsylvania partners for National Entrepreneurship Week to combine powers to facilitate an event that would bring about awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career at the spring career fair at Duquesne. I thought it would be a great place to talk to students and try to get them to understand that even though college and society channels you to find a job with good companies (which is not a bad thing), there is another path out there for those who dream a little bigger. We ran the idea by the University and they gave us the go ahead so we started planning immediately. When the Career fair finally rolled around, we had all cylinders firing. Our booth was equipped with outstanding signage provided by Eric Boris, CEO of BCI Sign and Design. We had plenty of informative literature to hand out to the students. We even had a huge LCD TV set up so that we could show a video that showcased an event in Philadelphia, “Unleash Philly”. Above all the tangibles that were at the booth we were able to bring something that you cannot put a price on. We had the opportunity to give first hand advice to students that had open ears. More than anything, I learned the importance of using my experiences to give back to others. I was able to give real life helpful advice to students that were unsure of where they were heading. It was great to watch some of these students’ reactions when I told them how simple it is to start a business. I let them know that you don’t have to have a huge blue chip idea to create a flourishing business. All you need to start a business is customers. I really feel this event was successful in opening the minds of student to entrepreneurship. Article Provided By The Pennsylvania Leadership Team and Advanz LLC
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
In recognition of National Entrepreneurship Week 2009 events occured all over North America. Here are some memories of just a few of the hundreds of celebrations that took place. For much more go to
www.NationalEweek.org
Members of NET-Force, the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Task Force, planned outstanding events throughout Nebraska.
“Pin The Head on the Entrepreneur” was the name of the game at Branch Area Career Center in Coldwater, Michigan.
US Small Business Administration hosts Luncheon with Kwame Jackson (The Apprentice Finalist) Leading A Discussion with High School Students in Washington DC.
Student entrepreneurs discuss their businesses with Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher, during the Youth Event at the National Entrepreneurship Week Expo in Columbus.
North Dakota Governor John Hoeven signed the 2009 Proclamation declaring North Dakota Entrepreneurship Week. This effort was prompted by Marketplace for Kids.
Eighth grade FBLA students in Charlotte, NC created entrepreneurship projects and displayed them in their event with parents, local business leaders and students as guests.
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April 2009
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Do You Want to See Your Story in Print? Well, if it works for our magazine, we will print it.
We want your story! S R A T S O E C E R U T FU
YOU
Are you running a successful business, or hope to, and want to tell others about it? Do you want to give acknowledgement or thanks to those that have helped you along the way?
In This Issue
Wi h the With h exception i off cleaning l i up some grammar, spelling, lli and d other technical stuff your English teacher wanted you to pay attention to, we’ll leave your message the way you send it to us. It is, after all, your message and this is your magazine. All we really need is one page (typed) with a picture or two (1500kb jpeg files or larger are best) about what you want to say. Of course, the articles and pictures you send become the property of the magazine and will not be returned. Also, they may be used for other promotional purposes by the magazine and its parent company, The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. If we use your story, we will get your final approval of all edits before we print it. To make it easy we even have a writing
Could other students gain from learning about your successes or warnings about your mistakes?
iinstruction sheet to give you some suggestions on how to put your story together. Just write us (at the address below) and we’ll be glad to send it to you. What have you got to lose? Here is a free chance (there is absolutely no charge for students to submit their story) to get no cost advertising for your product, web page or service. Opportunities like this don’t happen often. This is your magazine. It’s reaching thousands of classrooms each month. This is your chance to help yourself and help others in the process. Change has to begin somewhere and often the best way to pay something back is to pay it forward!
Sincerely, Mike Ashmore Editor, Future CEO Stars Magazine [email protected]
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
Participants Become Stars at IIEE’s Young Entrepreneurs Conference By Vincent Williams
W
elcome to the 2009 IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference held in Chicago April 30th – May 2nd. I am Vincent Williams and I will be one of your college ambassadors for the entire weekend. I won the 2007 IIEE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for $1,000.00. Prepare yourself for the NETWORKING EXPERIENCE of a LIFETIME! IIEE has teamed up with us, the Visionary Leaders Foundation (V.L.F) and the IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors, to coordinate the evening entertainment at this year’s Annual IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference! V.L.F, established in the spring of 2008, was founded and co-founded in Chicago, IL. by Vincent Williams and Anndriene Bell, who are also proud IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors. V.L.F is a pending not-for-profit organization that is committed to the empowerment, and evolution of the next generation of young entrepreneurs. We also seek to increase the awareness of teenagers on how entrepreneurship and financial literacy can change lives. To bring our mission to life, V.L.F has pulled together our fellow Ambassadors, very successful young entrepreneurs that work with IIEE, who are interested in helping to make your conference experience unforgettable. Per our efforts, we are happy to bring you the “Networking Extravaganza”, which is a series of creative and innovative activities to enhance your knowledge of Future CEO Stars
May 2009
networking. This event will take place on Thursday night of the conference. In addition, there is “The Verbal Escape”, which is an open mic session that allows you to enjoy the art of spoken word in a relaxed environment, while amongst new acquaintances. This event is taking place on Friday night of the conference, and you have the choice of performing or being an audience member. These are just sneak-peek descriptions of what is to come, but you have to be there for the full affect! F.Y.I! Here is a heads-up! Not only will you have the pleasure of taking advantage of these evening activities and the conference agenda, but all the while, you will get to network with the IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors and other IIEE volunteers who will “Have their eyes on you at ALL times.” They are scoping out the finalist for the Visionary Leaders Foundation/ Blake Martin & Co. Networker of the Year Award!
Ida Manning, Vincent Williams, and Carol Kuc
The Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education (IIEE) invites young entrepreneurs and their instructors to register for the 3rd Annual IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference to be held April 30th – May 2nd, 2009 in the Chicagoland area. Students from around the country participate in: Business Workshops, Business Plan Competitions, The Young Entrepreneur Expo, The “E” College Tour, Networking with adult and young entrepreneurs, presentations from nationally known Keynote Speakers and more! For more information go to www.iiee.org or call IIEE at (312)587-9296.
That’s right! Five finalists will be chosen based on strong networking strategies, and articulate professional skills. They will then undergo an interviewing process that will determine the winner, which will be announced at the 2009 IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference Awards Ceremony. So ask yourself, “DO I Stand Out?” and be the first to accept this honor. We can’t wait to meet all of you. See you soon!
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STRETCHED TO THE MAX!!! By Gay Evans
C
an you imagine a classroom full of fifth graders turned loose with rubber bands? There is no doubt that their first thought would be to shoot them at each other! And that’s exactly what many of the fifth to eighth grade students did when they entered the first annual Rubber Band Contest, sponsored by the Akron Global Polymer Academy of the University of Akron, along with the American Chemical Society and the Rubber Division. These groups decided to sponsor this unusual contest for students nationwide, under the administration of the National Museum of Education, to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of rubber in 2009, in Akron, Ohio, the “Rubber Capital of the World”. The awards of a $10,000, $5,000, and $3,000 savings bond were given by Alliance Rubber—along with awards to the teachers or mentors of the top three winners. From hundreds of entries, a group of fifteen semi-finalists were selected, and then three finalists were chosen by an elite group of judges including educators and businessmen and women. As expected, two of the top fifteen did use the “stretchy, projectile” aspect of rubber bands to create games. Trevor Springer made “The Pentagonal Projectile Game”, a game to practice target skills in a safe and fun way. It uses a rubber band powered catapult to launch mini Styrofoam pentagons at a target. Michael Schuller invented a “Rubber B-Ball Game”. This game for two players, ages 5 or older, was so popular with his classmates that they didn’t even want him to take it home to enter the contest. With a few changes to make the game fit each school’s colors and mascot, Michael’s game could easily be marketed nationally. In addition to games, the rubber band inventions included artistic and musical devices. “Stretchy Shapes” was created by Henry Griffiths. He used rubber bands for children to explore the world of shapes and designs. His invention is a small pegboard with screws to support the creation, which was made of rubber bands attached in different shapes –including a snow man’s head and some very unique geometric patterns. Music inspired Abigail Bonett. She made a simple replica of a band and orchestra by stretching eight rubber bands of different colors and widths across a board to create an octave scale. As she pulled each rubber band, the musical notes played the scale. What an inexpensive and unique way to make a new musical instrument! The arts were not the only way in which these students expressed their creativity. Some of them merely looked at household problems to find solutions. Nathan Gardner made the “Disher
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Gripper”, an invention to keep the dishes from flipping over in the dishwasher. His device of rubber bands and PVC pipe would certainly avoid having to rewash all those dishes which fill with water the first time around. Jhena Smith made the “Rubber Band Generator #1”. Her invention generates a small amount of electricity as a result of a lever twisting and turning rubber bands to create energy. Jared Mann applied the same concept for his third place winning “Power Tree”. Jared was inspired by nature when he watched the movement of the leaves on the trees. He then made an inexpensive, easy and safe way to produce electric power. This invention, like the leaves on the trees, catches the wind to create a wobbling motion that can then be used to move magnets through coils of wire to generate electricity. Jared’s invention is more complex, but he is certainly addressing our world’s energy concerns. Safety was on Jaymen Neff-Strickland’s mind when he made the “Safe Flap Candle”. Jaymen’s important invention uses rubber bands to snap a lid shut when the flames become too hot or when the fire rises too high. The last two inventions were the top winners. However, they are very unusual uses of rubber bands. Grant Neil made “The Rip Band”. He placed a rubber band underneath a can of food. His use of the rubber band provides a faster, simpler way to remove labels. It may be attached to an advertisement card at the end of the rubber band to help make money for the advertisers. Grant may have a future as an inventor or in marketing, but his $5,000 savings bond should help whatever he chooses. The top winner was Max Aifer. His“Plant Sitter” is the answer for anyone who loves having household plants, but isn’t always as vigilant as need be when watering them. His invention is hung over a plant to provide water while you are away. The plant pot is suspended by rubber bands and rises as the water evaporates or is absorbed by the plant. His $10,000 win will allow Max to continue to invent and to apply his unusual creative talents in the future. Fifteen extremely varied inventions from students as young as ten were this year’s winners! Who knows what seeds were planted by this first-ever Rubber Band Contest. Next year, however, we expect the numbers of entries to grow and the extent of problems solved to be even wider. The contest for 2010 will now have two divisions: one in the Arts and Leisure, and the other in Science and Technology. This year’s entrants have set the bar very high, but America’s young minds are sharp and full of creativity!
Future CEO Stars
April 2009
Michael Schuller and “Rubber B Ball”
Max Aifer $10,000 first prize winner
Abigail Bonett and her Orchestra
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
Jhena Smith and her Generator
Grant Neil and his 2nd Place Rip Band
Henry Griffiths and Stretchy Shapes
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Suitcases For Kids A Story of Hope By Welland Burnside
I
n 1995, when I was seven years old, my sister began working with the foster care program at the local Department of Social Services in Hickory, North Carolina. I learned from her that foster children traditionally move from home to home carrying their belongings in black trash bags. I thought that the children must feel like garbage themselves. So I decided to take action and get a suitcase for every foster child in my county. I wanted to provide my county’s 300 foster children with some self-respect, dignity, and security through the simple gift of a suitcase. I named my project Suitcases For Kids and made posters for grocery stores, museums, libraries, and community buildings. I spoke to schools, churches and civic groups and asked my family, friends, neighbors, Scouts and 4-Hers to help. My idea quickly spread from my county to surrounding counties and then to other states. I wrote, printed, and distributed thousands of copies of a free 12-page Starter Kit that contained helpful information for any individual or group who wanted to start a chapter of Suitcases For Kids in their community. I established nonprofit status for my project, named six youth regional vice-presidents, and set up a website www.suitcasesforkids.org Volunteers of all ages joined in to support my project which spread like a wildfire across the nation and to other countries. A travel agent in Boston rebated trips when her clients brought their unused luggage in for the foster children. A Girl Scout in Richmond collected suitcases as a memorial to her leader who died of cancer. A 4-H agent in Smith County, Texas, challenged the 4-Hers to bring in 1,000 suitcases in a month. Together with four other counties, they brought in 9,000. A
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Welland Burnside
Kelly Rippa gives Welland national exposure
Always “Scouting” for Cases
Future Futur re CE CEO EO Stars
April 22009 0009
boy in Seattle put notices about Suitcases For Kids in every restaurant. And luggage manufacturers began attaching tags about the project on all their suitcases, backpacks, and duffel bags. Many corporations gave financial support and in-kind gifts for the program. Having been President of Suitcases For Kids for fourteen years, I am dedicated and committed to my program. I continue to accept new responsibilities and learn new skills. I realize that from overseeing such a large project, I have gained the knowledge to maintain an office, make speeches, fundraise, travel efficiently, coordinate an international network of suitcase collections and deliveries, and work with corporate sponsors like national airlines, delivery service carriers, and discount department stores who have donated $480,000 of in-kind gifts. I also was selected to receive an NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award in 2007. Suitcases For Kids is currently active in all 50 states and 83 foreign countries. The project has an army of volunteers of all ages and has expanded to provide luggage for medical missionaries traveling to Third World countries, scholarship campers, group homes, victims of natural disasters, and adult daycares. As a leader among my peers, I now realize the power and value of youth. I hope to keep sharing my ideas with other young people and to inspire many of them to become active citizens by being excited, engaged, productive individuals through volunteerism in their communities. My motto? Make helping a habit, a way of life. Live to give!
Volunteers Joined in EVERYWHERE
Welland speaks publically to gather support
In “case” you didn’t think he was succesful...
Future Fu utu ure CEO Stars
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It’s Here! NFIB YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR FOUNDATION presents:
Classtime Just Turned Interesting. Homework Just Turned Fun! Johnny Money Online Game (JMOG) is a FREE interactive small business simulation game designed to enhance high school students’ exploration of entrepreneurship. The flash-based Internet simulation allows youth to learn about and experience the day-to-day functions of an entrepreneur.
s Infuse existing lesson plans on business and entrepreneurship s Use as an in-class or homework assignment s Provide activities for homeroom, advisory or after school programs
www.johnnymoney.com
For The Record Making Sure Great Concepts aren’t lost in the Political Spin Cycle
H
ave you ever heard of Social Entrepreneurship? Basically it is getting involved in a business that not only has the potential of being profitable but also is helpful to the community, environment or society in one form or another. It’s actually a concept that has been around for quite a while but recently its meaning is going through a transformation. Initially the focus was primarily “Entrepreneurship”. The “Social” element was a secondary bonus. The profit motive was the purpose for getting into the business. It’s not that entrepreneurs shouldn’t be concerned with social responsibility, for long term success it’s usually a critical element but in today’s changing political and social environment the “Social” element is sometimes the motive.
So what does this have to do with starting a business? Plenty!! Staying current with changing trends can present opportunities that many may over look. Let’s face it, there are definite advantages to being the first in a new field. Of course there is the down side of a huge learning curve but being the first often also leads to being the leader. Many look at our economic and environmental challenges, in the middle of a dynamically changing political environment as a problem, but for the astute entrepreneur it can lead to many opportunities. Those that see it as a problem are resistant to change but a real entrepreneur embraces change instead of fears it. The true entrepreneur knows that change, either positive or negative, creates opportunity. It may require some creative thinking, risk taking, and quick response but isn’t that part of what makes being an entrepreneur the exciting career choice that it is? One word of caution should be mentioned here. Social Entrepreneurship should not be confused with Social Engineering. Entrepreneurship is a capitalist concept. There is nothing wrong with individual competition in a free-market. It has received a lot of negative press recently but it is what our country is founded on. In reality, capitalism is what makes being an entrepreneur possible in the first place. As long as being an Entrepreneur first is the motive, Social Entrepreneurship that focuses on business to solve a social problem can lead to economic success. Although the term is sometimes misused as such, Social Entrepreneurship should not be confused with socializing an existing business. The difference between these two concepts are as different as night and day. Anything that is socialized (implied that it is publicly run) has no room for an entrepreneur and eliminates all the positive elements that private sector free market operations provide. Remember that being an Entrepreneur is still the point of Social Entrepreneurship.
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
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WINNERS IN NORTH DAKOTA I
nnovation and entrepreneurship are alive and thriving in the youth of North Dakota thanks to Marketplace for Kids and the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest. Marketplace for Kids Education Days offer encouragement for developing young entrepreneurs and provide young people with a forum to present and explain projects which demonstrate their entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. The next logical step for many of these students is to see how far they can take their invention and the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest gives them the platform on which to build. The Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest was held January 13-14, 2009 in Bismarck, ND in conjunction with Marketplace, North Dakota’s premier economic development conference. Special award categories for youth – age 14-18 and youth age 13 and under are presented. The top youth inventions this year were diverse and creative in their use and design. Some were fun-oriented while others were useful for work-related activities.
MacKenzie F. A. Melby Many of these products begin as science fair projects. The “Smart Trailer’s” inventor, MacKenzie F. A. Melby saw jack-knifing of trailers as a problem and decided to design an apparatus to fix it. He said, “The Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest in Bismarck gave me a chance to receive a lot of advice and ideas of where to take my project next.” He also plans to develop and hopefully sell a full-scale version within the next year.
Adam Schreiner Adam Philip Schreiner invented “Taco Tape.” He said, “I had to come up with a science fair project and we were discussing ideas over supper one night when I realized what a mess my little sister was making with her taco.” He also had a lot of fun at his region’s Marketplace for Kids Education Day in 2008. He said, “I brought some friends and this year they want to participate too.” His future plans for “Taco Tape” are to get a patent for it and then try to sell the idea, but not the patent.
Benjamin Longlet Benjamin John Longlet, thinking about winter-related conundrums, created the “Heated Pet Waterer,” a 5-gallon insulated container that doesn’t allow freezing, even in sub-zero temperatures. North Dakota definitely is the right place to market this ingenuous Pet’s Best Friend.
Jonah Eslinger Jonah B. Eslinger for instance, realizing the difficulty that many people have every year during the holiday season, dreamt “Deck the Roof ” into reality. This innovative method to decorate the house and trees, or to make brightly-lit shapes to enhance the season, enables the process without the tangles, twists, and hassles commonly associated with this activity.
It is examples like these and many others that have been presented at the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contests that exemplify the youth of North Dakota and their importance to the growth of the state. Marketplace for Entrepreneurs and the Marketplace Northern Plains Invention Contest provide opportunities to people of all ages who want to show their quality innovative ideas. Future CEO Stars
April 2009
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e would like to thank the sponsors of Future CEO Stars whose forward thinking, support, and generous contributions made this publication possible. It is organizations like these that keep your education focused, moving forward, challenging, and potentially profitable. To learn more about what they have to offer please feel free to visit their websites listed below.
When an organization really cares,
it shows!!! Appalachian Regional Commission
www.arc.gov
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E*TRADE Financial
www.etrade.com
Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education
www.iiee.org
Marketplace for Kids
www.marketplaceforkids.org
MediaSpark Inc
www.mediaspark.com
National Council on Economic Education
www.ncee.net
National Museum of Education
www.nmoe.org
NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation
www.nfib.com/yef
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
www.nfte.com
NY REAL
www.nyreal.org
Réseau des CJE du Quebec
www.cjereseau.org
University of Florida
www.cei.ufl.edu
Yourhomework.com
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USA Today
www.usatoday.com/educate
Small Business Development Center
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AdVanz, LLC Ohio Department of Education
Future FutureCEO CEOStars Stars
October May2009 20082008 May
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FUTURE CEO STARS
In This Issue
Participants become STARS at IIEE
FUTURE CEO STARS
APRIL 2009
In This Issue… 4 Ask GoVenture Media Spark 5
A Moving Experience NFTE, Inc.
7 Technically Speaking Chip Lowe 9 Signs of an Entrepreneur Réseau des CJE du Québec 11 Learning By Doing University of Florida 12 Sharing My Experience PA Leadership Team/Advanz 13 National Entrepreneurship Week 15 Participants Become Stars Illinois Institute of Entre. Ed. 16 Stretched to the MAX! National Museum of Education 18 Suit Cases For Kids NFIB YEF 21 For The Record... 23 Winners in North Dakota Marketplace for Kids 25 Ananth Ram and Arun Venkatraman 27 Our Sponsors
Max Aifer Won $10,000 with his “Plant Sitter” page 16 Published by The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education 1601 W Fifth Ave. #199 Columbus, OH 43212 www.entre-ed.org [email protected] Publisher: Dr. Cathy Ashmore Editor: Michael Ashmore Graphic Design: SPLASH Designs Student Advisory Board: Jasmin Auzenne Rachel Biro, Marcus Craft, Claire He, Chip Lowe, Kelly Rapp, Micah Toll Annual Subscription Available - $25.00 Contact: [email protected]
Ask GoVenture What types of financing are available to a business?
“
There are several sources of financing and you’ll want to consider them all to determine which best fits your needs. There are generally two types of financing: debt is a loan that you must repay, usually with interest; equity represents a purchase of ownership in a business. Love Money Money from family It could be debt or equity.
and
friends.
Banks and Credit Unions Normally offer debt, with some form of collateral required. Mutual Funds Professional equity investors who seek out various types of companies, especially stable ones. They primarily invest in public companies over private. Venture Capitalists Professional investors who seek out early stage, high growth companies to receive large capital gains from equity investments.
”
Angels Wealthy individuals who invest equity or debt for financial or emotional reasons. Investment Banks Act as brokers to connect people looking to invest with companies seeking financing and facilitate large-scale deals. Merchant Banks Similar to investment banks, but often invest their own funds. Strategic Investors May have a strategic interest in the activities of another business (partner, competitor). Government Invest for economic development reasons. General Public May invest for financial and/or emotional reasons. Private companies are significantly restricted from pursuing investment directly from the public.
GoVenture Educational Games and Simulations
for entrepreneurship, business, marketing, accounting, personal finance, investing, math, economics, career and life skills, and more! Perfect for home or school. Visit our website for product information, demo videos, free trials, and more!
GoVenture Activity Crossword Puzzle — Credit Card & Debt Financing Directions: Find the financial terms that match the crossword clue to fill in the puzzle.
ACROSS: 1. A ________ fee is charged when you use a cash advance 3. This rating is based on your history of borrowing and repayments. 5. Outstanding payment owed 6. The ____________ payment is the absolute least amount that you are required to pay back on a credit card each month 7. __________ is the total amount owed to a creditor, not including interest. 9. When you borrow money you are taking out a ______. 10. A credit _____ is the highest amount you can charge to your card. 11. One of the most well known credit card types
Entrepreneur Board Game Learn about business and accounting with a unique and fun group learning activity. For home or school. Ages 12 to adult.
DOWN: 2. The length of time over which a loan must be repaid: _____ period. 4. This charge is calculated yearly or daily on the current outstanding balance of a debt. Answers
5. People who cannot pay off their debts often go ______.
Across: 1. Transaction, 3. Credit, 5. Balance, 6. Minimum, 7. Principal, 9. Loan, 10. Limit, 11. VISA; Down: 2. Amortization, 4. Interest, 5. Bankrupt, 8. Annual
8. An ________ fee is charged yearly by some credit card companies for your use of their credit card.
Educational Games and Simulations toll free
1-800-331-2282 www.goventure.net
A Moving Experience
Arel Moodie and his partner Bert Gervais.
BY AREL MOODIE
I
n the spring of 2004 my best friend, Bert Gervais, and I were in college and wanted to move off campus. Together, with another friend, we had a horrible time finding a place. We searched for weeks until we found a decent three-bedroom apartment. Everything was fine until our third roommate let us know that he would no longer be attending school the following year. Since we now only needed a two bedroom place we had to do the whole process again. After going through this twice we figured there must be a better way. In discussing this with other students we found that we were not the only ones who went through this mess. My mentor once told me to never look for an opportunity, but look for a problem and work on its solution. Well here it was so Bert and I teamed up with another student, Matt Young, and decided to take action. We came up with the idea for placefinder.com, a website that deals specifically with finding off-campus housing, roommates and sublets for college students. We uncovered a huge need and a great solution, so then money would just come rolling in, right? Wrong! There was so much we didn’t know about business, and about building a website. We must have hit every single roadblock imaginable. We knew what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know how we were going
Through entrepreneurship education, NFTE, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com), helps young people from lowincome communities build skills and unlock their entrepreneurial creativity. Since 1987, NFTE has reached over 150,000 young people, trained more than 3,700 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers, and continually improved its innovative entrepreneurship curriculum. Future CEO Stars
April 2009
to do it. We just didn’t know enough. We thought if we built it, the customers would just come. We launched the business in 2005 when we were nowhere near ready. There were huge problems with the website: it didn’t work properly, it was not user friendly and there were many complaints. So we decided to take the site down and spent the next two years fixing it. While other students went out to parties on weekends, we were in our apartment working. It came to a point where I personally felt like I was in the business of trying to develop a business! We began seeking experienced mentors, planning our marketing strategies, and reading as many books on the subject of business that we could. Many times I felt like quitting. Here I was, supposed to be this big-shot businessman, but my friends were making more money working part-time in the dining hall. I felt like a loser until I realized something that changed my world. It’s just as impossible to flip a coin 100 times and get heads all 100 times as it is to keep trying and always fail. There is a huge correlation between how much one can fail and how much success one can have. The more you fail increases your likelihood for future success. I’m happy to report that the sun is starting to rise for placefinder. com. It is finally becoming a great success at Binghamton University — so much so that we have already expanded to other schools. Others must think so too because we were recently featured in USA Today. Even though it was challenging, I would not trade the last three years of work for anything. Not only did I achieve business success, but I gained confidence and self knowledge that I don’t suspect I could have found anywhere else.
5
Technically Speaking... with Chip Lowe Twitter has become the “next big thing” in the online community, but have you taken the time to understand exactly what its service offers? At first glance, Twitter seems to be a stripped-down version of Facebook or MySpace that only allows you to set your status, but in fact it is much more. To really benefit from your usage of Twitter, you must first understand the fundamentals of the service: first you must choose your username, which creates your Twitter profile at http://www.twitter.com/username. Once you have your own Twitter, you can tell the world what’s going on in your life – similar to setting your Facebook status. Only there’s a few limitations and a few advantages. Your “tweet” can only be 140 characters including spaces, so you must keep it short and to the point. However, to make up for that limitation, there are several Twitter-only features: When setting your status you can publish up to three different kinds of “tweets.” The first is your normal status tweet – you simply put up a statement. The second is a “reply” – to reply to someone you simply use the syntax @someone in your tweet and it will notify the user of your reply message. Finally, you can “re-tweet” what another Twitter user has posted. For example, @userone posts: “Wow, I love Twitter!” and user two wants to re-tweet that post: “RT @userone ‘Wow, I love Twitter!’” It’s that plain and simple. Now that you have a better understanding of what Twitter is in its basic form, you are certainly beginning to think of the possible uses of Twitter for teachers, parents, and students. Because Twitter displays every post of the other users that you “follow” updates from on your home page, it makes a convenient announcement center for teachers. Students and parents can then reply with any comments or questions to the teacher who has “tweeted” out the announcement. However, Twitter’s usefulness doesn’t end in the classroom – it obviously extends much farther. More and more businesses, especially locally-owned and new start-ups are jumping on board with Twitter for free advertising through promoting potential customers to sign-up as followers of their business account. This allows businesses to send out tweets with special coupon codes and notifications of in-store discounts and clearance weeks. You could even use it to launch a new advertising campaign! The possibilities are endless, but the text is short. Start Twittering today at www.twitter.com.
Chip is a member Of The Future CEO Stars Advisory Board, and President of his own Company CWD. Future CEO Stars
May May2009 2009
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Signs of An Entrepreneur By Katherine Korakakis
I
f you had asked Jonathan when he was a kid reading his financial times whether or not he would be an entrepreneur later on in life, he would of said no. But low and behold, after participating in his school entrepreneurship project called “Student Stock Exchange” (www.studentstockexchange.com), he was intrigued. “It was not just seeing my business that did it for me, it was seeing what others had created,” he says. While in college Jonathan launched his first venture after seeing an interview on television. “The man being interviewed on the news was describing his business, how it was growing and the benefits. I thought to myself, Wow! What an amazing idea. Why can’t I do that?”. So he did. He recruited a friend and worked all night every night for months. Three months later his business was launched. “The first three years were tough. We thought we would be rich right away, but we had to make many sacrifices and changes and try new things before it worked out.” While trying out new things, he bought out his first partner, a huge personal gamble, and broughy in a new partner; Carlo Pansera.
something to aim for. People think that you have to be an expert in the business you go into, but that’s not true. In my first business, I had no clue what I was doing, but I learned. Now, I’m an expert in my field! “ His advice: Look at what others are doing, look at what you like doing and look at what you spend your money on. That will give you a good indication of type of business to start.” He adds, “It’s a misconception that all businesses have to be innovative or new. That’s not true. All you have to do is capture a market share that is novel. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel”. Jonathan Valicenti came from humble beginnings. His parents were not entrepreneurial but they were hardworking. Jonathan is now 28 yrs old, lives in Montreal and is on top of his game!
After the success of his first business he launched two others. His current venture is Mirada Media; a digital signage company. Digital signage is the evolution of the traditional media vehicle for advertising, product promotion, and information display. The medium provides retailers and other businesses complete and centralized control of onpremise information presented through digital displays like plasma/LCD/DLP/LED screens, projectors, and kiosks. Updated instantly through digital signage software, these displays will show rich media content, such as images, flash videos, live television and data feeds. Jonathan believes that you have to “dream big in order to get big. If you have high expectations, it will give you
Future CEO Stars
April 2009
For more information about his company visit: www.miradamedia.com
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
LEARNING BY DOING
By Ted Astleford
S
tudents spend an immense amount of time focusing on business theory but often lack the opportunity to apply this theory in a real-world environment. Introducing GatorNest, the University of Florida’s exciting experiential learning incubator housed in the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI). The goals of this program are simply as follows: to teach students entrepreneurship and innovation by working through the real problems of real companies, to teach team dynamics, team management, and goal setting in an unscripted environment, and to stimulate the economy of the Gator Nation by assisting in the growth of new venture opportunities. As participants in GatorNest, students are able to engage their analytical and creative skills, ultimately enhancing the learning process while creating solutions to problems facing early-stage ventures. Outstanding students will perform much of the basic market research and analysis, earning valuable experience in the process and satisfying CEI’s mission to teach, coach and inspire students to be entrepreneurial. Projects are completed for campus organizations like our world famous butterfly museum and the UF Office of Technology Licensing, and also businesses in the local and state community such as the Big Cat Rescue and the Hippodrome State Theater. Gator Nest provides an outreach component while serving the needs of the students. The program welcomes all organizations to apply for consideration. All receive a basic evaluation and advice on future steps, and for those with high potential ideas, additional help is provided during an 8-week period in which teams of students meet at least once per week to complete project deliverables. Overall, students typically spend 8 hours per week on their projects. In the end, many clients show extreme satisfaction. “The professionalism found in the report was, in my experience, equal to or above the type of presentations I review on a regular basis” said one client, going on to say that he was “deeply appreciative of the students’ commitment to excellence, attention to detail and professionalism.”
And as one student commented, “GatorNest teaches from experience, something a book can’t provide.” Total immersion…learn by doing.
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
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Sharing My Experience By Ricci Minella
I
’ve felt the entrepreneurial spark in me since I’ve been about 13 years old. I saw a great opportunity happening on my street at about that age and knew that I had to jump on board or I would miss the boat. My neighbor Lee Hlavay had a lawn mower, a weed whacker, a blower and one customer. I asked him if I could do the weed whacking and the rest is history. We were both wide eyed, ambitious and eager to expand our operations. Before long we had a large portion of the landscaping business on our street and saw that it was time for a real expansion. My Dad bought the family a small pickup truck just as we were purchasing some new equipment for our freshly named landscaping business, “Foxwood Landscaping”. At this point we opened up our operations to anybody who would trust us with a lawn mower, traveling sometimes 30 to 40 minutes to cut a lawn. We were so eager to acquire a new customer that it didn’t even matter to us that we might have been losing money on the deal. We made our fair share of blunders and got burned pretty severely a couple times, but, we learned priceless information about people, the business world and most importantly ourselves. By 2008 we were netting around $13,000 for the year. I can’t say that owning my own landscaping company brought me to Duquesne University but it most certainly directed me in choosing my focus of study. The first time I looked at majors during the summer transition from high school to college the Entrepreneurship program stood out to me. At first I was afraid of choosing it as a major due to the uncertain nature of the field. After discussing the program with some of the students that were in the major I knew that it fit my personality pretty well and decided to give it a shot. Here I am, a senior Entrepreneurship major with no regrets about the decision I made. As president of the Duquesne Entrepreneurial Alliance I wanted to create an event that would support National Entrepreneurship Week 2009. We chose to collaborate with the Small Business Development Center, and the Pennsylvania partners for National Entrepreneurship Week to combine powers to facilitate an event that would bring about awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career at the spring career fair at Duquesne. I thought it would be a great place to talk to students and try to get them to understand that even though college and society channels you to find a job with good companies (which is not a bad thing), there is another path out there for those who dream a little bigger. We ran the idea by the University and they gave us the go ahead so we started planning immediately. When the Career fair finally rolled around, we had all cylinders firing. Our booth was equipped with outstanding signage provided by Eric Boris, CEO of BCI Sign and Design. We had plenty of informative literature to hand out to the students. We even had a huge LCD TV set up so that we could show a video that showcased an event in Philadelphia, “Unleash Philly”. Above all the tangibles that were at the booth we were able to bring something that you cannot put a price on. We had the opportunity to give first hand advice to students that had open ears. More than anything, I learned the importance of using my experiences to give back to others. I was able to give real life helpful advice to students that were unsure of where they were heading. It was great to watch some of these students’ reactions when I told them how simple it is to start a business. I let them know that you don’t have to have a huge blue chip idea to create a flourishing business. All you need to start a business is customers. I really feel this event was successful in opening the minds of student to entrepreneurship. Article Provided By The Pennsylvania Leadership Team and Advanz LLC
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
In recognition of National Entrepreneurship Week 2009 events occured all over North America. Here are some memories of just a few of the hundreds of celebrations that took place. For much more go to
www.NationalEweek.org
Members of NET-Force, the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Task Force, planned outstanding events throughout Nebraska.
“Pin The Head on the Entrepreneur” was the name of the game at Branch Area Career Center in Coldwater, Michigan.
US Small Business Administration hosts Luncheon with Kwame Jackson (The Apprentice Finalist) Leading A Discussion with High School Students in Washington DC.
Student entrepreneurs discuss their businesses with Ohio’s Lieutenant Governor, Lee Fisher, during the Youth Event at the National Entrepreneurship Week Expo in Columbus.
North Dakota Governor John Hoeven signed the 2009 Proclamation declaring North Dakota Entrepreneurship Week. This effort was prompted by Marketplace for Kids.
Eighth grade FBLA students in Charlotte, NC created entrepreneurship projects and displayed them in their event with parents, local business leaders and students as guests.
Future CEO Stars
April 2009
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Do You Want to See Your Story in Print? Well, if it works for our magazine, we will print it.
We want your story! S R A T S O E C E R U T FU
YOU
Are you running a successful business, or hope to, and want to tell others about it? Do you want to give acknowledgement or thanks to those that have helped you along the way?
In This Issue
Wi h the With h exception i off cleaning l i up some grammar, spelling, lli and d other technical stuff your English teacher wanted you to pay attention to, we’ll leave your message the way you send it to us. It is, after all, your message and this is your magazine. All we really need is one page (typed) with a picture or two (1500kb jpeg files or larger are best) about what you want to say. Of course, the articles and pictures you send become the property of the magazine and will not be returned. Also, they may be used for other promotional purposes by the magazine and its parent company, The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education. If we use your story, we will get your final approval of all edits before we print it. To make it easy we even have a writing
Could other students gain from learning about your successes or warnings about your mistakes?
iinstruction sheet to give you some suggestions on how to put your story together. Just write us (at the address below) and we’ll be glad to send it to you. What have you got to lose? Here is a free chance (there is absolutely no charge for students to submit their story) to get no cost advertising for your product, web page or service. Opportunities like this don’t happen often. This is your magazine. It’s reaching thousands of classrooms each month. This is your chance to help yourself and help others in the process. Change has to begin somewhere and often the best way to pay something back is to pay it forward!
Sincerely, Mike Ashmore Editor, Future CEO Stars Magazine [email protected]
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Future CEO Stars
April 2009
Participants Become Stars at IIEE’s Young Entrepreneurs Conference By Vincent Williams
W
elcome to the 2009 IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference held in Chicago April 30th – May 2nd. I am Vincent Williams and I will be one of your college ambassadors for the entire weekend. I won the 2007 IIEE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for $1,000.00. Prepare yourself for the NETWORKING EXPERIENCE of a LIFETIME! IIEE has teamed up with us, the Visionary Leaders Foundation (V.L.F) and the IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors, to coordinate the evening entertainment at this year’s Annual IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference! V.L.F, established in the spring of 2008, was founded and co-founded in Chicago, IL. by Vincent Williams and Anndriene Bell, who are also proud IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors. V.L.F is a pending not-for-profit organization that is committed to the empowerment, and evolution of the next generation of young entrepreneurs. We also seek to increase the awareness of teenagers on how entrepreneurship and financial literacy can change lives. To bring our mission to life, V.L.F has pulled together our fellow Ambassadors, very successful young entrepreneurs that work with IIEE, who are interested in helping to make your conference experience unforgettable. Per our efforts, we are happy to bring you the “Networking Extravaganza”, which is a series of creative and innovative activities to enhance your knowledge of Future CEO Stars
May 2009
networking. This event will take place on Thursday night of the conference. In addition, there is “The Verbal Escape”, which is an open mic session that allows you to enjoy the art of spoken word in a relaxed environment, while amongst new acquaintances. This event is taking place on Friday night of the conference, and you have the choice of performing or being an audience member. These are just sneak-peek descriptions of what is to come, but you have to be there for the full affect! F.Y.I! Here is a heads-up! Not only will you have the pleasure of taking advantage of these evening activities and the conference agenda, but all the while, you will get to network with the IIEE Collegiate Entrepreneur Ambassadors and other IIEE volunteers who will “Have their eyes on you at ALL times.” They are scoping out the finalist for the Visionary Leaders Foundation/ Blake Martin & Co. Networker of the Year Award!
Ida Manning, Vincent Williams, and Carol Kuc
The Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education (IIEE) invites young entrepreneurs and their instructors to register for the 3rd Annual IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference to be held April 30th – May 2nd, 2009 in the Chicagoland area. Students from around the country participate in: Business Workshops, Business Plan Competitions, The Young Entrepreneur Expo, The “E” College Tour, Networking with adult and young entrepreneurs, presentations from nationally known Keynote Speakers and more! For more information go to www.iiee.org or call IIEE at (312)587-9296.
That’s right! Five finalists will be chosen based on strong networking strategies, and articulate professional skills. They will then undergo an interviewing process that will determine the winner, which will be announced at the 2009 IIEE Young Entrepreneurs Conference Awards Ceremony. So ask yourself, “DO I Stand Out?” and be the first to accept this honor. We can’t wait to meet all of you. See you soon!
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STRETCHED TO THE MAX!!! By Gay Evans
C
an you imagine a classroom full of fifth graders turned loose with rubber bands? There is no doubt that their first thought would be to shoot them at each other! And that’s exactly what many of the fifth to eighth grade students did when they entered the first annual Rubber Band Contest, sponsored by the Akron Global Polymer Academy of the University of Akron, along with the American Chemical Society and the Rubber Division. These groups decided to sponsor this unusual contest for students nationwide, under the administration of the National Museum of Education, to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of rubber in 2009, in Akron, Ohio, the “Rubber Capital of the World”. The awards of a $10,000, $5,000, and $3,000 savings bond were given by Alliance Rubber—along with awards to the teachers or mentors of the top three winners. From hundreds of entries, a group of fifteen semi-finalists were selected, and then three finalists were chosen by an elite group of judges including educators and businessmen and women. As expected, two of the top fifteen did use the “stretchy, projectile” aspect of rubber bands to create games. Trevor Springer made “The Pentagonal Projectile Game”, a game to practice target skills in a safe and fun way. It uses a rubber band powered catapult to launch mini Styrofoam pentagons at a target. Michael Schuller invented a “Rubber B-Ball Game”. This game for two players, ages 5 or older, was so popular with his classmates that they didn’t even want him to take it home to enter the contest. With a few changes to make the game fit each school’s colors and mascot, Michael’s game could easily be marketed nationally. In addition to games, the rubber band inventions included artistic and musical devices. “Stretchy Shapes” was created by Henry Griffiths. He used rubber bands for children to explore the world of shapes and designs. His invention is a small pegboard with screws to support the creation, which was made of rubber bands attached in different shapes –including a snow man’s head and some very unique geometric patterns. Music inspired Abigail Bonett. She made a simple replica of a band and orchestra by stretching eight rubber bands of different colors and widths across a board to create an octave scale. As she pulled each rubber band, the musical notes played the scale. What an inexpensive and unique way to make a new musical instrument! The arts were not the only way in which these students expressed their creativity. Some of them merely looked at household problems to find solutions. Nathan Gardner made the “Disher
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Gripper”, an invention to keep the dishes from flipping over in the dishwasher. His device of rubber bands and PVC pipe would certainly avoid having to rewash all those dishes which fill with water the first time around. Jhena Smith made the “Rubber Band Generator #1”. Her invention generates a small amount of electricity as a result of a lever twisting and turning rubber bands to create energy. Jared Mann applied the same concept for his third place winning “Power Tree”. Jared was inspired by nature when he watched the movement of the leaves on the trees. He then made an inexpensive, easy and safe way to produce electric power. This invention, like the leaves on the trees, catches the wind to create a wobbling motion that can then be used to move magnets through coils of wire to generate electricity. Jared’s invention is more complex, but he is certainly addressing our world’s energy concerns. Safety was on Jaymen Neff-Strickland’s mind when he made the “Safe Flap Candle”. Jaymen’s important invention uses rubber bands to snap a lid shut when the flames become too hot or when the fire rises too high. The last two inventions were the top winners. However, they are very unusual uses of rubber bands. Grant Neil made “The Rip Band”. He placed a rubber band underneath a can of food. His use of the rubber band provides a faster, simpler way to remove labels. It may be attached to an advertisement card at the end of the rubber band to help make money for the advertisers. Grant may have a future as an inventor or in marketing, but his $5,000 savings bond should help whatever he chooses. The top winner was Max Aifer. His“Plant Sitter” is the answer for anyone who loves having household plants, but isn’t always as vigilant as need be when watering them. His invention is hung over a plant to provide water while you are away. The plant pot is suspended by rubber bands and rises as the water evaporates or is absorbed by the plant. His $10,000 win will allow Max to continue to invent and to apply his unusual creative talents in the future. Fifteen extremely varied inventions from students as young as ten were this year’s winners! Who knows what seeds were planted by this first-ever Rubber Band Contest. Next year, however, we expect the numbers of entries to grow and the extent of problems solved to be even wider. The contest for 2010 will now have two divisions: one in the Arts and Leisure, and the other in Science and Technology. This year’s entrants have set the bar very high, but America’s young minds are sharp and full of creativity!
Future CEO Stars
April 2009
Michael Schuller and “Rubber B Ball”
Max Aifer $10,000 first prize winner
Abigail Bonett and her Orchestra
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
Jhena Smith and her Generator
Grant Neil and his 2nd Place Rip Band
Henry Griffiths and Stretchy Shapes
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Suitcases For Kids A Story of Hope By Welland Burnside
I
n 1995, when I was seven years old, my sister began working with the foster care program at the local Department of Social Services in Hickory, North Carolina. I learned from her that foster children traditionally move from home to home carrying their belongings in black trash bags. I thought that the children must feel like garbage themselves. So I decided to take action and get a suitcase for every foster child in my county. I wanted to provide my county’s 300 foster children with some self-respect, dignity, and security through the simple gift of a suitcase. I named my project Suitcases For Kids and made posters for grocery stores, museums, libraries, and community buildings. I spoke to schools, churches and civic groups and asked my family, friends, neighbors, Scouts and 4-Hers to help. My idea quickly spread from my county to surrounding counties and then to other states. I wrote, printed, and distributed thousands of copies of a free 12-page Starter Kit that contained helpful information for any individual or group who wanted to start a chapter of Suitcases For Kids in their community. I established nonprofit status for my project, named six youth regional vice-presidents, and set up a website www.suitcasesforkids.org Volunteers of all ages joined in to support my project which spread like a wildfire across the nation and to other countries. A travel agent in Boston rebated trips when her clients brought their unused luggage in for the foster children. A Girl Scout in Richmond collected suitcases as a memorial to her leader who died of cancer. A 4-H agent in Smith County, Texas, challenged the 4-Hers to bring in 1,000 suitcases in a month. Together with four other counties, they brought in 9,000. A
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Welland Burnside
Kelly Rippa gives Welland national exposure
Always “Scouting” for Cases
Future Futur re CE CEO EO Stars
April 22009 0009
boy in Seattle put notices about Suitcases For Kids in every restaurant. And luggage manufacturers began attaching tags about the project on all their suitcases, backpacks, and duffel bags. Many corporations gave financial support and in-kind gifts for the program. Having been President of Suitcases For Kids for fourteen years, I am dedicated and committed to my program. I continue to accept new responsibilities and learn new skills. I realize that from overseeing such a large project, I have gained the knowledge to maintain an office, make speeches, fundraise, travel efficiently, coordinate an international network of suitcase collections and deliveries, and work with corporate sponsors like national airlines, delivery service carriers, and discount department stores who have donated $480,000 of in-kind gifts. I also was selected to receive an NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award in 2007. Suitcases For Kids is currently active in all 50 states and 83 foreign countries. The project has an army of volunteers of all ages and has expanded to provide luggage for medical missionaries traveling to Third World countries, scholarship campers, group homes, victims of natural disasters, and adult daycares. As a leader among my peers, I now realize the power and value of youth. I hope to keep sharing my ideas with other young people and to inspire many of them to become active citizens by being excited, engaged, productive individuals through volunteerism in their communities. My motto? Make helping a habit, a way of life. Live to give!
Volunteers Joined in EVERYWHERE
Welland speaks publically to gather support
In “case” you didn’t think he was succesful...
Future Fu utu ure CEO Stars
M May ay 22009 009
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It’s Here! NFIB YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR FOUNDATION presents:
Classtime Just Turned Interesting. Homework Just Turned Fun! Johnny Money Online Game (JMOG) is a FREE interactive small business simulation game designed to enhance high school students’ exploration of entrepreneurship. The flash-based Internet simulation allows youth to learn about and experience the day-to-day functions of an entrepreneur.
s Infuse existing lesson plans on business and entrepreneurship s Use as an in-class or homework assignment s Provide activities for homeroom, advisory or after school programs
www.johnnymoney.com
For The Record Making Sure Great Concepts aren’t lost in the Political Spin Cycle
H
ave you ever heard of Social Entrepreneurship? Basically it is getting involved in a business that not only has the potential of being profitable but also is helpful to the community, environment or society in one form or another. It’s actually a concept that has been around for quite a while but recently its meaning is going through a transformation. Initially the focus was primarily “Entrepreneurship”. The “Social” element was a secondary bonus. The profit motive was the purpose for getting into the business. It’s not that entrepreneurs shouldn’t be concerned with social responsibility, for long term success it’s usually a critical element but in today’s changing political and social environment the “Social” element is sometimes the motive.
So what does this have to do with starting a business? Plenty!! Staying current with changing trends can present opportunities that many may over look. Let’s face it, there are definite advantages to being the first in a new field. Of course there is the down side of a huge learning curve but being the first often also leads to being the leader. Many look at our economic and environmental challenges, in the middle of a dynamically changing political environment as a problem, but for the astute entrepreneur it can lead to many opportunities. Those that see it as a problem are resistant to change but a real entrepreneur embraces change instead of fears it. The true entrepreneur knows that change, either positive or negative, creates opportunity. It may require some creative thinking, risk taking, and quick response but isn’t that part of what makes being an entrepreneur the exciting career choice that it is? One word of caution should be mentioned here. Social Entrepreneurship should not be confused with Social Engineering. Entrepreneurship is a capitalist concept. There is nothing wrong with individual competition in a free-market. It has received a lot of negative press recently but it is what our country is founded on. In reality, capitalism is what makes being an entrepreneur possible in the first place. As long as being an Entrepreneur first is the motive, Social Entrepreneurship that focuses on business to solve a social problem can lead to economic success. Although the term is sometimes misused as such, Social Entrepreneurship should not be confused with socializing an existing business. The difference between these two concepts are as different as night and day. Anything that is socialized (implied that it is publicly run) has no room for an entrepreneur and eliminates all the positive elements that private sector free market operations provide. Remember that being an Entrepreneur is still the point of Social Entrepreneurship.
Future CEO Stars
May 2009
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WINNERS IN NORTH DAKOTA I
nnovation and entrepreneurship are alive and thriving in the youth of North Dakota thanks to Marketplace for Kids and the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest. Marketplace for Kids Education Days offer encouragement for developing young entrepreneurs and provide young people with a forum to present and explain projects which demonstrate their entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. The next logical step for many of these students is to see how far they can take their invention and the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest gives them the platform on which to build. The Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest was held January 13-14, 2009 in Bismarck, ND in conjunction with Marketplace, North Dakota’s premier economic development conference. Special award categories for youth – age 14-18 and youth age 13 and under are presented. The top youth inventions this year were diverse and creative in their use and design. Some were fun-oriented while others were useful for work-related activities.
MacKenzie F. A. Melby Many of these products begin as science fair projects. The “Smart Trailer’s” inventor, MacKenzie F. A. Melby saw jack-knifing of trailers as a problem and decided to design an apparatus to fix it. He said, “The Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contest in Bismarck gave me a chance to receive a lot of advice and ideas of where to take my project next.” He also plans to develop and hopefully sell a full-scale version within the next year.
Adam Schreiner Adam Philip Schreiner invented “Taco Tape.” He said, “I had to come up with a science fair project and we were discussing ideas over supper one night when I realized what a mess my little sister was making with her taco.” He also had a lot of fun at his region’s Marketplace for Kids Education Day in 2008. He said, “I brought some friends and this year they want to participate too.” His future plans for “Taco Tape” are to get a patent for it and then try to sell the idea, but not the patent.
Benjamin Longlet Benjamin John Longlet, thinking about winter-related conundrums, created the “Heated Pet Waterer,” a 5-gallon insulated container that doesn’t allow freezing, even in sub-zero temperatures. North Dakota definitely is the right place to market this ingenuous Pet’s Best Friend.
Jonah Eslinger Jonah B. Eslinger for instance, realizing the difficulty that many people have every year during the holiday season, dreamt “Deck the Roof ” into reality. This innovative method to decorate the house and trees, or to make brightly-lit shapes to enhance the season, enables the process without the tangles, twists, and hassles commonly associated with this activity.
It is examples like these and many others that have been presented at the Marketplace/Northern Plains Invention Contests that exemplify the youth of North Dakota and their importance to the growth of the state. Marketplace for Entrepreneurs and the Marketplace Northern Plains Invention Contest provide opportunities to people of all ages who want to show their quality innovative ideas. Future CEO Stars
April 2009
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e would like to thank the sponsors of Future CEO Stars whose forward thinking, support, and generous contributions made this publication possible. It is organizations like these that keep your education focused, moving forward, challenging, and potentially profitable. To learn more about what they have to offer please feel free to visit their websites listed below.
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it shows!!! Appalachian Regional Commission
www.arc.gov
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www.bhs.sbac.edu
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E*TRADE Financial
www.etrade.com
Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education
www.iiee.org
Marketplace for Kids
www.marketplaceforkids.org
MediaSpark Inc
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National Council on Economic Education
www.ncee.net
National Museum of Education
www.nmoe.org
NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation
www.nfib.com/yef
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
www.nfte.com
NY REAL
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Réseau des CJE du Quebec
www.cjereseau.org
University of Florida
www.cei.ufl.edu
Yourhomework.com
www.yourhomework.com
USA Today
www.usatoday.com/educate
Small Business Development Center
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AdVanz, LLC Ohio Department of Education
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