It's Competition Time: Believe in Yourself!

Believing in yourself and your dreams is oftentimes very difficult to do. But this past week I was fortunate enough to witness several young people who believe in themselves and their futures. Ninety-two students from eight different regions across the Youth Entrepreneurs program competed against their peers in their regional business plan competition last week. One of the reasons I feel this program is so valuable is because it inspires young people to dream at an age where they still believe anything is possible. One regional competitor in southwest Kansas said it best when he opened his presentation with the slogan “All you have to do is BELIEVE.” I can attest that every single judge, teacher and audience member believed in the vision of this future entrepreneur after he had finished his presentation. His passion for his business opportunity filled the entire room.

Competition time at Youth Entrepreneurs is both an exciting and terrifying time for students, teachers, and staff alike. This is where the rubber hits the road and all the hard work pays off. The students have spent the better part of a school year coming up with a business opportunity and creating a business plan. Their teachers have enlisted the support of local business professionals, known as Business Plan Advisors (BPAs), to visit the classroom monthly to mentor the students on their plans and presentations. Never did the students imagine they would write a 15+ page business plan, let alone stand up in front of a panel of distinguished business men and women to present their ideas. But each of these competitors was able to conquer glossophobia (A new term that I learned from one competitor known as the fear of public speaking) and present their ideas to the judges in eight minutes. Many of the students thought these eight minutes were the hardest part, but following their presentation, they had to be quick on their feet in order to field questions from the judges for another five minutes. While listening to these budding entrepreneurs, it was easy to forget they are sixteen and seventeen years old.

Now that the Regional Competitions are complete, we are all eagerly awaiting to find out who placed in each region. The first, second, and third place winners in each region will receive $1,000, $750 and $500 of venture capital or scholarship funding. In addition, the first and second place winners will be advancing on to our Final Competition where they have the opportunity to compete for $2,500, $1,000 or $750. What an exciting time, but we will have to be anxious for a little while longer because the winners won’t be announced until our Dreams to Dividends Ceremonies. Make sure to come join us at the ceremony closest to you to find out who placed at regionals and who will be advancing onto our Final Competition in Wichita on May 31^st.

Thank you to all of our volunteers, donors, and teachers for your help in allowing these young people to BELIEVE in their futures!

Kansas City Dreams to Dividends            

KCKPS District Office

May 7^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Topeka/Lawrence Dreams to Dividends

Topeka Public Library

May 8^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Wichita/South Central Dreams to Dividends

Abode Venue

May 9^th, 6:30-8:00pm

Southwest Dreams to Dividends

The Golf Club at Southwind

May 10^th, 6:30-8:00pm

YE Summer Partnerships = Your Competitive Advantage

 We’ve all heard it a thousand times… and it’s true. The job market is tough and the competition keeps getting tougher! But what if you already had an edge over your peers because you chose to spend a small portion of your summer working with a company who believed in you?

This summer, 46 businesses will partner with Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) to provide unique on-the-job learning experiences for nearly 150 alumni of the YE program. Similar to an internship, summer partnerships provide opportunities to gain insight into various industries and network with leadership of partnering companies. How many of your friends can say that they have had the opportunity to eat lunch with top executives from companies such as Freddy’s, Westar, GM, or Google?

Whether you’re a looking to build your resume’ or still exploring your career options, this is the perfect opportunity to get ahead of the game. Maybe you’ll meet your long term mentor. Maybe you’ll be offered a job. And, maybe you’ll decide that a career in marketing or finance isn’t really what you thought it was. The choices you make today will either put you one step closer or further away from your goals. Apply for a YE Summer Partnership before it’s too late; Deadline is this Monday, April 16th at 5:00 pm.

"By participating in a summer partnership I was able to broaden my horizons about different careers and gain experience in a corporate business environment."
-Philip Hammons
Van Horn High School

 Thank you to all of our partnering organizations!

 KC Metro 
Backfire BBQ
BATS Exchange
Bernstein Rein
Cerner Corporation
Community America Credit Union
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Fervor Marketing Concepts
General Motors
Google
Kansas City Board of Trade
KPRS 103.3
Morningstar Communications
Propaganda3
River City Studio
Sporting Kansas City

Southwest Kansas
American Family Insurance – Chris Boys
Dodge City Convention & Tourism Bureau
Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation
Finney County Convention & Tourism Bureau
Golden Plains Credit Union
Main Street Dodge City
Scheopner’s Water Conditioning
Weber Refrigeration and Heating
WindRiver Grain

Topeka
Boutique Ten47
Dynamic Computer Solutions
Premier Employment Services
Security Benefit
USD 501
Westar Energy
WIBW

Wichita Metro
Alpha Bio Systems
Eric Fisher Academy
Freddy's Frozen Custard
High Touch, Inc.
Howard + Helmer Architecture
Koch Creative Group
Leslie Rudd Investment Company
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
YE Profit Project
River City Brewing Co.
Flint Hill’s National Golf Club
Jimmy John’s
Physicians Development Group LLC 

Not region specific
Primetime Sports

For questions about Summer Partnerships contact Lindsay Jennings at lindsay@yeks.org or 316.828.3917

Finding Value within the Pitch!

Value creation, a term YE students hear over and over again throughout the course of the year.  We challenge students to develop a business concept that will create value in the lives of consumers; finding a need and fulfilling it.  If you can cultivate value then consumers will continue to seek after your products and services.  Yet far too often students underestimate the value of being able to clearly articulate what their business idea/concept is through verbal communication.

Luckily, YE offers various ways for students to compete and place their business ideas on display.  After all, while there is tremendous value in writing a feasible business plan there is just as much value if not more in being able to communicate it effectively and efficiently to investors and consumers alike.

For this reason YE is holding its first ever ElevatorPitch Contest during the month of April.  Students have been busy finishing up writing their plans, working on presentations, and perhaps have even experienced the excitement of hosting a trade board show.  Now they have the opportunity to create a video elevator pitch for their business.  This is their opportunity to put their business on display for the world to see.  Who knows, perhaps a venture capitalist will see their video and want to invest!  The contest is being hosted on Youth Entrepreneurs Facebook page.

Students who choose to participate will gain something far more valuable than that of the cash prizes that are being awarded.  They will have went through the knowledge processes needed to effectively summarize their business in a way that makes it unique. Others are excited to buy their product or services; a fundamental skill every business owner must have.  A business owner never knows when an opportunity might arise to pitch their business idea/concept so their pitch must always be ready; as handy and accessible as the business card in their back pocket.

Take the popular ABC show Shark Tank for example; here you have the typical business owner pitching their concept to a pool of investors, the “Sharks”.  Some business owners are in the startup phases while others have been in operation for awhile.  Nevertheless, their pitch has to entice the “Sharks” to see the value in investing into their company.  But here is the kicker, while some business owners walk away without an investment from the “Sharks” all is not lost because of the thousand other viewers, i.e. potential investors are receiving the same pitch.  Many past contestants who do not receive an investment on the show will gain investment from outside investors based off of their pitch that was presented. 

Business plans come and go, business cards get lost in the shuffle, but a well develop and executed pitch last in the minds of the listener forever.  So while there is value in the actual pitch itself there is also value in development process as well.  You never know when you might have to pitch your idea so it is best to have it ready to go, and who knows the person standing in the back of the elevator or room might be person who actual walks away persuaded to invest and not the actual person receiving the pitch.

Youth Entrepreneurs Elevator Pitch Contest runs April 16^th – April 30^th via our Facebook page.  Make sure to visit and vote for your favorite elevator pitch!

 - Tiffany Staley, Program Manager

The Washington Journey

Guest blogger Teaira Ransom writes about her trip to DC with the Urban Economics Academy group. You can read Teaira's last blog here.




It’s three in the morning and time to load up the car to begin my adventure; soon I will be in a whole new atmosphere. My mind is on a rollercoaster of beautiful thoughts and imagining different scenery! In the beginning we all had one expectation in mind, we all wanted to have a fun time; somewhere in the middle is where everyone’s expectations started to change. Hence… frustration, let’s start from the beginning.




We started our learning expedition at the Cato Institute. Cato was a beautiful and newly renovated institution. Cato allows people to speak their minds on subjects that many people feel are taboo. This organization makes you think about every day issues in a different mindset. We learned more on things such as free markets and limited government. My favorite session was when we got to talk to someone who studies welfare reform at the Heritage Foundation. It was interesting because I had no idea a job such like this existed. Welfare is one of my favorite subjects to discuss so I was looking forward to hearing their point of views on the subject. On Tuesday we spent some time with the Charles Koch Institute. Jeff Proctor had us play the trading game. Although I have played the game before, it was even better because I felt like I learned more about trade and the risk involved. I love how they encouraged us all to join their summer programs and how they all were really enthusiastic.








Now here’s where things started getting a little heated. There were some mild differences within the group, but then again that is to be expected. There was some mild complaining amongst a few people, but then again that is to be expected. There was some attitudes being displayed but AGAIN…to be expected? WRONG!!! Appreciation people!! Yes the word is APPRECIATION!! I personally enjoyed everything, the walking and most of all the COMPLAINING, yes I enjoyed the complaining, I viewed it as a source of entertainment, but I must confess toward the end I had enough with the complaining and found my self wondering “umm didn’t Mr. B say if he had any problems he would send people home… umm can we get a shuttle to the airport ASAP”. I believe this trip has taught us all something special; everyone reacts different when they are placed in a different environment. All the arguments were so childish and unneeded. I believe that the trip would have went better for a lot of people if vitamin B12 was giving to each of the students. I also loved riding the subway and would love to live in D.C if I ever had the chance. The trip was fun, although I didn’t expect many of the things that happened on this trip. Again, I believe this trip was a learning experience and at the end of the trip I found myself asking the same question over and over. Would I ever do this again? Well… I guess you’ll just have to find out.