Entrepreneurship is at the forefront of the Youth Entrepreneurs' [YE] mission, but having a successful business is only a small part of the type of thinking that the YE family teaches.
Founder Liz Koch puts it best in an interview for the Wichita Eagle in 2008, she says, "My goals and what I look at as success (by way of YE) is to change the way they (students) currently think about what is possible for them, their life, their family in the society, in the town, which they choose."
Our hope is that not only will the students be impacted by the program, but they will in turn be inspired to impact the community they live in. In other words, the standard of success we hold ourselves to as YE employees is measured by the student’s ability to learn to hold themselves responsible, to shake off the entitlement that has been instilled in them and by their unique ability to learn the principles of entrepreneurship.
YE is growing, but only because the market demands it. If YE truly wants these things, and continues to carry out the necessary actions in order to accomplish them, we must continue to find the right people, places and education tools through which to teach them. YE’s vision is becoming clearer and clearer with every new student that decides to take the class.
When the article mentioned above was published YE had just hired our current Executive Director (Kylie Stupka), awarded close to $30,000 in scholarships, awarded nearly $18,000 in venture capital and were approaching 700 students in its program at 18 high schools in Kansas. In the 2010-11 school year YE will reach 1,000 students as part of the curriculum of 29 high schools in the greater Wichita area, Kansas City Metro area, Dodge City, Garden City, Lawrence and Topeka. YE will also award upwards of $75,000 in scholarships.
The growth in the last 2 years is no doubt exciting, but YE’s growth is a growth born of the demand for and belief in what we teach. YE’s success is based on the future. It is the students.
-Grant Mankin
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