Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Gala

Kenon Thompson is a guest blogger for us this week. Kenon shares with us his adventures in New York City during the NFTE Gala. Kenon was awarded the Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award! Congrats and thanks for sharing your experience with us!

http://www.kenonthompson.com/2/post/2012/05/2012-nfte-global-young-entrepreneurs-of-the-year.html

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

Jumpstart Kansas – The Freedom to Jump

President Michael Schneider challenges incoming freshman to McPherson College to have the “freedom to jump”.  Recently I witnessed 12 groups of Kansas high school students put their inhibitions aside to take the leap.  A leap of faith that resulted in receipt of a $5,000 cash reward to Youth Entrepreneurs East High School Alumni, Colin Johnson and his partner Damien Gilbert.    

Presenting their plan via rolling Animoto visuals to the tune of OneRepublic’s Good Life the duo explained and sold their recycled steel bottle business to all in attendance.  They nailed the numbers, pinpointed the research and demonstrated the scalability.  The crowd was enraptured by the business idea and equally impressed with the poise, presentation style and confidence of its founders.  Apparently, so were the judges.  Walking away, check in tow, I heard the challenge from President Schneider as he congratulated the duo by exclaiming...”do this...really do this...make a bottle.”  They earned it and deserved to win.  Congratulations to SteelSalvation.  You’ve made us proud.  

Excitingly, Colin wasn’t the only YE student in the room.  Ideas abounded and students leapt.  Two other East High students, current YE students, Deshae Caldcleught and Natalie Lash competed with their tutoring café concept called “One Smart Cookie”. I tasted the healthy culinary creations they’ll be serving the students they tutor.  These girls have a great concept.  They, too, will go places.  

Checking in all the way from Wyandotte High School, last year’s YE Finals competitor Trina Durham wowed the judges with her social entrepreneurship concept proposing privatized foster care reform. “Why can you do this better than the current system?”, she was asked.  Simple, she replied, by shifting the burden of care from government to capable, passionate citizens.  Her plan, inclusive of economic incentives for her foster children, demonstrated her understanding of the true pathway to prosperity!  

By flashing photos of scantily clad, pregnant, intoxicated and drugged teen girls, our YE intern, Alexandria Webb, caught the attention of those in the room while presenting her venture, K.U.L.E girls.  Focusing on design, government and business, K.U.L.E girls is redefining success in the minds of young women.   Although K.U.L.E girls didn’t take home the social entrepreneur title, you wouldn’t have known it from the reaction in the room.  Even, kcteenlife.org, the group that won, found their way to Alex at the event’s end to exchange business cards and strategize future partnering!

 Finally, to talk about life after the leap, Kalene Smith, a Campus High School YE alum gave the students insight into next steps and expectations.  Kalene, an A.S.E Certified personal trainer, is operating a web-based training platform.  Her story took the audience from sitting in Kathy Shockley’s Campus High YE class to negotiating her own gym contract.  Additionally, she and her partner have written a recipe book and have sold over 100 copies in the last 4 months.  Her story resonated with the young competitors in the room who posed question after question about her journey.   

It was FUN!  What is better than spending your morning with such a group of impressive Kansas teen entrepreneurs?  Those of us in the room left feeling inspired and hopeful.  I, personally, left smiling.

To learn more about the Jumpstart Kansas program, check out http://blogs.mcpherson.edu/entrepreneurship/jump-start-kansas/

 - Kylie Stupka, Youth Entrepreneurs Executive Director

My Overall Experience

Check out this Fox 4 News clip of Danielle Stegall and read below from Danielle herself about her experience that starts TODAY!


Well, tomorrow is the big day! As I prepare to leave for New York tomorrow I’m taking time for last reflections of my experience up to this point. I have learned a great number of things during this whole experience. It has changed my entire outlook on and attitude towards life. I never knew how hard I could really work until I had to prepare for this competition. At times there were late days, late nights, and weekends but I have a sense it was all worth it and will all pay off in the future! I feel I have accomplished a huge goal in my life. Working with YE to prepare for the competition has been a positive experience though at times I had may ups and downs with Mr. Birmingham (two different personalities trying to work together…interesting) but I really appreciated him working with me and putting up with all of my baggage and pushing me to that next level. The process in working and learning how to prepare for the competition has been very hard but I am very proud of how much it has grown. I didn’t understand at first how much I really had to do until it got closer to the competition then everything started to seem so real. I am afraid of making mistakes while I present but with all the different rehearsals and presentations I feel I am prepared. I went home some days mentally exhausted and it still seemed like I wasn’t getting anywhere but I feel I am prepared to do my best. The competition is here!  It’s time to put on a show and show the judges what I have to offer! Regardless of the outcome, I know I worked extremely hard and will do my best come Thursday. Wish me luck!

Danielle Stegall

BizConnect for Alumni & Community Supporters

During my three years of working as the Development Assistant for the Youth Entrepreneurs Program I have spent a great deal of time committed to working with the YE Alumni Advisory Council in Wichita, a small group of alumni, willing to help and eager to connect with other alumni who had the same interests as them—BUSINESS.  Together the council was able to come up with small events that would do just that.

Over and Over again the people who attended these events would tell us that while they enjoyed the speaker, what they enjoyed the most was the opportunity to network with people like themselves. That there was a sense of camaraderie between themselves and others who took the “Youth Entrepreneurs Kansas” class in High School.

And with this, “Biz Connect” was born. On Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 5:30 pm, Youth Entrepreneurs will host its biggest alumni event yet. This event is free and open to the public, but most importantly it is unique from all of our other events! Biz Connect will be the first time Youth Entrepreneurs has intermingled our alumni and community supporters on a personal level.

When:  Wednesday, September 21^st from 5:30-7:30 pm

Where: Abode Venue, downtown at 1330 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS

Who: YEK Alumni and business professionals in the community who have a strong passion for business and wish to expand their network are encouraged to attend this free event!

How: Visit https://yeks.org/events/ to RSVP

**Free appetizers and desserts will be provided by: Cocoa Dolce, Palmers Grill and Mike's Wine Dive ** In addition to other great prizes that will be available YEK Alumni will automatically be entered into a drawing for a $50 Bradley Fair gift certificate. **

For more information visit https://yeks.org/events/ or email: lindsay@yeks.org

-Lindsay