IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT
Creating the Next Generation of Leaders
A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR When we launched Youth Entrepreneurs® Georgia (YEGeorgia) in 2006, we held firmly to a core belief that young people, even those with little to no understanding about how business works, innately possess entrepreneurial instincts and intelligence. That belief drives our passion to teach students the basics of business and the value of entrepreneurship.We inspire youth to adopt an economic way of thinking, ignite their ideas and imaginations and empower them to change the trajectory of their lives, communities and futures. For nearly a decade, we have been intentional in our efforts to challenge assumptions about business education. We have transformed traditional classrooms into hubs of innovation and incubators to explore new ideas; places where creativity and collaboration lead to exciting discoveries; failure produces improved judgment and decision-making, and problems are merely puzzles to solve and opportunities to create value. The work is challenging, but the rewards are transformative. Nothing compares to the look in the eyes of students who discover their creativity, increase their financial literacy, gain self-confidence and begin to rely on their intuition and resourcefulness. The knowledge and skills they acquire will serve them long after they complete the course, graduate from college, start a career or launch a “start-up.” As I reflect on the last decade, I am reminded of the relationships we have built across metro Atlanta that have made it all worthwhile. I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff, teachers, parents, volunteers, business leaders, entrepreneurs and donors who have worked so hard to make YEGeorgia a sustainable and transformative program for our youth. Our work is far from done! We have more teachers to train, parents to support, volunteers to recruit and students to impact. Our vision is to bring business and entrepreneurship education to even more classrooms and young people across Georgia. YEGeorgia is not just another class. It’s an educational movement to empower youth to transcend challenges, fulfill their potential and define their futures.
Scott D. Brown, Executive Director
OF YEGEORGIA’S INAUGURAL 97%CLASS OF STUDENTS ATTAINED A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA. WENT ON TO ATTEND COLLEGE, 80%TRADE SCHOOL OR THE MILITARY. 3
FOUNDATIONAL VALUES OF YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS
1. BE PRINCIPLED:
ALWAYS ACT WITH INTEGRITY, RESPECT, AND TOLERATION.
2. WIN-WIN FOCUS:
COOPERATION CREATES REAL VALUE IN SOCIETY – FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS.
3. OPPORTUNITY:
YOU MAKE YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES.
4. SOUND JUDGEMENT:
USE ECONOMIC THINKING TO CREATE THE GREATEST BENEFIT, USING THE LEAST RESOURCES.
5. KNOWLEDGE:
SEEK AND USE THE BEST INFORMATION, DRIVE CHANGE THAT BENEFITS OTHERS, AND EXEMPLIFY HUMILITY AND INTELLECTUAL HONESTY.
6. PASSION:
FIND FULFILLMENT IN YOUR LIFE BY IMPROVING THE LIVES OF OTHERS.
7. FREEDOM:
RESPECT THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS AND STUDY THE LINKS BETWEEN FREEDOM, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND SOCIETAL WELL-BEING.
8. RESPONSIBILITY:
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN ACTIONS.
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CHILDREN BORN INTO POVERTY IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE LESS THAN A % CHANCE OF CLIMBING OUT.
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YEGEORGIA IS MAKING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT TO OVERCOME THAT UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH.
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OUR PROGRAMS YEGeorgia’s programs are designed to engage young people in learning experiences that expose them to practical business knowledge and encourage a new way of thinking about economics, innovation and enterprise.
YEGeorgia Classrooms
are incubators in which students learn core business concepts, a collaborative approach to innovation and problem solving, and participate in real world entrepreneurial activities that emphasize the importance of ethics and value creation. With the help of enthusiastic, highly qualified teachers, our high school and middle school students first learn the basics, which they later apply in real-life settings.
Market Day
enables students to demonstrate how much they’ve learned about the art, skill and strategy behind buying and selling, marketing and profitability. Students work cooperatively in teams, compete for venture capital to purchase goods during a field trip to a local wholesaler and experience the reality of vying against other teams for customers in the marketplace.
Innovation Camps
are hosted by YEGeorgia at stellar academic institutions, such as Morehouse College and Georgia Tech, to attract students with an interest in entrepreneurship. Students participate in summer activities that focus on using innovation, science, technology, engineering and mathematics to spark creativity, boost critical-thinking skills and solve problems.
The Annual Business Plan Competition challenges students to apply their newfound
knowledge to bring business ideas to life. Students receive guidance and coaching from teachers and business leaders, then present and defend their plans to a panel of judges.
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OUR PROGRAMS BizXchange is a quarterly networking event that brings together YEGeorgia students,
alumni, teachers, volunteers and business and community leaders for an evening of learning, networking and sharing ideas. Local innovators and enterprisers reflect on their successes and failures, field questions from the audience and offer advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Job-Shadowing, Internship and Scholarship Opportunities enable students to broaden their learning beyond the classroom and apply economic thinking and problem solving to their life experiences.
Project IdeAction
is an interactive learning experience that gives YEGeorgia students the opportunity to address a real world business problem posed by a local company or small business. Through group collaboration, student teams are encouraged to turn their ideas into action by developing new, creative and innovative solutions that not only address the posed problem, but that create long-term value and improve the lives of others.
Entrepreneur in Residence is a formal start-up mentorship program singularly focused
on helping our young enterprisers create value by bringing their business solutions to market. Since inception,13 students have launched start-ups, creating either a product or a service that generated sales. That number will increase in the coming years as we fully implement the residency program.
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ON ONE NEW STU *
BY
202
NEUDENTTHOUSAND S EACH
020
YEAR
OURPLAN:
YEAR 1: 2015-2016 - 350 STUDENTS YEAR 2: 2016-2017 - 450 STUDENTS YEAR 3: 2017-2018 - 600 STUDENTS YEAR 4: 2018-2019 - 800 STUDENTS YEAR 5: 2019-2020 - 1,000 STUDENTS *FOR A TOTAL OF 5,000 STUDENTS SERVED BY 2020.
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TESTIMONIALS
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YEGEORGIA OPENED MY MIND TO THE WORLD OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
ALUMNUS – NICK MIDDLEBROOKS
Nick Middlebrooks was introduced to YEGeorgia during his sophomore year at North Atlanta High School. He got a jumpstart on his peers by learning about the fundamentals of business and principles of entrepreneurship at an impressionable age. As a result of the program, Nick began researching the business world. When he isn’t in class or studying for exams, the Georgia Tech business major is tackling duties as CEO of Achieving Higher Levels (AHL), a company that designs, produces and delivers quality custom apparel. He also created the TooLive app, which enables young people to use their smartphones to find local events that match their personal interests. “YEGeorgia was the driving force behind me starting to pursue my passions,” Nick says. “My biggest accomplishment has been the relationships that I have built over the years and the wonderful support system I have around me.”
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IN THIS PROGRAM, I BECAME EXPOSED TO A BUSINESS WORLD I NEVER REALIZED EXISTED.
ALUMNA – COUNTISS MILLER
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Countiss Miller participated in the YEGeorgia program during her junior year at Benjamin E. Mays High School. “We were shown that our creativity can be a unique idea for a business,” she says. While at Mays, she used tools learned during the program to help her advance to the citywide Business Plan Competition and earned first runner-up honors. YEGeorgia believes that every student touched by the program is equipped with the basic fundamentals of business and can apply that knowledge to every aspect of their lives. Countiss is no exception. She graduated from Georgia State University with a bachelor’s degree in biological science and a minor in chemistry in spring 2015. She is now a research and development chemist at Kimoto Tech, Inc. in Cedartown, Ga.
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I AM TRULY GRATEFUL FOR THIS PROGRAM. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS A HIGH SCHOOL CAN OFFER.
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ALUMNA – GUADALUPE GARCIA Guadalupe Garcia participated in the program during her junior and senior years at Cross Keys High School. She decided to take the course because she thought it offered an opportunity to learn useful skills that she could apply after high school. She credits YEGeorgia with giving her the confidence to voice her own ideas. Through the program, she met the general manager of Brookhaven Costco when he spoke to her class. Emboldened by what she’d learned, Guadalupe approached him afterward and asked about a seasonal job at the store during the holidays. A few days later, she was called for an interview and landed the position. Store managers were so impressed by her work ethic, they asked her to stay on after the holidays and offered her a permanent position. “That wouldn’t have been possible without the YEGeorgia program,” Guadalupe says. “It did not only help me get a job, but it also made me who I am today.” YEGeorgia believes that providing each student with the tools and knowledge to succeed is the key to success. Guadalupe used the teachings of the program to not only get a job, but also change the trajectory of her life. She is currently a freshman at Georgia Perimeter College.
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YEGEORGIA IS NOT JUST AN ORGANIZATION. THEY ARE FAMILY.
PARENT – TONISHA WATKINS
Tonisha Watkins’ son, Donté, participated in the YEGeorgia program during his junior year at Tucker High School. She attributes his success to the program for shifting his mindset to believe that anything is possible with the right tools. She says the program is making a difference by encouraging students to dream big and providing the necessary support, tools and platform for young entrepreneurs to transform their dreams into reality. Donté is currently a freshman at Morehouse College. Thanks to YEGeorgia, Tonisha says her son has blossomed into a serial entrepreneur with the passion and knowledge to succeed in life. One of her proudest moments was watching consumer expert Clark Howard interview Donté for WSB-TV’s primetime special, “Dreams to Dollars,” about Atlanta’s growing reputation as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Donté credited YEGeorgia with nurturing his entrepreneurial aspirations and giving him the tools necessary to start his business, Second Chance Tutoring, which provides local students with fee-based homework assistance and academic coaching.
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THE PROGRAM IS A PERFECT FIT BECAUSE IT BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN WHAT THE CURRICULUM IS TEACHING AND WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE REAL WORLD.
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TEACHER – MICHAEL GREEN
Michael Green was approached more than three years ago about becoming a YEGeorgia instructor at Cross Keys High School. Since joining the program, he has exposed more students to the teachings of the program and inspired a generation to believe anything is possible with business. “Now they have a better understanding of what business is and the role it plays in all the stores they go to on a daily basis, and they understand how business is working in the background in our economy,” he says. The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) recognized Michael as a 2015 Global Enterprising Educator during its Global Showcase in Manhattan for his ability to turn everyday situations into teachable moments about business and economics that resonate with his students. He credits the program with making him a better teacher. “In the classroom, it has trained me to get away from the textbook method of teaching,” he says. “It’s really given me a different, more dynamic way to teach my classes.” A teacher for 11 years, Michael says YEGeorgia has made as much of an impact on him as it has on his students. He recently received his real estate license and launched MG Property Solutions LLC, where he handles housing investments, sales, rentals and rehabs for his clients part time. Now, Michael says, not only is he able to share his first-hand business experiences and insights with his students, but his new business is also providing him with three things a schoolteacher can always use: “another stream of income, a safety net and a back-up plan.”
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IMPACTFUL INVESTMENT An investment in YEGeorgia is an investment in our future innovators, problemsolvers, job creators and community leaders. Each student who passes through the program learns to look for opportunities to add value in every situation, whether as a volunteer, business owner or employee.
Entrepreneurship unlocks the doors to opportunity, self-sufficiency and economic freedom. YEGeorgia has provided thousands of young people with the keys to becoming future business leaders and entrepreneurs. With your support and partnership, we can expand our reach to have a greater impact on the state of Georgia. Please join us today. Visit us at www.yegeorgia.org.
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