The Mobile chapter of the national Young Entrepreneurs Academy recently held a competition for local students to show off their unique product ideas, and two students walked away with $1,000 in startup cash.
Dominique Williams and Isabella Fank, students at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, won the money and the chance to compete nationally later this summer at America’s Small Business Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Williams, Fank, and the other competing students presented their products to a panel of Alabama business leaders who would decide how to distribute the $6,000 pot of startup money, which was donated by Alabama Power, Warren Averett, Sam’s Club, and other businesses.
“I thought the business plans were extremely well-thought out,” said Andy Newton, president and CEO of Southern Light and one of the judges. “It was structured. You could tell they had been well-coached.”
Williams and Fank won first place and $1,000 for their product Shoe Boo, a moldable shoe insert that could be used in multiple shoes. The judges believe that being customizable gives the product a competitive advantage.
Young Entrepreneurs Academy is a national after-school program that teaches students how to start and run businesses. The University of Rochester (NY) founded the Academy in 2004, and to date it has over 3,000 graduates that have gone on to start 1,700 businesses. The organization has 168 chapters throughout the United States, including five in Alabama.
The Mobile Chamber of Commerce sponsors the local YEA chapter, and the chamber partnered with the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science and the University of South Alabama to host this competition.
Students go through a rigorous 30-week business program with YEA. They are trained and mentored by teachers from the ASMS and professors at the University of South Alabama. Many students start the program with little or no knowledge of how businesses work, but by the end of the 30 weeks they are able to confidently create and present business plans and products.
The students created a wide variety of products for this competition, including a care package business, online dating service, and organic cosmetics.
Mel Washington, regional manager and lead counselor for the Alabama Small Business Development Center at the University of South Alabama believes programs such as Young Entrepreneurs Academy are vital to improving our state.
“If we’re really going to build our economy, we need students who come out of school knowing how to run a business.”
