Teen Entrepreneurs Test Their Skills
By Sybil Maimin

“We’re really nervous,” announced Thomas O’Keefe, a Goldman Sachs private wealth manager and mentor to a team of four teen-agers who had just finished presenting plans for a proposed business, a teen savings card company, to a panel of three judges, all seasoned professionals. They were awaiting the judges’ decision in a competition that pitted them against similar would-be entrepreneurs in an exciting culmination of six months of learning sponsored by the Goldman Sachs Foundation in an initiative to increase learning opportunities for high- achieving youngsters from underrepresented backgrounds.

Eighth and ninth graders from metro New York who had been identified by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) as especially gifted spent one day a month for six months in teams of 4 or 5 working with mentors to acquire business savvy. They learned the methods and lingo of business as was evident in their very professional presentations which included power point outlines, income statements, discussions of start-up plans, analysis of competition, marketing strategies, and future goals. The teens were dressed in “serious” attire (no casual Friday, here) and spoke confidently and knowledgeably. They handled questions from the judges with aplomb and grace and impressed a large audience of proud parents, teachers, friends, and business executives. The three teams in the finals each offered a very viable plan. The winning team designed “Brainstorm,” a tutoring service that would employ teens who had mastered a subject to instruct other teens. Brainstorm’s market research indicated that 70 percent of kids prefer to learn from their peers, and parents are willing to pay for good tutors. Another team was convinced of a market for a teen savings (discount) card, citing the lack of competition, benefits to advertisers, and desirability of “tapping into their dollars and their parents’ dollars.” The third team of finalists proposed an addition to the juice industry called “Just Jus.” Blind taste tests had shown them their blend was preferred over existing brands, and potential customers could easily be found outside of school gyms and sports centers.

Maria Luna, a student at Mark Twain Junior High in Brooklyn and a member of the teen savings card team said, “the experience makes theory real, and you can see that it’s possible to make something work.” Her mentor, Goldman Sach’s O’Keefe, spoke of his group as “very creative and intelligent, amazing…I wasn’t as motivated and composed as they are when I was their age.” In thoughtful comments to the participants about their projects, the judges mentioned their “ambition” and “ability to see the target. They really believed in their products.” Mom Zenola Fields said her daughter Courtney, an eighth grader at Kip Academy in the Bronx, had “met youngsters from many backgrounds different from her own in the program” and came away “enriched.”

The program is a partnership between Johns Hopkins CTY, the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship which provides curriculum and materials. Mentors include Goldman Sachs professionals and college and MBA students. To apply to the Talent Search and receive scholarship information, call 1-800-510-9360/61, or E-mail:dlee_hopkins_cty@hotmail.com.#

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