These 36 Young Entrepreneur Teams Are Going to New York City to Pitch Their Business Plans in the NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge; Winner Will Take Home $25,000 in Cash & Prizes
Elevator Pitch voting is open through October 3rd
NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Young entrepreneurs from Miami to Boston and Los Angeles and major cities in between will be in New York City to compete in the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge – presented by the Citi Foundation– where the winner will receive a prize package valued at $25,000 in direct funding, scholarships and business support services.
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) will host the finals of the 10th annual Challenge at the AXA Event & Production Center in New York City on October 6, 2015.
All participating young entrepreneurs are listed below by region. Each business in the Challenge is a first or second place winner of NFTE's regional challenge in their area, or is one of the five top winners out of 20 recent NFTE Make Your Job BizCamps, a national program funded by the Citi Foundation as part of its Pathways to Progress initiative to promote career readiness.
Downey, CA
Kenneth Huertas - A Touch of Eco – an environmentally-friendly mobile auto detailing service in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Fresno, CA
Omar Barriga - New Generations Teen Night Club - a safe and secure, alcohol and drug free nightclub for teens within the Fresno area.
Patrick Rogers & Faith Zavala - 4:13 Supply Co – a spiritually based clothing line inspired by the scripture Philippians 4:13.
Hayward, CA
Samantha Faxon & Sharlyn McClendon - Your City Gold Card - a year-long, reusable discount card that supports local businesses, employs teens with part-time jobs, and helps raise funds for schools.
Lawndale, CA
Crystal Sanchez - Guardian Locket – a fashionable security necklace disguised as a regular piece of jewelry, empowering women to contact local law enforcement when threatened by an attacker.
Los Angeles, CA
Elijah Jobe - HoopDreamz - an app that allows basketball players and fans to find recreation centers and parks in their area in order to meet up and play basketball.
San Jose, CA
Cristina Lawson - Kinetic – a product which harnesses your kinetic energy as you walk or run and converts it to electricity to power your phone or electrical device.
Hartford, CT
Selma Ahmetovic & Selma Mustabasic - So Scentsational, LLC - Eco-friendly, hypoallergenic and sustainable candles that embody personality and creativity.
Newark, DE
Angelique Shepard - Paper Pic Designs- a design solution to customize notepads.
Coral Springs, FL
Jason Ramadan - Cliff Fall - an iOS game with a more personalized and user-friendly experience.
Plantation, FL
Alyssa Brennan & Aviva Grimmett – BloodBand – a retail/manufacturing business that enlists laser technology to eliminate the need to prick oneself in order to monitor blood sugar levels.
Sunrise, FL
Kevin Diniz - Easy Scholar - an app that allows students to find relevant scholarships.
Tucker, GA
Rohit Pellai - Reserve My Spot - an app which allows students to find and reserve parking spots and provides an extra layer of security for school officials.
Chicago, IL
Marcos Quiroz & Eduardo Reyes - Inventive Smoothies - a food truck selling healthy smoothies in the Chicago area.
Davon Smith - Level UP! - matches a student's Lexile score to an interest survey to help the student select interesting and engaging texts.
Lawrence, MA
Yoanna Rodriguez & Tamara Rodriguez - Star Athletes – a professional videographer service dedicated to creating "highlight" videos for college athlete recruitment.
Baltimore, MD
Javon Gholston & Michael Heier, Jr. - Power To The PCB - an engineering tool design company dedicated to making more efficient work tools for those working in electronics.
Colton Ross - Kickies Cookies - artisanal caffeinated cookie business.
Ferguson, MO
Destiny Davis - DestinTees Custom Tees & Apparel - a company that designs high-quality, customized T-shirts.
Jacob Tiemann - Sneaker Trade- an app which allows users to sell and trade shoes.
Armani Tomlinson - Keeja Custom Cases - an LLC business which provides custom iPhone cases.
Brooklyn, NY
Hariella Lawson & Desiree Michel – TeenWork -a mobile application designed to give teenagers ideas, motivation and summer opportunities around and outside their communities based on their interests.
Jamaica, NY
Alexandria Rodriguez – HealthyMe – a diet app dedicated to providing emotional and technical support as well as clinically-based dietary data for those trying to lose weight.
Queens, NY
Urbana Anam & Jannatul Rowshan - Urbanalifa Hijabs - customizable and fashionable Hijabs for Muslim women looking to reveal their sense of style while maintaining their religious modesty.
Yonkers, NY
Christie Medina – Tacitas - Gourmet Hispanic baked goods.
Painesville, OH
Ryan Hyde - Ignited Innovations - concrete-based, environmentally friendly products to enhance the décor of your home and living space.
Joey Orosz – Embracelets - handmade bracelets promoting cause awareness and sold wholesale for fundraising events.
Philadelphia PA
Shemar Coombs & Aissata Coulibaly - Rap-It-Up – a phone case with a built-in groove to allow for easy headphone storage.
Charleston, SC
Caleb Milligan - Caleb Alexander: The Next Generation of Magic – an affordable, fresh and innovative magic show that appeals to today's 21st century audience.
Mt. Pleasant, SC
Connor Simonson - Deep Fried Dyes - Professional string and dye jobs for lacrosse players: enhancing style and improving performance on the field.
Dallas, TX
Emily Raney - Alloy Interp – a custom design jewelry company that utilizes various metals, beads, and even gum wrappers to help young girls express their individual styles.
Irving, TX
Ashley Gonzalez & Roha Nehas - Beat The Heat Headwear - a head band containing a cooling-gel sewn into it that keeps your head cool during outdoor activities.
Alexandria, VA
Ramsey Benzina & Jacob Katz - Jams Music Group - a music platform and management group geared to provide every aspiring musician with equal opportunity to create a career in music.
Washington, DC
Justin Godby, William Leach – GetYourHeat – a distributor of exclusive, hard-to-attain shoes/sneakers in the DC area.
In addition, NFTE is giving these finalists their first big break with 60 seconds to sell their business idea to the world, in an online "elevator pitch." Voting is open now through October 3 here: www.nfte.com/elevatorpitch2015.
The nominee who earns the most unique votes from the general public will receive an award of $2,500 toward advancing their education or getting their business off the ground. The winner will also be announced at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Student photos, more detailed biographies and information about their businesses is available.
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
Since 1987, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has taught and inspired more than 600,000 young people to pursue educational opportunities, start their own businesses, and succeed in life. By providing entrepreneurship education programs relevant to the real world, NFTE empowers students to own their education and future success. NFTE has programs in 14 U.S. program offices and in 8 countries. To learn more visit www.nfte.com, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/NFTE and follow us on Twitter at @NFTE
About the Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant cities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.
Alyssa Miller, [email protected] 973.615.1292
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SOURCE Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
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