EDUCATION
nesses don’t take off, the lessons gleaned through
the process are important.
“It’s really important that students think about
other pathways,” Millsap says. “Students could live
just as rich and successful lives, more so now than
ever, by developing a business and finding a way to
creatively live and earn without going to college.”
LEARNING FIRSTHAND
“STUDENTS COULD LIVE JUST
AS RICH AND SUCCESSFUL
LIVES, MORE SO NOW THAN
EVER, BY DEVELOPING A
BUSINESS AND FINDING A
WAY TO CREATIVELY LIVE
AND EARN WITHOUT GOING
TO COLLEGE.”
-Tyler Millsap, principal,
Da Vinci Charter Academy
50
comstocksmag.com | October 2018
As much as instructional programs can do, there’s
no substitute for the real thing. Fourteen-year-old
Jake Van Ry caught the business bug and launched
his own, now booming, lemonade and hot dog
stand after appearing on a Food Network compe-
tition several years ago.
His parents, entrepreneurs themselves who own
a gymnastics studio and a food trailer, say the ex-
perience has taught the high schooler valuable les-
sons about time and money management, supply
and demand, and the importance of reinvesting in
his business. After seeing other food trucks score big
sales with frozen lemonade, for example, he decided
to spend some of his earnings on a Vitamix to debut
his own recipe. His parents, Andrea and Michael,
hope those lessons will translate to his future work.
“[He’s learned] leadership in general, being
organized, work ethic, knowing from a young age
just how to critically think and [find] out answers
to questions you need,” Andrea Van Ry says. “The
critical-thinking aspect is so beneficial, no matter
what you’re going to do.”
Jake’s school doesn’t offer an entrepreneurship
focus in class or as an extracurricular club, and it’s
something his parents would welcome. Now that
he’s discovered the thrill of running a business,
keeping him engaged with homework and class is
more of a challenge. “These kids are ready so much
earlier,” Michael Van Ry says. “To learn what return
on investment is, is to learn what equity is, they
can learn so much earlier, they’re so advanced.”
That’s why Calvert, of Sac Makers, has made
investing in student businesses a central compo-
nent of his program. Each course costs $300, but
students have the opportunity to get some of that
money back if the entrepreneurship bug bites.
Calvert encourages students to pitch him on a
business idea. If their proposal is viable (and free
of grammatical and spelling errors), he’ll give