PROGRAM
In 2014, The Chamber
announced that we would
bring the Young Entrepreneurs
Academy (YEA!) to our
community. YEA!, which started
at the University of Rochester
(NY) in 2004 with support from
the Kauffman Foundation,
has been gaining national
momentum over the last few
years, and we were eager to
bring it here.
Our local YEA! program is
the first in North Dakota and
one of very few in the Upper
Midwest. YEA! students from
across the nation have been
achieving professional success
before they even graduate high
school, and we felt strongly that
students in our region should
have the same opportunity,
especially considering the
way our community embraces
entrepreneurship.
By Craig Whitney
YAY FOR YEA!
Calling all young entrepreneurs!
Craig Whitney is the
president and CEO of
the Fargo Moorhead
West Fargo Chamber
of Commerce.
66
AUGUST 2016
A
s many readers of this magazine likely know, Fargo is a hub for
technological innovation and has an incredible entrepreneurial
spirit. At the Chamber, we’re continually impressed with the
energy and talent that comes out of our community. And since
we’re in the business of business, we do our best to promote,
recruit, support, and advocate for all businesses and entrepreneurs in
the region. In fact, one of our newest programs harnesses the great
ideas that budding entrepreneurs already have and turns their visions
into reality and into real, successful businesses.
We are now gearing up
for the second year of this
program with a class that will
be composed of the area’s
brightest, most creative and
dedicated middle and high
school students. YEA! is a 30week, projects-based course
that takes students through
the process of launching
their own businesses or
social movements. Under the
instruction and mentorship of
local professionals, students
brainstorm ideas, write a
business plan, pitch their
business ideas to a panel of
investors, obtain funding and
eventually graduate from the
program as CEOs of their own
businesses.
After competing in the local
investor panel event, one