This week, the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) — a national nonprofit 501C3 that is redefining entrepreneurship education in America — hosted its business plan competition at Cabrini University. The groundbreaking program works to transform middle- and high-school students into confident entrepreneurs.

Through the year-long program, students in grades 6–12 generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans, pitch to a panel of investors for startup funds, and launch their very own companies.

YEA! is a life-changing program that positively impacts the entire community, especially students who gain confidence, critical problem solving skills, and public speaking expertise from it.

The Philadelphia YEA! chapter meets weekly, supported by more than 70 volunteers, CEOs, business professionals, and entrepreneurs. These mentors serve as subject-matter experts, panel speakers, and pitch competition judges.

Participants and mentors are grateful to Affiliate Partners that include CompanyVoice. Its support contributes to the YEA! mission to develop and deliver experience-based entrepreneurship programs to young people.

For more information on YEA!, contact 610.446.4747 or email its executive director, Ellen Fisher. In addition to guiding YEA! Philadelphia, she is a two-time winner (2018 and 2019) of the YEA! National Director’s Award.

Specific ways to participate include:

• Recommend/register a student to participate in the next YEA! class starting in November 2022
• Volunteer as a business plan mentor, a six-session commitment between Feb. and March
• Present an expert session on a topic such as accounting, legal, insurance, marketing, etc.
• Serve as an investor panel judge to fund a student(s) business launch
• Become a YEA! Philadelphia 100 Founding Champion
• Donate to the YEA! so under-served students can participate

The goal of all YEA! is for each student to successfully launch his or her own business, a worthy goal across Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester Counties.