SAN FRANCISCO – The Business & Entrepreneurship Center and Small Business Development Center are proud to bring The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour to City College of San Francisco on September 21, 2011 as part of a four-week series of events at 16 Community Colleges throughout California.   The tour, presented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Campaign for Free Enterprise with lead funding from the Business & Entrepreneurship Center, exposes college students to the opportunities of entrepreneurship and to young people who have successfully launched their own companies.

Prospective entrepreneurs should be inspired, not intimidated, by the current economic climate, according to Michael Simmons, co-founder of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour. “More than half the companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list were launched during a recession or bear market.”  Simmons said, “Technology and globalization have made it very inexpensive to start a business. Now is the best time to become your own boss.”

Arel Moodie, co-owner of the Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour, agrees with Simmons that there is opportunity, and that opportunity can have a significant impact on the job market: “Today’s students can be critical forces in the next 10 years to help create the 20 million jobs we need in this decade.”

The Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour (EET) was created in 2006 to expose young people to entrepreneurship. In more than 200 events in 35 states, the tour features many of the country’s top young entrepreneurs who have developed or sold successful companies before the age of 30. “We believe students have the ingenuity, entrepreneurial spirit, and drive to create the innovative solutions needed to meet today’s challenges,” said Stan Anderson, Chairman of the Campaign for Free Enterprise.  “EET is about leveraging the creativity of young people to be part of the solution in our effort to create jobs in America.”

“We believe strongly in strengthening the entrepreneurial spirit in California,” said Michael C. Roessler, Statewide Director, Business & Entrepreneurship Center Program. “Encouraging young people to engage in entrepreneurship as a legitimate career path is a logical first step.”

The Extreme Entrepreneurship California Tour schedule also includes:

Saddleback CollegeSeptember 12Mission Viejo, CA
East LA CollegeSeptember 13Monterey Park, CA
MiraCosta CollegeSeptember 16Oceanside, CA
Bakersfield CollegeSeptember 19Bakersfield, CA
Fresno City CollegeSeptember 20Fresno, CA
San Francisco City CollegeSeptember 21San Francisco, CA
Evergreen CollegeSeptember 22San Jose, CA
Monterrey Peninsula CollegeSeptember 23Monterey, CA
Columbia City CollegeSeptember 26Sonora, CA
Cosumnes River CollegeSeptember 28Sacramento, CA
Feather River CollegeSeptember 29Quincy, CA
Shasta College BECSeptember 30Redding, CA
Shasta College BECOctober 3Eureka, CA
Las Positas CollegeOctober 5Livermore, CA
Chabot CollegeOctober 6Hayward, CA
College of AlamedaOctober 7Oakland, CA

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About the Campaign for Free Enterprise
The Campaign for Free Enterprise is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s comprehensive, multi-year campaign to support free enterprise and entrepreneurship through national advertising; grassroots advocacy; citizen, community, and youth engagement; and research and ideas leadership

About the Business & Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) Program
The Business & Entrepreneurship Center (BEC) Program is part of the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development program (CCCEWD). The CCCEWD invests in California’s economic growth and global competitiveness through industry-specific education, training and services that contribute to a highly skilled and productive workforce, and the capacity of businesses to make informed decisions that improve their profitability.  For more information please visit BuildCalifornia.org

“We are proud to present this unique program to the students of this community,” said Janice Donaldson, regional director of the SBDC at UNF. “Through these conferences, we are confident that the young entrepreneurs of Florida will develop the business savvy that will set the stage for their future entrepreneurial successes.”

The free one-day conference is designed to encourage financial literacy and help girls learn about starting businesses and managing personal finances through interactive games and hands-on activities. Breakfast, lunch and conference materials will be provided.

An application and waiver are required to be filled out and signed by a parent or guardian. Only the first 100 applications will be accepted. Forms can be downloaded at www.sbdc.unf.edu. A copy needs to be sent to the student’s guidance counselor or designated teacher and to the SBDC at UNF by e-mail at mhague@unf.edu or by fax to ( 904 ) 620-2567.

High-achieving teens entering their junior or senior year in high school may take one of two courses in a seven-week, residential program from July 5 – August 19.

* Babson Entrepreneur Development Experience: for the current or aspiring entrepreneur who wants to discover how to fit his/her business idea into the greater world picture through lessons of corporate citizenship and business development.

* Babson Idea Generation Program: for the aspiring changemaker who wishes to create innovative, real-world solutions to social, economic, and environmental issues — now. The student must want to develop his/her problem-solving skills and work in a challenging and fun team environment.

Tuition for either course is $7,380 and includes housing, meals, activities, and 4 college credits.

Each of these courses is taught by top-ranked faculty in a challenging campus environment. Students will earn 4 college credits and they may opt to take a second 3-credit class in courses that may include: macroeconomics, accounting, business law, calculus, printmaking or a foundation class in arts & humanities. They will differentiate themselves from their peers for college applications and have the opportunity to build their network in meeting with business leaders and industry experts, all while exploring the city of Boston.

High-achieving teens entering their sophomore year in high school may participate in a one week nonresidential experience from June 27 – July 1.

* Service Learning Experience: a non-residential program for rising sophomores who are passionate about social outreach and want to spend their summer experience helping some of the world’s biggest changemakers locally to make an immediate difference. No college credits are earned for this program.

Tuition for Service Learning Experience is $400 including materials and lunch.

Babson’s Summer Study Programs for High School Students provide a living/learning laboratory for students to focus on applying and advancing their knowledge in business and entrepreneurship. In this collaborative community, students will gain the tools and experience to impact and reshape organizations, industries and the world. Each program will introduce students to Babson’s way of Entrepreneurial Thought and Action and provide resources and strategies for students to think about company and world issues through their classes, cases, speakers and scheduled activities.

The application deadline is March 1, 2011. For more information visit: www.babson.edu/summerstudy.

Students doing Hult’s Master in Social Entrepreneurship will spend part of their one-year degree grappling with real-world challenges set for them by charities, governments and non-profit organizations, which have so far defied resolution. Hult’s hallmark is a greater emphasis on solving true-to-life problems than other top business schools.

Dr. Stephen Hodges, President of Hult International Business School, said: “We hope many Hult graduates in this program will set up their own charities and non-profits, toplay their part in changing the world. Graduates in Social Entrepreneurship at Hult and other business schools will be part of an enlightened elite, that will in the future govern their countries and take the helm at multinational organizations.”

Hult is already well-known in the field of social entrepreneurship for its annual Hult Global Case Challenge ( http://www.hultglobalcasechallenge.com/), which brings together the world’s top business schools to find the best solution to a chosen non-profit’s problem. The 2011 beneficiary, Water.org, co-founded by Hollywood actor Matt Damon, will receive US$1 million to help it develop its core mission of providing clean water in poor countries.

Hult’s Master in Social Entrepreneurship is based on the principle that social problems can be tackled in similar ways to business problems – though it also sets out the special skills that social entrepreneurs will need.

Consequently, the course combines conventional MBA material such as management accounting, with subjects such as the economics of development. It also asks tough questions about global society. These include whether some countries’ development is hampered by poor government, or because they are exploited by more powerful players in the world economy.

The course, which will be based at Hult’s London campus, begins in September 2011. The next application deadline is January 30, 2011 (http://www.hult.edu/lp/v07/master-social-entrepreneurship).

Sawyer is on a mission to find the Top Entrepreneurs Under 25 in the United States. The idea behind the contest is that a lot of young people, even in this tough economy, are still finding ways to create businesses of their own. In today’s business world, a large number of people are more worried about finding and keeping a job as opposed to going out on their own and launching a business.

“You don’t have to be the next Facebook.com to make it on this list. I am just looking for solid, inspiring stories of people under the age of 25 doing cool things and chasing their passions. I am really excited to see all of the entries,” said Sawyer. “Hopefully this contest will inspire other young people to chase their passion and start their own business.”

Entrepreneurs interested in submitting an application for the contest should visit http://www.SawyerSpeaks.com for more information. The contest will be open until the first week of January. All entries and contest updates will be posted on SawyerSpeaks.com and Sam’s Twitter.com page – http://www.twitter.com/samhsawyer.

For more information, please contact Sam at Sam(at)SawyerSpeaks(dot)com or visit http://www.SawyerSpeaks.com.

HISTORY
MPowered was spawned from the College of Engineering’s Committee on Entrepreneurial Environment & Programs for Students, which was formed to address a perceived lack of entrepreneurial fervor at the University of Michigan. A fact-finding mission to Silicon Valley reinforced this perception, and it became clear that concrete changes were needed if the University was to keep up. Among them was an imperative, directed at students, to foster a culture that embraces innovation and open lines of communication across various schools and departments.

MPowered was founded in the spring of 2007 by a group of students with a passion to strive for this vision. The group treated MPowered as their own start-up, facing both challenges and successes along the way. Since then, MPowered has built a community of over 700 communicating students.

Read more here.

The Center grew out of the College’s Committee on Entrepreneurial Environment and Programs, a group of faculty that released its recommendations in the report “Empowering Entrepreneurial Students.” (Read the report.) The Committee recognized that young inventors can help stimulate the state’s economy. It also recognized that there were a large number of potential entrepreneurs already at the University of Michigan, but that these individuals felt isolated and generally did not feel empowered to live out their entrepreneurial dreams. The group also saw that the College – and the University – had additional resources: faculty, alumni, facilities and corporate partners. This vision needed a focal point: the Center for Entrepreneurship and its programs.

Read more here.

“Never Get a “Real” Job is based on my many lessons learned in the entrepreneurial trenches”, said Gerber. “Written from the perspective of one of their own, the book teaches young people why the mantra of ‘work hard, get good grades, go to school and get a job’ is the absolute message to be listening to. It’s time for a paradigm shift where we, as a generation, move away from the antiquated ‘hand-out, resume-driven society’ that no longer exists, and instead, move toward a future where we are all self-sufficiency experts.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics most recent job numbers report, the youth unemployment rate increased to over 16% in last month.

Scott Gerber has built several successful businesses without a traditional business education, corporate background or outside investment dollars. His company, Sizzle It!, a sizzle reel production company that produces promotional videos for PR and marketing professionals, was started for less than $600 in 2006 and today has clients such as Old Spice, Pampers, Duracell, Dolby, The Gap, and many of world’s top creative agencies and PR firms.

“With the economic spiral of 2009, our world of work was blown up, and with it, traditional frameworks for career success,” said Pamela Slim, author of Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur. “Thank god we have Scott Gerber, a member of the next generation, telling the truth about what it takes to succeed in the coming decades. Gen Y, and parents of Gen Y, you will put your livelihoods at risk if you don’t read this book.”

Read more here.

It introduces learners to the skills behind what it takes to build a successful enterprise and gives a practical grasp of:

* how to set up and run a new enterprise
* what it means to think like an entrepreneur
* how to turn a brilliant idea into a practical, successful enterprise

The competition

Choose one entrepreneur. Do some research on him/her and write a short essay (250 words maximum) about:

* who they are and what they have achieved as an entrepreneur.
* what inspires you about them?
* One key question you would ask if you met them.

Entries will be considered by a panel of judges. Winners will receive £100 worth of Amazon vouchers for their school and a boxed DVD set of the BBC Dragon’s Den television series.

Each entry should include:

* The name of the student entering the competition
* The age of the student
* The school name
* The Cambridge International Centre number (if appropriate)

You’re probably wondering how do I know what can go wrong for a young entrepreneur, after all, I’m 32 years old and haven’t started my own business till 26, which can hardly represent a ‘young entrepreneurial experience’. Well, it comes from my interviews with young entrepreneurs – some made it big, some went into the wind, some are here to stay.

Before we go down with the list, there is something you should know: we really do find out about young entrepreneurs when they are successful: it’s such an amazing event when you make a good strong business in your early 20′s that everybody wants to hear about it; when you fail, you probably fail quietly and most people blame it as being because you were too young and you weren’t serious about business anyway. You can become a better entrepreneur at any age by taking masters of business administration classes.

So where do young entrepreneurs have a real challenge?

• Understanding taxes and legislation. Unless you are living in a taxes and legislation heaven, it’s quite easy to understand it’s difficult to keep up with all the regulations, especially if you are into a manufacturing business; you need to get permits, comply with the employment regulations and it becomes worse if you want to go on the international market. Taxation can be difficult as well, what can be considered a expense, various local taxes.
• Hiring older employees. I almost never saw a company lead buy a young entrepreneur having much older employees. Working styles can be different, the older employee has a hard time receiving tasks from a young boss; also, young entrepreneurs are less receptive to advices from older people.
• Being moderate about expenses. Being young it’s a bit hard to be moderate; after all the money are earned working hard, so it’s yours to spend, isn’t it? Well, yes, just that you need to save enough to stay on the safe side at all times. Crisis taught us much about this.
• Becoming excited by any ideas too quick. Probably as you get older you learn that there is a very big step from having an excellent idea to a successful execution. But young entrepreneurs sometimes have the habit of changing very quickly from one idea to another which makes durable development a bit harder and tends to spend resources inefficiently.
• Believing you are the center of the Universe. Probably every person has the feeling that everything goes and comes around their own being, some sort of feeling special as nobody else is. That’s not necessarily bad, but if it makes you do things without preparation it can lead to disaster. With age, you’ll realize exactly who you are and what’s your role in the BIG picture.
• Messing up the social life to do some more work. It is known that a business takes long hours especially when you start small (and most young entrepreneurs start small). But if it makes you a social outlaw it’s going to affect your life in the future. Because living each time of your life it’s important as well as having friends, meeting people, socialize and having fun. Of course, this happens to entrepreneurs of all ages, but it’s very sad to lose your youth that way…

The contest currently has confirmed participation from 14 HBS Alumni Clubs in 11 regions around the world, including Boston, Brazil, Chicago, India, Northern California (HBSANC and HBS Technology Alumni), New York, Shanghai, Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego), Toronto and The United Arab Emirates. Alumni interested in participating should contact their local Club for submission details and deadlines.

With guidelines established and monitored by the HBS Rock Center, the clubs will conduct the first round of regional contests in March 2011 to select one team to send to the finals, which will be held at HBS in April. Every finalist team will receive mentoring from an HBS faculty member prior to the judging and will participate in an on-campus educational session during the finals.

On April 25, the finalist teams will present their plans to a panel of judges at the School who will select the 2011 alumni winner. The panel consists of HBS faculty members and graduates from fields such as venture capital, consulting, law, accounting, life sciences, and technology. The grand prize winner will be invited to present a summary of the plan at a School-wide award ceremony on April 26, held in conjunction with the student Business Plan and Social Venture Contests.

“We are proud to host the Alumni New Venture Contest for the second year in a row, this time with 14 participating HBS Alumni Clubs,” said Lynda M. Applegate, the School’s Martin Marshall Professor of Business Administration and chair of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit. “With a large percentage of our MBA student community being entrepreneurially minded, we are focused on highlighting and supporting new ventures started by our alumni, and bringing together a network of faculty, alumni and current students to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship that the School has been cultivating for over 50 years.”

Read more at Harvard Business School (http://www.hbs.edu/)

“Now, more than ever before, we must teach young people how to create their own streams of income and become self-sufficient small business owners. Who better to do that than their successful entrepreneurial peers.” says Scott.

Initially, YEC members will answer small business questions posed by aspiring Gen Y entrepreneurs on NeverGetaRealJob.com. Readers will be able to ask the Council questions once they sign up for a free user account on the website. The Council will also contribute original content to various media outlets including WSJ, AllBusiness, and Mashable, to name a few.

The Young Entrepreneur Council’s first article launched on WSJ.com on October 12, 2010.

“For the University as well as for the economy and our nation, the importance of innovation cannot be overstated,” said Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust. “It is also of utmost importance and great interest to our students and faculty, many of whom are inventors and entrepreneurs. This lab will foster team-based activities and deepen interactions among both aspiring and experienced innovators across the schools of Harvard.”

The Harvard Innovation Lab is planned to come on line beginning in the fall semester of 2011. It will be open to student entrepreneurs across the university, including undergrads, students in Harvard’s professional schools, and graduate students. Student teams will have shared space to work on their ventures, access to experienced Entrepreneurs in Residence, support by faculty and administrators, and a program of related activities to deepen their understanding of entrepreneurship and innovation. Some student teams will work independently, while others will work as part of established courses. For example, teams of students in the jointly taught HBS and SEAS course Inventing Breakthroughs & Commercializing Science will use the lab to create plans for commercializing university/private lab research. The course builds interdisciplinary student teams from several Harvard schools as well as MIT and Tufts with backgrounds in business, medicine, law, government, engineering and science. Also in stage one, the 150 or so teams entering the HBS Business Plan Competition would be given work space in the Lab along with HBS Entrepreneurs in Residence, who have included the likes of Jeffrey Bussgang of Flybridge Capital Partners and Susan Decker, former president of Yahoo. The intent is to create a supportive and interactive environment where ideas and activities can be shared across disciplines and ranges of experience.

Read the news here.

The 2010 OppenheimerFunds/NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge grand-prize winner will take home $10,000, with the runner-up winning $5,000 and the second runner-up winning $3,500. Additionally, each 2010 finalist is competing to be crowned champion of the NFTE Elevator Pitch Challenge, Presented by E*TRADE Bank. A new addition to the national competition line-up, the elevator pitch competition allowed the teen entrepreneurs 30 seconds to sell their ideas to the world via an online video submission located at www.elevatorpitch2010.com, a shot at $2,500 and two round-trip plane tickets donated by Southwest Airlines. The finalists are counting on the general public to vote for their favorite businesses online through midnight October 3.

“We are very excited about the drive, passion and creativity of this year’s participants in the national competition,” said Steve Mariotti, founder of NFTE. “These young entrepreneurs are proof that economic hardships are no obstacle to becoming what you want to be in life and that taking ownership of yourself is empowering. And thanks to the support of sponsors like OppenheimerFunds, we are excited to have the opportunity to recognize so many amazing young entrepreneurs from around the country.”

More info here.

“As we enter the second decade of the program, it is extremely gratifying to see how many girls have benefited from Girls Going Places®,” said Kathy Readinger, national manager, Girls Going Places® Program, Guardian.  ”Many of them have launched the beginnings of their financial success and independence from this competition, and we look forward to the new 2011 award applicants telling us about their business leadership skills.”

During this annual competition, a panel of 6 – 7 judges that consists of business professionals, business owners, scholars, and prior Girls Going Places® Award Program winners will review the award nominations and identify 15 finalists who will share prizes totaling $30,000.  ”Last year, we had nearly 5,000 applications and the judges were really impressed with the growing popularity of the program and the quality of businesses presented by these teenagers,” said Readinger.

For more information about Guardian, please visit: www.GuardianLife.com.

The LAEGC and the Chamber of Commerce have launched an entrepreneurial contest that has an ambitious goal of connecting with youth who have roots in the local community, and encouraging them to consider starting a business in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. The program, called Launch L-A!, features a contest inviting young entrepreneurs to submit a proposal to start a business in L-A. Entries will be screened by a committee of business and banking professionals who will judge the ideas on a number of criteria including creativity, viability, and community need. Adding a page from the “American Idol” script, finalists will be voted upon electronically by community members of Lewiston and Auburn in January 2011.

More here.

“Staples and Ashoka understand the value that changemakers bring to anything they do and are heavily invested in helping more people become changemakers,” said Gretchen Zucker, executive director of Ashoka’s Youth Venture. “They are critical to the success of any organization, company or community, and together they form a powerful force for improving lives. Our Staples/Ashoka Competition winners, sourced from hundreds of entries spanning 44 countries, are demonstrating just how much one person can do to make a mark in the world, but the most important contribution we can make is to help everyone around us become changemakers.”

The first four winners of the Staples/Ashoka Youth Social Entrepreneur Competition are:

– Rebecca Kantar is a founding member of Minga, a youth-run civic organization dedicated to ending the global child sex trade through educating teens worldwide. Rebecca serves as Minga’s Director of Film Media and is a highly accomplished public speaker. She has been named as one of TIME Magazine’s Tomorrow25 and will be attending Harvard University as a freshman in September.

– Mohammed Berry, of the Republic of the Gambia, has a truly inspiring story of leadership and perseverance. Mohammed lost his father and contracted HIV at age 7 and faced enormous social stigma and discrimination in his community. He is the founder of Aid for Smiles, a coalition of global social activists who work toward empowering and mainstreaming marginalized and socially disadvantaged young people. He also leads Speak AIDS, a campaign that confronts the misunderstanding and stigma associated with HIV-positive youth. Mohammed was recently nominated for the World Children Peace Prize.

– Shiv Dravid is the founder and creator of The Viewspaper, a youth journalism website for young people in India. Shiv was inspired to take action when he realized that his own daily experiences were quite different from the observations and discussions amongst media elites. The Viewspaper is seen by more than 150,000 readers a month and publishes daily articles written by youth staff writers. Over the last three years they have engaged close to 4,000 young people in sharing their views and opinions and have emerged as India’s largest youth paper. Shiv has ambitious plans to scale his work and hopes to branch out to 50 sites within the next year.

– Ben Lyon was inspired to create FrontLineSMS:Credit while traveling abroad in Uganda and East Timor. During his travels, Ben witnessed how communities and families in these countries were devastated by natural disasters like hurricanes and how soldiers did not receive the support they needed when returning home from war. Today, Ben is pioneering technology that is connecting microfinance institutions to their borrowers via cell phones in Sierra Leone. Ben is using his knowledge in economics and international studies to make a positive impact on these people and their communities. Ben has been selected an “Unreasonable Fellow” by the Unreasonable Institute, which attracts up to 25 high-impact, young social entrepreneurs from across the globe for a ten week conference.

Read the rest of the article here.

During the event, more than 25 women business leaders from the region will mentor girls ages 12 through 18 about entrepreneurship, using the conference as a platform to encourage young women to pursue their own business endeavors while instilling the importance of financial responsibility. The conference will be held at the Florida International University’s College of Business Administration on Thursday, September 16, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“This is an excellent opportunity to expose the minds of young women to what is perceived as an untraditional career path – business ownership,” explains Kathy Readinger, national manager of Guardian’s Girls Going Places® program. “We are excited to bring the program to Miami to educate and mentor the next generation of local business professionals and demonstrate the potential of embarking on entrepreneurship.”

Read more here.

The special one-year membership to CFIB provides CYBF-funded entrepreneurs all the benefits of CFIB membership, including access to advocacy, business counselling, online business information and real savings on products and services at just a fraction of the cost.

“CYBF and CFIB have had a long-standing partnership collaborating on a variety of issues that are of extraordinary importance to young entrepreneurs,” explains Vivian Prokop, chief executive officer of CYBF. “This special offering to CYBF entrepreneurs takes this partnership to the next level – providing all of the things that a young entrepreneur needs to roar into the future.” CFIB president Catherine Swift added, “Small businesses across Canada are what make this country prosper, so we are very proud to be partnering with CYBF in offering the next generation of entrepreneurs the tools to help them achieve success, and a public voice to help drive the entrepreneurial economy.”

Founded in 1996, CYBF the ‘go to’ place for young entrepreneurs has invested in more than 3,700 aspiring young entrepreneurs, ages 18-34, who have a great business idea but who find it difficult to obtain financing or mentoring through traditional sources. CYBF start-ups have generated millions in tax and export revenues, and created more than 17,100 new jobs in Canada.

CFIB provides powerful support to Canadian entrepreneurs in every sector, promotes small business-friendly government policies, and ensures financial institutions and others are accountable to their small business clients by tackling policies that may stifle entrepreneurship – CFIB is Powered by Entrepreneurs™.

More here.

Shell LiveWIRE is dedicated to assisting young entrepreneurs succeed in the business world, and they do so by providing free startup advice, support as well as funding. They also recognize achievements by young professionals through their two business awards, the monthly Ј1,000 Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Awards and the annual Ј10,000 Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. To be recognized by a Shell LiveWIRE award means that a young entrepreneur’s idea is sound, innovative and superior to its contemporaries.

The site myTaskAngel is in essence an online marketplace for tasks, where service providers can be matched with specific tasks that they can perform for a fee. Having access to myTaskAngel is akin to having a personal assistant by your side. Whenever you encounter difficulties with what you are doing, you may opt to have an expert at myTaskAngel take over for you. The “angel” performing your task will earn a small fee, and you can free yourself from the troublesome task. The concept is refreshingly straightforward and infinitely useful for those procuring services as well as for those providing them.

Practically any task one can think of can be posted in myTaskAngel. So long as there is someone able and willing to perform the task, the transaction should clear. While many view the benefits of myTaskAngel from the perspective of those procuring the service, the benefits realized by service providers should be noted as well. People seeking to perform odd jobs in exchange for a fee will be happy to participate in myTaskAngel’s model, particularly because it offers them a one-stop-shop in their search for many odd jobs to perform.

“The beauty of myTaskAngel is its ability to accept a custom task request that couldn’t possibly be easily sourced elsewhere. For example, one could request a service provider to pick up food, dry cleaning, pet supplies and a book, all in one trip,” notes Florence Iwuoha, the award-winning entrepreneur behind myTaskAngel.

The Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award winning site is currently in limited public beta, but will launch in the very near future. Interested users are encouraged to visit the myTaskAngel site and sign up to ensure that they receive the newsletter and notification when the service goes live.

About:
myTaskAngel is a online marketplace that enables people overwhelmed with their daily to-do lists find qualified and eligible “angels” within their neighbourhood or community to complete these tasks for them.

From August 15 to August 27, the GSBI Class of 2010 will be at Santa Clara University’s campus for back-to-back classes in business planning, management and core business concepts.

Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society—GSBI’s sponsor—taps veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, marketers, and venture capitalists to work alongside Santa Clara faculty to help social entrepreneurs expand and mature their noble ventures. Enterprises that have graduated from the GSBI program have, collectively, gone on to serve or benefit millions of people. Alumni include the micro-lending website Kiva.org, African solar-radio maker Freeplay Foundation, and reading-glasses provider Vision Spring.

A list of program mentors is available at CSTS.

The entrepreneurs hail from more than a dozen countries, and typically have award-winning, but resource-starved, ventures that aim to alleviate poverty or empower human development.

In addition to attending daily classes, the participants will spend their time honing their own business plans that they will present to experienced U.S. financiers at the conclusion of their stay. The business plan presentations, which are open to the public, will take place Aug. 26 at the Locatelli Student Center on campus. Information on attending the business plan presentations is available at CSTS.

This year, the program has a special focus on finding renewable sources of electricity for underserved populations in developing countries, with about half the attendees focused on finding or using such power in parts of the world where reliable energy is lacking.

Other areas of focus for incoming social ventures include information and communication technology, economic development, health, and education.

For more details about the program and this year’s GSBI class, visit the Center for Science, Technology, and Society’s website at www.scu.edu/sts/gsbi.

• The most outstanding entrepreneurial young business person in the UK!
• UK-residents aged 16-30 (on the 6th September 2010)
• Anyone who has been trading for between 3 and 18 months (on the 6th September 2010)

The prestigious £10,000 Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 competition is now open for entries at: www.shell-livewire.org/awards (deadline 5pm on Monday 6th September 2010).

The overall winner will then be announced at our Shell LiveWIRE LIVE! event in London on 13th October where a host of young entrepreneurs, movers and shakers will come together for a series of top business speakers, workshops and networking sessions throughout the day and early evening.

If you are interested in attending this event, register your early interest now by emailing your name and full contact details to: rsvplive@shell-livewire.org

This “Academy Award” styled party which will happen from 7.30pm to 10.30pm would see an estimated 250 people comprising members of the YES Advisory Panel, Partners, sponsors, members of the Media and youths from different Universities and Colleges joining this celebration of Entrepreneurship.

The “YES 2 Red Carpet” party serves to recognize and celebrate the commendable efforts, commitment, dedication and success of the YES teams along the journey of the YES 2 challenge. The highlight of the party will be the crowning of the YES 2 Challenge Grand Prize winner, who will walk away with RM 20,000 in cash and prizes.

The Red Carpet event is also a recognition night for the YES 2 teams, as they have chosen the path less travelled and persisted in their pursuit in becoming Youth Entrepreneurs, who would serve as role models for the next generation of youths.

The teams that went through a gruesome process of shortlisting and elimination (from a total of 40 teams) to reach the TOP 5 spots are:

Cup Chatter, Greenergy, SYCo, Dreamzland, and Voila!

Mr. UV Wong, Director of MoneyTree and Organizing Chairman of the YES Challenge stated, “The YES Challenge has evolved over the past year as we strive to make YES a platform to not only allow young aspiring Entrepreneurs to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience in Entrepreneurship, but also as a platform for commercialization of ideas. In fact, we are proud to announce that we recently commercialized and launched MOB, Mainstream Online Buzz, a Social Media Marketing Agency that was the result of the YES Challenge. The August 6th Party will be a celebration of the success of the YES 2 teams, as we look forward to helping more Young Aspiring Entrepreneurs commercialize their ideas and turn their dreams into reality.”

While the YES 2 Red Carpet Party marks the end of season 2 of YES, it also marks the beginning of the teams’ journey into the world of Entrepreneurship.

The YES 2 Challenge Red Carpet party is sponsored by Maybank, Malaysia’s Premier bank & CPA Australia.

The YES challenge is a business challenge organized by MoneyTree to help Young, Vibrant Entrepreneur Aspirants launch their business ideas into the market and ultimately turn those ideas into profitable ventures. The challenge not only allows young Entrepreneurs / aspiring Entrepreneurs to learn skills that would sharpen their Entrepreneurial mindsets, but to also provide them with the opportunity to experience the practical applications of the Entrepreneurial skills they acquired through the MoneyTree Entrepreneur Fast Track program. Ultimately, YES teams who have proven their worth would be channelled to government pre-seed grants for full commercialization of their ideas.

“Since we launched Girls Going Places, 150 young female entrepreneurs have been awarded more than $300,000,” said Kathy Readinger, national manager, Girls Going Places Program, Guardian. “We salute the 2010 winners and all 150 girls who have utilized our program to reach financial independence and move on the path to business ownership.”

This year’s 15 winners from nine states represent a wide range of business interests from local food distribution to youth music academy to singing telegram greetings.  This group also exhibits a growing trend in socially aware and ecologically conscious teens interested in philanthropy.  Many focused on designing products from recycled or sustainable materials while others focused on mentoring younger children and raising funds for charities.

The top 2010 winner is Chelsey Schlosnagle, 17, Pleasureville, KT.  Chelsey has owned and operated the free-range egg business, Chelsey’s Gourmet Pasture Eggs, for five years. The eggs are produced by 1,800 hens and are distributed through specialty health food stores in the Louisville and Lexington areas, including Whole Foods, Paul’s Fruit Markets, Good Foods and local restaurants. She plans to attend the University of Kentucky to study agriculture education and political science. After that, Chelsey hopes to continue on to law school.

Second place winner Zoe Albert, 15, from Allen, TX started her own business at the age of 11.  Zoe’s company, Faux Paws, makes and markets her own line of faux fur flip-flops. What started as a hobby has turned into an opportunity to express her vision for animal rights.  Zoe is involved with The Center for Animal Research and Education and her company has donated more than $11,000 to animal advocacy groups. She plans to become a veterinarian.

Sixteen-year-old Janice Aebi-Magee from Lake Oswego, OR won third place for founding “Aebi la Mode-Teen Fashion Boutique.”  Through her own retail outlet store, Janice provides the community with fashionable and affordable teen clothing.  Driven by entrepreneurial spirit, Aebi-Magee also serves as an inspiration for other firsts in the area – to encourage other teens to start their own businesses, she now sells handcrafted necklaces, earrings and acrylic paintings produced by classmates.

“We are delighted to see how this program has evolved over the last decade,” said Readinger.  ”Girls Going Places is an example of Guardian’s ongoing commitment to small businesses, which are the backbone of the U.S. economy. Women-owned enterprises are among the fastest growing small businesses and Guardian is pleased to reward to the entrepreneurial zeal that these girls have demonstrated. As we congratulate this year’s winners on their extraordinary business accomplishments, we are celebrating the decade long success of the program and are looking forward to continue to support tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.”

Guardian granted the fifteen girls a total of $30,000 which they can use to reinvest in their entrepreneurial projects or to save for college. The first, second and third place winners receive prizes of $10,000, $5,000 and $3,000, respectively.

The 12 finalists are granted prizes of finalists $1,000 each and include the following young women from nine states:

Shayna Turk, Agoura Hills, Calif.

Bridgeja’ Baker, New Orleans, La.

Melissa Monette, Mililani, Hawaii

MaKenzie Holmsborg, Annandale, N.J.

Mary-Brent Brown, Covington, La.

Emily Zauzmer, Dresner, Penn.

Shea Gouldd, Boynton Beach, Fla.

Lauren Schifsky, Stillwater, Minn.

Taylor North, Lake Charles, La.

Grace Li, Manvel, Texas

Quinn Kelley, Delhi, N.Y.

Rachel Osborne-Schwartz, Sarasota, Fla.

For more information about the program, its awards and conferences, please visit www.GirlsGoingPlaces.com.  Information is also available on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube; keyword Girls Going Places.