Junior, would-be entrepreneurs may want to take note that there are opportunities to practise their craft with the help from some of Richmond’s top business people during the upcoming session of Yell (Young Entrepreneur Leadership Launchpad).
There are spots still open for the “hothouse” experience for high school-aged students interested in developing their business skills through a series of classes and competitions against each other and students in other school districts, who are also enrolled in Yell.
This is the program’s third year in operation. It was developed by a trio of entrepreneurs, Punit Dhillon, Rattan Bagga and Richmond’s Amit Sandhu, a McNair grad, who is CEO of his family’s development firm, Ampri Group.
Starting each September, it offers space for up to 30 students.
Last year, YELL partnered with some local firms to allow students to pay visits to their premises so they could see first-hand how companies operate and hear from some industry leaders in person. Trips in Richmond were organized to visit White Water West, a leading designer and manufacturer of waterpark and water slide equipment, and Procurify, a cloud-based procurement software company.
YELL’s school year-long program is divided into three segments. In the fall it kicks off with its Business Accelerator which features weekly sessions on a variety of business topics that include leadership, communication and presentation skills, corporate finance, business law, branding, marketing and social entrepreneurship.
Those subjects are covered class and by guest speakers from the local business community.
In the second segment, called the Idea Incubator, the students focus on real world business situations and divide into groups to brainstorm a business concept. Once they have agreed on one, the students are then matched up with a mentor from the local business community who help guide their efforts into developing a business plan for their concept.
In the final segment, the teams enter the Ventre Challenge portion of the YELL program where they compete with other team in their school district for the right to present their business ideas to a panel of investors and business leaders. Those judged as champions will then have an opportunity to compete in a provincial business plan competition.
For more information about YELL and to register, visit online weyell.org.
