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Celebrating and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset

Through a collaborative network of educators, business leaders and collegiate-level resources, VYEF offers free programs and experiences that allow students to think creatively and analytically, recognize business opportunities, take initiative, solve problems, persist through failure, communicate persuasively, and develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

DesignIS: Change allows students to think deeply about solving a social impact problem using a six-step design thinking process, practice empathy, and expand their imagination through creative exploration. Students will develop physical prototypes, present their design solutions and reflect on users’ needs.

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VYEF Year Round Programs

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think[box]

Sears think[box] is a 50,000 square foot innovation center and makerspace that welcomes thousands of visitors each year and is open to everyone at no cost. The Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum has partnered with think[box] to offer a tour of the center and a 3 hour workshop that will expose students to a variety of equipment as they work through a design process. Attendees will create a physical product and will be introduced to 3D printing, laser cutting, and more!

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NEO High School Microgrant Program

All high school students in Northeast Ohio can submit their plans or ideas for an opportunity to gain grant funding to start or expand on their businesses!

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Upcycle: Enterprise

Upcycle: Enterprise allows students to explore social entrepreneurship through creative lessons, hands-on prototyping and an opportunity to pitch ideas. Schools can select to participate in a field trip to Upcycle Parts Shop. The two-hour field trip + innovation session focuses on creativity, innovation, developing quick design from upcycled materials, and student report-backs and pitches on prototypes.

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Suarez Applied Marketing Research Lab

The University of Akron's Suarez Applied Marketing Research Lab features state-of-the-art technologies focusing on techniques such as eye tracking, brainwave, and physiological analyses. This Marketing Intelligence Laboratory with workstations offers students the experience to conduct comprehensive market research in a one day, 3 hour field trip.

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Youth Bee Works

Youth Bee Works is a nonprofit entity that partners with schools, organizations, and individuals to maintain beehives and provide education on the importance of honeybees to our food supply. Each hive can produce up to 25-30 lbs. of honey per year on average that can be extracted and then sold by any inspiring entrepreneur. Youth Bee Works completely manages the hive on site making it a turnkey opportunity for educators. Students have the opportunity to conduct their own market research to determine pricing, branding, and marketing of the final product!

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YEI Young Entrepreneur Market

Young Entrepreneur Market provides real-world selling opportunities at farmers markets and community events for K-12 students throughout Northeast Ohio. With multiple locations and time slots to choose from, any young entrepreneur can sign up to receive mentoring and the opportunity to sell their products or services to customers.

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Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Stories

Our website features articles on local entrepreneurs to help guide students through their entrepreneurial journey. We recently interviewed Zöe Nechvatal, Noah Allen and Sam Honkomp. They won the grand prize in the Innovation track of the 2023 thinkBIG! Challenge with their company, Mendz, creating a new prototype for casting broken bones.
Other articles spotlight local leaders like Jessica Dragar from Young Entrepreneur Institute, and local entrepreneur Nicole McGee from Upcycle Parts Shop.

Our Learning Center features curated listings of business networks, resources, templates and entrepreneurial stories for young entrepreneurs and educators.

Learning Center

thinkBIG! Challenge & Summit

The ThinkBIG! Challenge is an online business plan competition open to all high school students in Northeast Ohio. The online competition takes place over a period of months and culminates with the ThinkBIG! Summit, a day-long conference featuring presentations by national and local entrepreneurs.