OUR PROGRAMS
View a list of all our upcoming programs and events below. Click on each listing to learn more and register.
Click to download a copy of our 2022-2023 Program Guide.
All VYEF programs are available free of charge. Educators may register for VYEF events electronically through the website with availability based on a first come first served basis. Certain programs are targeted to specific audiences and schools. Limited grants for transportation expenses are available to non-VYEF schools.
Year Round
NEO High School Microgrant Program
The NEO High School Microgrant Program allows high school students in Northeast Ohio to submit their plans or ideas for an opportunity to gain grant funding to start or expand on their businesses! Students must apply for the grant by clicking on the apply below to fill out an application form. On the form, students must describe: their business idea, how it solves a problem in society, their target market, stage of development, how much funding is needed and how the funding would be used.
Location: John Carroll University
Date: Year Round
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.
Location: Upcycle Parts Shop
Date: Year Round
Completed Programs
Fall Educator Workshop
Meeting featuring pertinent hands-on information and networking for high school entrepreneurship educators.
Location: Cleveland Rocks and Flux Makerspace
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022, 4:30-6:30 pm
Think⦍box⦎ Week
The Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum is partnering with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) to offer one-day workshops at Think[box], CWRU’s 50,000 square- foot- center for innovation and entrepreneurship. Five schools (one per day) will be invited to tour the center and participate in a workshop that will teach and train students in engineering skills through a design thinking process using curriculum developed by CWRU. Students will create a physical product and will have an introduction to design process, 3D printing and laser cutting.
This program is targeted to schools that have not visited this facility at CWRU.
Location: Sears think[box] at Case Western Reserve University
Date: October 2022
Thinkfest
Created in partnership with John Carroll University entrepreneurship program and steered by Dr. Jeffrey Stamp, this lively, interactive program is designed to inspire high school students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and to recognize, develop and pitch business ideas. Program is one day in length. Educators choose which date to attend.
*The content of this program is similar to what was provided last year. Attendance should be targeted at students who have not participated in this event in prior years.
Location: John Carroll University
Date: Thursday, October 6 OR Friday, October 7, 2022, 8:30 am-2 pm
Dare to Dream
The Dare to Dream Retreat leverages entrepreneurship to instill confidence, empower vulnerability, and enable young men and women to take one step toward making their dream a reality. This year’s events will feature interactive programs and expand to three modules that help build essential entrepreneurial skills. The Dare to Dream Retreat is held in partnership with John Carroll University’s entrepreneurship program.
Location: John Carroll University
Dates: Monday, November 7 (for young women) or Tuesday, November 8 (for young men and women), 2022
Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge
This high energy event is designed to simulate the excitement of a real-life trading floor. Teams of 4 to 5 students will learn to work together, leverage each other’s strengths, and use critical thinking skills while analyzing news articles and data during a high stakes and fierce competition.
Location: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Date: Friday, December 2, 2022
thinkBIG! Challenge
An online business plan competition open to all high school students in Northeast Ohio, offering more than $8,000 in prizes. Semifinalists will be invited to attend an Executive Coaching Day and receive guidance from entrepreneurial professionals in the Cleveland business community. The Final 4 teams will compete live at the thinkBIG! Summit in March.
Deadline for entries: January 3, 2023 (Online)
Semifinalists announced: January 13, 2023 (Online)
Executive Coaching Days: January 27-28, 2023
Finalists announced: February 17, 2023 (Online)
Finalists’ live pitch competition: March 7, 2023
Location: Tinkham Veale University Center (CWRU)
Design Challenge Hackathon
The Design Challenge Hackathon will allow students to learn a series of skill sets through workshops, mentorship, and curriculum provided and facilitated by GiveBackHack, an organization which brings people together to develop sustainable solutions to pressing social issues. Students will work in teams to do user validation, develop a business model, and create a minimally viable product. Teams will pitch what they built to the community and judges, with prizes awarded to winning teams.
Location: Baldwin Wallace University
Dates: February 3, 2023, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm
VYEF Skill Building Workshop Day
Entrepreneurial organizations will set up skill-building sessions to train student groups throughout the day. Students will have the opportunity to enhance skill sets in multiple areas of entrepreneurship, network with like-minded students from different schools, and make connections with various stakeholders in the community.
Workshop sessions will include design, pitching, leadership, small business information, and many more topics.
Location: Cleveland State University
Date/Time: February 8, 2023, 8:30 AM to 1:15 PM
ThinkBIG! Summit
Inspirational, one-day conference featuring panels of national and local Gen Z and millennial entrepreneurs, a mini-maker hackathon, the Final 4 thinkBIG! Challenge pitches, awards, prizes, networking and more.
The Summit is open to all students, whether or not they compete in the thinkBIG! Challenge.
Location: Tinkham Veale University Center (CWRU)
Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 9:00 am-1:20 pm