2019 NFTE Entrepreneurship Competition

When I was growing up, starting your own business as a young adult meant babysitting, a lemonade stand or a newspaper delivery route. Starting a “real” business wasn’t something you did until you were an “adult” or at least in college. Now, businesses are started by young adults still in high school; and these businesses have a financial plan, prototypes, and presentations that are very professional.

I had the honor to participate as one of the panel of expert judges for the NFTE Washington DC Metro Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge on May 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. It was so exciting to see young entrepreneurs pitch their ideas. I love working with new business owners, sharing my story, and answering questions about entrepreneurship. This was a great opportunity to meet and speak with the business leaders of the future. Although the participants and competitors are high school students, I asked challenging questions, which I hope gave them additional things to think about as they take their business idea to the next level.

After seeing all of the pitches, we (the judges) had to determine who won the competition. The stakes were high as the first and second place Regional winners move to the nationwide competition in New York City. After much deliberation, we made our decisions. The picture below is the 2019 NFTE DC Regional Challenge finalists and judges (I’m pictured on far right). You can read more about the event here.

NFTE is doing an amazing job of activating the “entrepreneurial mindset in you people.” I’m so glad I was able to be a part of this event. For more information about NFTE visit their website.