NFTE blog

Margaret Fox Photography

Written by Hayley Hoverter, NFTE Alum and CEO of Sweet (dis)SOLVE

For all of the participants, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship’s 2011 National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was all that it was hyped up to be—and much more. The event is perhaps a young entrepreneur’s dream: to be accompanied by a melting pot of the country’s best, most intelligent teenage business owners and to be able to get inspired by a plethora of passionate and esteemed judges . As intense as the competition was, with the stakes being so high, the environment remained positive, and everyone was encouraged every step of the way.

This year’s NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was truly one we will not soon forget. It was an exciting afternoon with loud cheers and celebrations when announcements were made about each advancing round. And as we gathered for the evening’s finals you could tell that everyone was on the edge of their seats as each presentation was delivered. Now if you were unfortunately unable to attend this year’s national challenge then not to worry because we have it all captured here for you to watch.

Watch this amazing video blog post that Sarah Cook, Founder of Raising CEO Kids, did for NFTE on "Ways Parents Can Help Kids Start a Business."

“A large segment of America is in the midst of an economic and education crisis that threatens to relegate a vast majority of our future generations to the front seat of the bus: the driver's seat.”

Recently our good friends at YoungEntrepreneur.com met with NFTE alumni and OppenheimerFunds/NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge second place winners Belma Ahmetovic and Zermina Velic.

This week we’ve reached out to our friends down in South Florida asking the question “What does it take to raise an entrepreneurial child?” Alice Horn, the Executive Director at NFTE South Florida, tells us that she’s heard countless times from parents she has met, “How can I make sure my child thinks like an entrepreneur?”  In her experiences parents in fact realize that their children have the ability to reason, be creative, analyze and collaborate which are all essen

Natasha Spedalle
Wink & Flip
Age: 21
Queens, NY

Many of my peers look at my business success and think it was some kind of wizardry that got me to where I am now. It’s true that I’m 21 years old, have a thriving fashion jewelry business, a website (struggling), accounts with boutiques, and my products in magazines like Teen Vogue. But my success did not come overnight.

Everyone is intimidated by the thought of setting out on your own, but things get a lot easier when you know how to get started. Being your own boss is only freeing once you set a direction for yourself and you start to follow it. You’d be surprised how quickly the business autopilot takes control.