September 2008 $2.

50 US

FUTURE
U CEO STA
TTARS
ARS
In This Issue
Common Dreams

In This Issue…
5 Common Dreams
National Museum of Education
7 Budding Entrepreneurs
Claire He
8 You Won’t Make it
NFTE, Inc.
9 Planting Seeds of Success
Marketplace for Kids
11 Ask GoVenture
Media Spark
13 Not Yet? Not Likely!
NFIB YEF
15 Up, Up and Away!
IL Institute for Entrepreneurship Ed
16 The Green Dream
The Ohio Depatment of Education
19 Alimento Rapido
NCEE
21 From the Pharmacy to the Farm
NY REAL
22 PA Govenor’s School.....
PA Entre-Ed State Leadership Team
24 Training Youth Take Charge
Réseau des CJE du Québec
25 Entrepreneur on the Move
University of Florida
26 Standing With Hope
Best of Future CEO Stars reprint
27 From Zero to a Million
Ryan Allis
28 Honoring Veteran Entrpreneurs
The Veteran’s Corporation
31 Our Sponsors
September 2008
Celebrating Future CEO Stars!
The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education has been providing leadership for
over 25 years. Our primary focus has been assisting instructors, which has been
quite successful, but we still felt something was missing…and that something was
direct communication with the students.
Knowing that “experience is the best teacher”, we decided that who better to com-
municate with potential young entrepreneurs than young entrepreneurs themselves!
Thus, Future CEO Stars was born.
Future CEO Stars is a monthly publication that features successful young
entrepreneurs from Consortium member organizations…designed to generate the
entrepreneurial mind-set!
Each issue has feature articles dedicated to stories written by students that tell
the secrets of their entrepreneurial success. Our hope is that this magazine will
motivate, educate, and stimulate young people to follow their examples and chase
their own dream.
Founder of National Entrepreneurship
Week, the Consortium for Entrepre- To Subscribe go to
neurship Education is a non-profit
collaborative representing 100+
www.futureceostars.com
member organizations from national,
state and local levels. Together we
represent over 40,000 teachers and
more than two million students.
Published by The Consortium for
Our common bond is the philosophy Entrepreneurship Education
that “to be successful in the emer- 1601 W Fifth Ave. #199
gence of a new global marketplace, Columbus, OH 43212
entrepreneurship education should www.entre-ed.org
mashmore@entre-ed.org
be a critical component of the overall
education experience as a lifelong
Publisher: Dr. Cathy Ashmore
learning process.” Editor: Michael Ashmore
We invite readers to meet the Graphic Design: SPLASH Designs
Consortium members at:
Publishing Advisors:
www.entre-ed.org/_contact Soorena Salari, Young Inventors Hub
Al Abney, Consortium Advisory Council
Learn about the Young Inventors Hub
at: Annual Subscription Available - $25.00
Contact: mashmore@entre-ed.org
www.younginventorshub.com
Join us!
 Future CEO Stars August 2008
September
4
 Common Dreams
Tbothwo young men, not so very far apart in
many ways –both high school students,
athletes, and both inventors—are
determined to use their inventions to make
a difference in the world.
Adrian Lindsey
is a 17 year-old
high school junior
at Cuyahoga
Valley Christian
Academy. His
product, “All-
Net”, is a inspiration came from his family’s
nylon backpack
basketball carrier.
The idea behind
the carrier is to
make it easier
for players who
are walking or
bicycling, to carry
a ball to the gym or park. Adrian holds
a patent on his invention, and it is now
being sold in a Cleveland, Ohio area
Wal Mart. He will also be marketing
his basketball carrier in the Cleveland
Cavaliers Team Shop.
Adrian is not only a young entrepreneur;
he is a young man who believes
completely in “giving back”. This summer
he sold his “All-Net” ball carrier to earn
$26,836 to help the Shaw High School
band of East Cleveland earn the funds to
play at the Beijing Olympics. Adrian’s
social entrepreneurial spirit of “paying it
forward” does not stop there. He, with
the help of his mother, Cherrylyn Lampley,
along with various Akron and Cleveland
organizations and the National Museum
of Education, will sponsor a two-week
“Entrepreneur Camp” in the summer of
2009. This camp will be open to 44
Akron public high school students. They
will learn to problem solve, innovate
and eventually develop products which
they will have help in marketing through
music and media. The camp is only the
beginning of an even greater venture for
2010, which will take entrepreneurship
for youth to the next level—invent, produce
and market in an “Invention Factory” for
students, which will open in Akron, OH.
Adrian’s plan for the future is to become
a physician and work toward making
Future CEO Stars August 2008
Future CEO Stars September 2008
By Gay Evans
artificial limbs more realistic. How
unusual then, that another young inventor
associated with the National Museum
making it appear more realistic, and he
knows that the earnings from the sale of
his “All-Net” basketball carrier will help
of Education, Grayson Rosenberger, is to provide the schooling that he needs to
already working with prosthetic limbs. make his dream a reality.
Grayson, who is now 16, invented
his first covering for amputees These two young men will meet in Akron,
when he was only 14. He OH on October 25 at the National
used Bubble Wrap and packing Gallery for America’s Young Inventors
tape, molded with a heat gun, Induction Ceremony, when both of them
to sheath an artificial limb. The are inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of
covering feels so much like a real Fame and receive “Young Entrepreneur
leg that it’s surprising. Grayson’s Awards for 2008”. Perhaps their
creativity and the synergy that brought
mission, “Standing With Hope”, them together will also be the catalyst for
which creates prosthetic limbs the hundreds of students who may have
for amputees in Ghana, West dreams of inventing and are only looking
Africa. Grayson said, “In the for the inspiration.
Third World, people are looked
down on for being amputees.” For more information about the Induction
His invention helps them blend Ceremony, see www.nmoe.org.
into the community. This new leg
covering costs less than $10 as opposed
to the $1,000 that such a covering would
cost in the U.S. Grayson traveled to
Ghana this past June to create custom-
made coverings for amputees.
Grayson, who won a $10,000 Savings
Bond from the Sealed Air Corporation,
inventors of Bubble Wrap, is already
looking to the future. As a sophomore
at Franklin Road Academy, Grayson
plans to be an officer in the US Army and
eventually to go into politics.
Both Grayson and Adrian share a love of
sports; Grayson plays varsity football and
Adrian, of course, plays varsity basketball. For Grayson’s original story
Both young men have been inspired by
important people in their lives. Grayson’s see page 26
mom is a double-amputee who lost both
legs in a car accident over 20 years ago.
He also heard an inspiring story from his
parents about a 15 year-old Ghanian boy,
Daniel, who had an artificial leg without
a cosmetic covering. The charity could
only pay for the leg. It was Grayson’s
goal to make the covering out of Bubble
Wrap, but unfortunately, Daniel passed
away before Grayson was able to deliver
the covering.
Adrian’s dream of becoming a doctor
who creates more realistic artificial limbs
was inspired by one of his teachers who
had a prosthetic hand. Adrian imagined
55 5
 Help promote Future
CEO Stars magazine and
earn cash in the process.
Every fourth subscription
you sell puts $25 in
your pocket.
Limited time offer
so check it out now.
For more info go to

www.FutureCEOStars.com
or write to mashmore@entre-ed.org
with subject line “3 + 1 offer”
By Claire He
photo
tock
from iS
nsed
e lice
imag
E ver heard of the Cereal City, or
eaten Kellogg cereal for breakfast in
the morning? Living in my hometown
of Battle Creek Michigan, population
50,000, I’ve noticed that nothing
ever happens here. What used to be
uneventful in my life changed in the
summer of 2007. What started out as
one last trip before school started led
me to a most promising friendship with
a future business partner. In less than a
year she became one of my closest friends
and my fellow entrepreneur. Cindy
Huynh and I did everything together:
DECA International, IIEE, Generation
E, GVSU, and even dropped out of
our AP CAL exam together. It was a
month before Valentine’s Day when
we approached a plan to gain profit on
Cupid’s holiday.
We started by listing the basic
fundamental ideas behind our business.
Our main objective was to be innovative,
ethical, profitable, and most importantly
- a business with a cause. The well-being
of our environment is very important to
me; thus I made sure our product was
eco-friendly. We also considered ourselves
abolitionists. Although slavery is illegal,
it still exists today and the numbers are
growing. We were staggered to find that
there are at least 2 million children who
are sex slaves worldwide. Not only does
this happen in the third world countries,
it also within our own nation. Together,
we donated 10% of our revenue to
“NOT FOR SALE”. This organization
ensures facilities to rehabilitate and
rescue the forgotten children. With this
vision in mind, together we formed FLC
Wooden Roses. FLC stood for four leaf
Future CEO Stars September 2008
Future CEO Stars September 2008
clover, symbolizing the luck we wanted
in accomplishing our purpose.
It took us one week to find the perfect
product to fit our vision. Our choice,
the wooden rose, has a high profit margin
(96%) with it being inexpensive, durable,
eco-friendly, and memorable. Our roses
are made from birch wood. They are made
by gluing scrap wood shavings together.
We took the risk of ordering 2,500 roses,
but it was all worth it. In four days we
sold 80% of them. After contacting our
local Lakeview Square Mall, they agreed
to have us sell our items there. We were
able to set up in the center of the mall
with their generous help (They reduced
the normal rental fee by 75%.). Effective
marketing played a large role in the selling
of our roses. Instead of using traditional
fliers, we relied mostly on promotion by
word of mouth. Many of our customers
came to us wondering if the roses were
real or not, and brought with them
family and friends. Eventually, the entire
mall knew about our existence by the end
of our first day selling.
What happens too often is corporate
thinkers become so involved with
making more money that they forget
about consumer satisfaction. Consumers
are the golden key to each entrepreneur’s
success. If we reach out to them, they will
be the ones who come back time after
time, and bring their family and friends.
We understood that customer service is
critical in creating stability in a business.
So, instead of selling roses by the stem,
we personalized these roses to their
satisfaction. We customized each sale
by offering unique scents and wrapping.
Cindy Huynh and Claire He
Although we had cut our profit by adding
this service, all of our customers felt
special. What little was spent was worth
all the happy smiles we created. Our
attention to our customers’ specific needs
was the secret of our success.
In our four days of trial business at the
mall, we hit revenue of $2000, and broke
even in the first 3 hours of operation.
Running a business is not easy and not
always successful. It was hard enough to be
on top of our school work and operating
a business. Many of our extra-curricular
activities had to be canceled and we even
had to distance ourselves from our other
friends because of the lack of time. It was
all worth it though. We gained a lot of
valuable experience and met many new
people. I would not have had it any other
way.
Our hard work paid off in May when we
were given the chance to attend the IIEE
and Generation E conference, where we
presented our business plan in front of
professional business people. We swept
up several of its prizes including first
place in the Generation E and named as
the entrepreneurs of the year.
We found endless inspiration all around
us. Fred Deluca started Subway at the age
of 17; John Rockefeller built the largest
oil refinery at the age of 25; Fred Smith
started FedEx at the age of 27. They were
all young when they became billionaires,
and it all started with an innovative idea.
I am 18- still young, and I will strive to
be even more than what they were. I am
not dreamer; I am a realist. In the future,
I hope my vision will be followed and
improved upon by students everywhere.
77
 You Won’t Make It !!!!
By Rahfeal Gordon

M y name is Rahfeal Gordon, and I was born and ceptional business acumen
raised in Newark, New Jersey. I discovered my and entrepreneurial spirit.
passion for events and entertainment while attending
Arts High School in Newark. Drawing on my passion In 2007, I wrote my first book entitled “You Won’t
for music as a way to cope with the struggles of being Make It,” a collection of motivational lessons which
homeless, I quickly recognized the influencing power encourage the reader along a
that music possessed for path of self-inspiration.
all people, regardless of
their background, and Constantly develop your busi- 2008 began on a high note for
that entertainment is a ness skills and craft/talent/gift me. Due to the overwhelming
means for people to es- response generated from my
cape their daily stresses. “Hip Hop Saved My Life”
Realizing a simple Fri-
Know when to stop and move Motivational Seminars, I
day night escape could on to something new attracted the attention of
become the catalyst for the New Jersey Star-Ledger
saving one’s life or even a Surround yourself with people newspaper. A full-length
hopeful bridge to another feature article was writ-
day, I founded Infinite Pro-
who are either where you want ten about my life and my
ductions when I was 15 to be or just as focused as you motivation in the Sunday
years old. My mission be- are to reach success Star-Ledger’s, “I am New
came to one day provide the Jersey” profile, entitled
world with the release we all “Motivated.” Further, a
sometimes need. series of follow-up articles were
written about my Motivational Seminars, including a
In 2001, I brought the “release” to Montclair State multi-page spread in the Winter/Spring 2008 edition
University, establishing a of InSpire Magazine.
college organization en-
titled “Team Infinite,” on Continuing to ride on a high note in 2008, I was
campus. In addition to the selected by The National Foundation for Teaching
success of Team Infinite, in Entrepreneurship (NFTE) as a winner of the 2008
2005 I established the Rah- Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the
feal C. Gordon Scholarship Oppenheimer Funds Social Entrepreneurship Award
Fund, which is designed to category.
benefit high school and col-
lege students with average
grades, but who exhibit ex-

8 Future CEO Stars September 2008

 Anne Carlson Center
Planting Seeds of Success
F rom seeds of hope to fruits of com-
passion, one project at the Anne
Carlsen Center in Jamestown, ND
seems to be cultivating more and more
interest each year.
The Anne Carlsen Center was opened
in 1941, and today offers a wide array
of educational, therapeutic, vocational,
communal and spiritual options for
children and young adults with dis-
abilities, as well as their families.
A project that began as a small
square of plowed dirt now includes
multiple gardens, a solarium and
established curriculum for the
Center’s students and residents.
The solarium now stands on the
spot that had been the garden the
first year, a bit of a reminder of
what an idea can grow into with
enough support.
In 2004, teachers, including Mary
Lewis and Corby Maddock, took
their curriculum idea out of the
classroom and saw their students, who
might otherwise be limited due to dis-
ability, reap the benefits.
“Corby Maddock got a sod cutter and
we couldn’t tear it out of his hands,”
said Lewis. “(Four years ago) a youth
group of the Seventh-Day Adventists
was here and helped us roll sod and
carry it away. A lot of different people
have helped and there have been a lot
of people involved.”
With a program that crosses into mul-
tiple concentrations of study, the po-
tential for learning is only limited by
how creative the teachers can be. For
instance, instead of teaching a student
Future CEO Stars September 2008
about addition on a chalkboard, teach-
ers count out the numbers of seeds in
a packet and add that total to another
packet. An alternate reward for literacy
is learning how to properly care for a
plant, just one way in which educa-
tion is kept fresh and fun. In another
instance, by examining the life cycle of
a plant, the creation of fossil fuels or
how plant and animal cells differ can
now be examined closely and easily ex-
plained.
“We’re doing reading, math and coop-
erative learning, among other things,”
said Lewis. “A lot of basic school learn-
ing takes place here.” The benefits of
having a gardening curriculum do not
stop there.
Working in groups, students learn the
value of teamwork when it comes to
projects both large and small. Through
the physical activity that accompanies
the projects, students learn ways they
can lead healthy, active lives.
With the completion of the Center’s
solarium this year, all of these benefits
are now available on a daily basis, re-
gardless of sunlight, temperature, pre-
cipitation or even season. The enclosed
space also allows many of the Center’s
more medically fragile individuals to
experience aspects of agriculture that
might otherwise not be an option.
“A lot of students come from restricted
conditions because they are medically
fragile or have physical restrictions or
behavior needs,” added Lewis. “But
now kids have lots of opportunities to
experience getting outside and getting
dirty. That is part of our mission
statement: That every kid has the
right to get their fingers or toes in
dirt.”
Students from the Anne Carlson
Center have participated in Mar-
ketplace for Kids by showcasing
their innovative business ideas and
distributing wonderful gifts to all
participating students. Marketplace
for Kids is sponsored by U.S. Sena-
tor Kent Conrad, ND Agriculture
Commissioner Roger Johnson, and
ND Superintendent of Public Instruc-
tion Dr. Wayne Sanstead.
More information is available on the
web at www.annecenter.org.
9
10
 Ask GoVenture
“ Will my business
survive if I lose data?!
The likelihood of losing your computer
data is not just a possibility – it’s a guar-
antee! The big question is, when the time
comes, will your business be able to
recover?
Why will you lose data? There are many
reasons: computer hardware or software
malfunction, hacker or virus, simple user
error, or more traditional risks such as
fire, burglary, or vandalism.
What if your office burned down? Do
you have off-site copies of your customer
data? What about your accounting and
financial information? Would you lose
everything, including the company?
Review the following important ways
you can protect your company and
your data.
”
Have a data backup policy.
All employee and company data should
be backed up frequently, even daily if
necessary.
Store backups off site.
All backups should be stored off site to
protect from fire, theft, and vandalism.
Properly verify the integrity of backups. GoVenture Educational
Backups can also malfunction. Be sure to
Games and Simulations
frequently check the integrity of backup
for entrepreneurship, business, marketing,
data, and avoid erasing old data.
accounting, personal finance, investing,
math, economics, career and life skills,
Properly label data.
and more!
Be sure to properly label and date all
backup data in order to avoid restoring
Perfect for home or school. Visit our
old versions. website for product information, demo
videos, free trials, and more!
A few hours of effort each month can pro-
vide you with the protection you need.

GoVenture Activity
Word Scramble
Personal Finance and Investing
Directions:
Circle these words in the puzzle above. Words may be in any
direction and backwards or forwards.

L N S T B E D C R A X E I I Y ANNUITY
C I Q E N M I D Q R T N N P T ASSETS
J K A P S X I D A A Z F C D I RISK
T X H B Q N C R R Z L U O H U CASH FLOW
O A B W I Z E T M A F R M O N DEBT
A M Q F U L S P T O I L E C N BONDS
G S Y D R E I I X S R G T M A EXPENSES Entrepreneur Board Game
A Z S S R L O T K E J L A B I INFLATION Learn about business and accounting with
a unique and fun group learning activity.
G N Y E U N S Y I L I J X C L EQUITY For home or school. Ages 12 to adult.
J H T M T K B I F E Q U I T Y INTEREST RATE
K N Q Z C S O V F X S B Z E Q MUTUAL FUNDS
I M Z O E U T Z Y I U O K N H LIABILITIES
M U T U A L F U N D S N B F J INCOME TAX
J S L W O L F H S A C D O G D STOCKS
Y T O R G N N I A J W S W T I Educational Games
and Simulations
toll
1-800-331-2282
free

www.goventure.net
 COMING THIS FALL

Johnny Money Online Game Introduce your students

(JMOG) is an interactive
to entrepreneurship
small business simulation
designed to enhance high
through my small business
school students’ exploration simulation game.
of entrepreneurship. The game
allows youth to learn about day-to-day
functions of an entrepreneur and
operating a small business.

® An engaging and modern educational

supplement
® Internet based for easy incorporation into
existing lesson plans
® Use in-class or as a homework assignment
® Great addition to homeroom, advisory or
after school programs

B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y:

IN CONJUNCTION WITH:

Visit www.NFIB.com/eitc or call 1.800.552.6342 for more information.

 “NOT YET”? NOT LIKELY!!!!
By Mike Greenberg

O perating out of Gaithersburg, Maryland serving the

greater Washington DC area, my business, Konspiracy
Studios, specializes in video production/editing and motion
All clients are not created equal. While a harsh statement, it
is very true. Think about the 80-20 rule, the majority of your
revenue will often come from a small number of clientele.
graphics. We create videos that ultimately end up on TV, the As a young entrepreneur, many people will try to help by
web or DVDs. The strongest feature of the business is promo providing leads. After you’ve developed your skills, it is often
editing. We’ve cut several promos for clients to present to wise to avoid trouble projects, which many local leads turn
networks for funding. Along the same lines, we’re well suited out to be. Seek serious clients, and show them you are serious
for creating pilot episodes and documentaries. We also create about your work.
corporate identity packages
and marketing materials for Give Back. Not necessarily
several firms. money– there are many
ways to give. I do pro-bono
My own business became a work if I like the cause or
reality when, while working it might enhance my skill
for someone else, I was set. Try volunteering; you’ll
informed that it would get back what you put in.
be several years before Finally, mentor your peers.
my manager would feel Develop an internship
comfortable that I work program that fast tracks
directly with clients. I set out success, everyone needs a
to invalidate the statement. start.
Within 6 months I was
working full time for myself. Establish yourself as an
expert. Spend money on a
The notion of accepting good website. Write a blog,
anything “as is” never sat submit articles and create
well with me. I began in tutorials. You want your
the media industry as a post-production intern at age 15, name to be known and your information to be referenced.
rapidly absorbing information. Over time I began to develop Use the Internet to your advantage; networking and learning
expertise and took on some side projects thinking nothing has never been easier.
of it. By my senior year, I was the “go-to” guy for video and
graphic design. I applied for the NFIB Young Entrepreneur For more information go to www.konspiracystudios.co
www.konspiracystudios.com
m
Award thinking that I had zero chance of receiving it, I didn’t
see my work as significant. I was wrong and I’m glad they
saw otherwise – the lesson is follow your passion and people
will notice.

The future is very bright for the company. We will be moving

to a true office space this fall whilst welcoming the addition
of a part-time graphic designer. In the following years, I hope
to shift to a strictly managerial role, so that I can pursue a
career in feature films and commercial advertising either in
NYC or LA.

When starting my business I wish I had heard the

following:

Future CEO Stars September 2008 13

 images licensed from iStock photo
Students from every state compete for the best ideas for a new entrepreneurial opportunity in the global
economy. Learn what is happening in a country of your choice…..then tell us what unique product you
would export or import as a creative marketing opportunity. In an effort to make this competition fun
and reflective of 21 Century Technology we are utilizing a new social networking site called Lockerbay.
com to receive your submissions. The site is easy to use and is modeled after popular social networking
sites such as MySpace.com.

Thanks to the Pennsylvania State Entrepreneurship Leadership Team for enabling the Consortium for
Entrepreneurship Education to provide this exciting new competition for students nationwide. Through
the Internet Portal, Lockerbay.com, provided by DaWayne Cleckley of Stellar Beats in Erie PA, and the
leadership of Carmen Dawson of ADvanz LLC, we are able to use the internet to manage the entries on
videos….a very different way to have students show their skills and compete.

This is a unique opportunity to manage the competition in each state through current technology. Stu-
dents will submit their competing videos, and can also use the functionality of the site to interact with
other students.

Who can compete? We will provide awards for three different levels of students…Middle School, High
School, and College. The final video and supporting material should be uploaded between September 1
and October 15, 2008, and awards will be announced November 9 at the 26th Annual Entrepreneurship
Education FORUM in Austin, Texas.

Sign on to http://www.lockerbay.com to submit your entry

Future CEO Stars September 2008

14
 Up, Up, and AWAY!!

images licensed from iStock photo

By Ariel Buckingham

O n MayMa 1, 2008, yellow school

M
bbuses
Hotel in
usee arrived at the Marriott
in Lincolnshire, IL. As we
After I did a fantastic job on Young Entrepreneurs Conference.
my speech about my business,
many people came up to me and If you have the opportunity to
were sitting
ittt
it on the grass waiting acknowledged how well I did and attend this event I highly encourage
for our
urr rooms to be prepared, you to do so. It is a great
you could
oould
ou uldl tell that everyone was Ida Manning, Ariel Buckingham and Greg Sutton
opportunity to expand your
excited
ed tto be there. I had the knowledge base, contacts, and
most ba bbags and boxes because of overall real world experience.
the various
ari competitions I was Also take it from me, if you
to participate in. There were are selected to present, don’t be
two suitcases, one carry-on bag, nervous because everyone there
and six full boxes of cupcakes. I wants you to succeed and they
had to get a lot of help. Did I are all very supportive. IIEE’s
mention that I was the CEO of conference was fantastic and in
Smile Entertainment, the finest the end didn’t bust my “balloon”
party coordinators in Chicago? at all!
Since January 2008, I have
served about 29 customers and
made approximately $5,500. The how excellent I performed. Students
The Illinois Institute for En-
day started off horribly when my my age told me how much I inspired trepreneurship Education (IIEE)
signature balloon popped as I was them to start their own business and invites young entrepreneurs and
coming off the bus. I was crying they inspired me to keep up the good their instructors to register for the
because I believed someone tried to work and never give up. The rest of 3rd Annual IIEE Young Entrepre-
ruin my display. the two days were the best days of my neurs Conference to be held in May
life. Everyone who had something of 2009 in the Chicagoland area.
After the balloon accident, I was to sell had the opportunity to sell Students from around the country
asked to be the keynote speaker their ideas or products at the Youth participate in: Business Work-
for dinner. I did not know what to Expo. shops, Business Plan Competi-
speak about nor did I know which tions, The Young Entrepreneur Expo,
dinner I was supposed to speak at. There were business competitions The “E” College Tour, Networking
All of my friends were trying to for everyone. You had the chance with adult and young entrepreneurs,
presentations from nationally known
keep me calm as I panicked. After to win “cold hard cash” just for an Keynote Speakers and more! For more
our rooms were ready, we went into idea you had. IIEE gave us start- information go to www.iiee.org or call
the ballroom for orientation and up capital for our businesses if you IIEE at (312)587-9296.
ice breakers. My eyes were set on won the competitions. The business
the busy lady, Ms. Kandias Conda. conference ended as the young
When she approached me, she told entrepreneurs exchanged email
me to relax and just talk about what addresses and phone numbers.
I already knew. Her warm smile and We learned networking and
Ms. Ida Manning’s soft hugs made budgeting during the conference
me realize that the room was filled and I can honestly say that I gained
with others that wanted to hear my knowledge, new experiences, and
story. new friends during the 2008 IIEE

Future CEO Stars September 2008

15
 The Green Dream
N ortheast Ohio is going green, if
the students from Beachwood and
surrounding high schools have anything
to do with it. They call it the emerging
three E’s: education, economics and the
environment.
Their tagline is “The Green Dream.”
And their mission? “Creating a greener
tomorrow, today. One decision, one
person, one day at a time—a plan so
simple, it starts with one.”
That’s just a glimpse at a marketing
project where 20 seniors planted the
seeds of environmental consciousness
that could blossom into a green
movement across Ohio schools.
Marketing students from Beachwood,
Mayfield and Richmond Heights
participated in a Junior Achievement
program sponsored through the
Mayfield Excel Technical Education
Career Consortium.
Greg Perry, marketing teacher at
Beachwood High School, asked the
students to identify a project that
could make a difference. They chose to
protect the environment and explore
the possibility of “making a green
living.” Perry then introduced the
components of a successful marketing
16
plan and challenged students to forge
public and private partnerships to
support the core concept of creating
eco-friendly environments at work,
home and school.
Because successful marketing starts by
raising awareness, students put together
an eco-friendly expo. Nearly 70
companies showcased environmentally
friendly products and services at the
Beachwood Community Center,
attracting 3,000 attendees from Ohio
and beyond.
The product of the Green Dream is a
“green” classroom that will showcase
eco-friendly products that maximize
cost efficiency and learning outcomes.
Through the expo, students generated
an estimated $196,000 in funding
and in-kind products to construct the
classroom at Beachwood; it will be
ready for the 2008-09 school year. On
their own merits, these 20 students
also generated $976,000 in college
scholarships.
How does this improve learning?
“Research shows that ninth-graders
drop out of school at high rates because
they don’t see how education will
benefit their lives. Many pursue illegal
entrepreneurship activities that result in
By Dorothea Howe
crime and incarceration,” says Eric Troy,
associate director of 21st century skills
at the Ohio Department of Education
(ODE).
Initiatives like the Green Dream
connect learning to the students’ world.
ODE and the Ohio Department of
Development are teaming together to
launch an entrepreneurial initiative
for grades 6-12 to address dropout
prevention. ”We’re trying to take the
energy that goes into negative activities
and put it into creative, entrepreneurial
opportunities for students to be
positive, contributing citizens in their
communities,” Troy says.
The Small Business Development
Centers of Ohio network has a history
of working with high school and
college students throughout the state to
mentor and connect them to business
and community leaders, according to
Michele Abraham, state director of the
SBDC network.
“It’s our youth who will build our
future and ensure a robust economy for
the state of Ohio,” Abraham says. “We
applaud the students of Beachwood
for their innovation and commitment
to the Green Dream project, and we
look forward to collaborating with the
Ohio Department of Education on this
project.”
Future CEO Stars September 2008
Selling Social Change
Call it social entrepreneurship.
Perhaps it’s marketing social change.
Rich Markwardt, superintendent of
Beachwood City Schools, agrees these
students model the district’s mission
“to develop intellectual entrepreneurs
with a social conscience.”
“We are showing people that kids
like us can drive the whole nation,”
says Andrew Bankhurst, a senior
at Beachwood. He believes global
warming, scarcity of natural resources
and other environmental concerns can
be addressed by today’s youth.
Ethan Rush, a graduate of Mayfield
High School who plans to major in
finance at Kent State University this
fall, says the project made his senior
year productive and meaningful. “Our
senioritis was the Green Dream,” he
says. Rush spearheaded the marketing
project with his classmates and hopes it
will spread across Ohio.
Hub for Eco Products
As part of the Green Dream marketing
plan, students reached out to the
local community. They garnered the
support of the chamber of commerce,
city officials, Beachwood Mayor Merle
Gorden, local marketing and design
experts, and eventually local, national
and international companies.
“We believe we could serve as a catalyst
for economic revitalization for northeast
Ohio,” Markwardt says. He says four
factors converged to make this possible:
the area’s industrial infrastructure, an
educated workforce, an abundance
of natural resources and a depressed
economy.
This led to theSisat
Beachwood
Igzao Chamber
of Commerce’s involvement. Vince
Adamus, the chamber’s CEO, plans
to use the city’s 11,000-square-foot
office space as an incubator for startup
green companies. “With a focus on
green technology and green energy,
northeastern Ohio can be a center for
sustainability and innovation,” Adamus
Future CEO Stars September 2008
says. “This is the point where the train “The Ultimate Green Classroom will
is leaving the station, and we’re going to be an educational showcase. Plus, it’s
be on that train.”
going to be really cool, innovative and
globally recognized. The Green Dream
For example, collaborative Green
is not a one-shot deal. It’s become a very
Dream partners include aluminum
assertive business model to be replicated
recycling company Aleris International
across the state, nation and the globe.”
Inc., whose Chairman and CEO Steven
Perry says.
J. Demetriou agreed to underwrite the
expo; Chris Hixson of Incite Creative For more information, go to
and Sean Higgins of the Bubble Process,
who designed the logo, Web site and www.thegreendream.org.
marketing tools; Herman Miller of
Global Office Furniture and National
Article Sponsored by the Ohio
Office Furniture, which are donating
Department of Education
eco-friendly furniture to the classroom;
Doty & Miller Architects, which
assisted with the classroom design;
and Technical Consumer Products
Reprinted with permission. This
Inc., which donated 4,500 compact
story originally appeared in “Green
fluorescent bulbs at the expo. An
-- The Color of Ohio’s Future,” a
estimated 40 companies are donating
supplement to the September 2008
products to the Green Dream project
issue of Columbus C.E.O. magazine,
and Ultimate Green Classroom.
produced in cooperation with the
Ohio Department of Development’s
Small Business Development Centers.
Real-Life Learning
“This is a great example of 21st century
learning skills—integrating innovation,
creativity, problem solving and
collaboration,” Troy says.
Markwardt believes the project
demonstrates the importance of
multidisciplinary approaches to
learning, including foreign languages,
humanities, social sciences, science,
technology, mathematics, engineering
and communications. “This project
allows students to show creativity,
innovation and global competence and
empowers teachers to think outside the
traditional curriculum,” he says.
“This is a life-changing experience,”
says senior Griffin Weisberg. Perry
estimates at least 3.5 million people
have seen or read about the Green
Dream. Aside from garnering a televised
spot on PBS, the team has been invited
to appear on GreenEnergyTV.com
and to present at the Global Youth
Enterprise Conference, Great Lakes
Bioneers, National Entrepreneurship
Consortium and National School
Board Association.
image licensed from iStock photo
17
 A Lesson in Entrepreneurship
Finding Solutions to Problems
Preparation: The graphic organizer for this lesson is available free for download at
www.usatoday.com/educate/ceostars

Introduction: This lesson will help you consider one career option that many people find risky, but
appealing - becoming an entrepreneur. In this lesson you will:

t Read about a problem that affects a lot of people.

t Imagine a product or service that could help fix the problem.
t Decide who might buy your new product or service and how you should market it.

1. As a class, define “entrepreneur.”

2. In groups of three, read aloud an article in USA TODAY that focuses on a problem many people are
experiencing.
s While you read, highlight the specifics of the problem.
s Once you’re done reading about the problem, you’ll be finding a solution that you can sell.
s The more people who experience the problem, the more likely it will be that you can make a
profit on your solution.

3. On the graphic organizer, write the headline and a one-sentence summary of your article and fill in the
problem column.

4. Imagine that the three of you are young entrepreneurs who are interested in solving the problem the
article addresses.
s Brainstorm a product or service that would fix the problem.
s Make sure it is something that can be created and sold.
s In the second column, write one sentence that describes the new product/service and gives a
few details.

5. At the bottom of columns one and two, fill in the box that asks how your product or service will fix the
problem.

6. In the target audience column, identify whom you would sell your product/service to and why.

7. Brainstorm how you would market your new product/service. How could you advertise while staying
within your limited budget?

8. As a class, share the problems you read about and the solutions you devised.

9. On your own, think about and answer the final two questions on the graphic organizer.

10. As a class, identify all the different reading strategies you used in this lesson. How can you use them
when reading for other classes or when taking test?

Learn more about USA TODAY Education!

Call: (800) 872-3415 ext.5917
Visit: www.education.usatoday.com
 Jared Kelly, Catlin Pennington, Nick Soliz and Herman Siboldi sandwich a SatisÀed Customer
Alimento Rapido
D o you have what it takes? That’s the challenge
that was asked of us entering EntrePrep Summer
Institute. Carrie McIndoe of the National Council on
Economic Education successfully conducted 4 pilot
programs funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation to revise and rejuvenate the EntrePrep
Summer Institute as an intensive interactive experiential
economic entrepreneurship education program. The
following was my experience with this great program.
Eggs, check. Chicken, check. Marinara sauce, check.
Bread crumbs, check. It seemed like we had everything,
but something is always missing to make the perfect
dish. Oh, the cheese, that’s what we need. And so
beings the first and only day of opening our restaurant
we called “Alimento Rapido”, which is “fast food”
in Italian. Seemed like a good name for a restaurant,
catchy, too. Four risk taking entrepreneurs set out to
learn what it takes to start up a restaurant business.
Herman, who was the main chef in the group, comes
from a line of Italian heritage making great dishes. He
is an excellent chef and taught us a lot of things about
cooking. Assisting Herman were fellow partners Nick,
Jared and Caitlin with everyone helping out in the
kitchen.
We planned our work and worked our plan. We
defined our expenses, figured out how we would run
our business, and orchestrated it all coming together
in the end to see if we would make a profit. Numbers
looked good, and the food was great. We believed we
had a shot at success. We arranged for shopping trips
to cook, computer time to write the plan and prepare
financials then we allocated time for film production,
Future CEO Stars September 2008
script preparing and actual location shoots. Pulling it
all together was more of an art than a science. We had
a varied menu and set up a samples table for potential
customers to taste the food. On presentation day we
had décor, sample meals, and a 60 second commercial
to help market and promote our business along with a
business plan.
Our task was simple, come up with an idea, find
partners, prepare a business plan, make a PowerPoint
presentation and set up a store front to display and
present operations. How could four high school kids
begin to understand what is involved in starting up a
business? Living the experience, that’s how! We rose
to the challenge, learned a lot and had fun along the
way. Nothing takes the place of real experience and we
did it.
Our group worked together very well, we all trusted
each other and everyone did their own part and thought
of their own ideas to contribute to the start-up. It was
team work all the way which can be challenging at times
but we did exceptionally well. Overall, we know we
have what it takes and are looking forward to our next
challenge.
19
 Do You Want to See Your Story in Print?
Well, if it works for our magazine, we will print it.

We want your story!

FUTURE CEO STARS Are you running a successful
business, or hope to, and
want to tell others about it?

Do you want to give

acknowledgement or thanks
to those that have helped
In This Issue you along the way?

YOU Could other students gain from

learning about your
successes or warnings
about your mistakes?

With the exception of cleaning up some grammar, spelling, and
other technical stuff your English teacher wanted you to pay
attention to, we’ll leave your message the way you send it to us.
It is, after all, your message and this is your magazine.
All we really need is one page (typed) with a picture or two
(1500kb jpeg files or larger are best) about what you want to
say. Of course, the articles and pictures you send become the
property of the magazine and will not be returned. Also, they
may be used for other promotional purposes by the magazine
and its parent company, The Consortium for Entrepreneurship
Education.
If we use your story, we will get your final approval of all edits
before we print it. To make it easy we even have a writing
instruction sheet to give you some suggestions on how to put
your story together. Just write us (at the address below) and
we’ll be glad to send it to you.
What have you got to lose? Here is a free chance (there is
absolutely no charge for students to submit their story) to get
no cost advertising for your product, web page or service.
Opportunities like this don’t happen often.
This is your magazine. It’s reaching thousands of classrooms
each month. This is your chance to help yourself and help
others in the process.
Change has to begin somewhere and often the best way to
pay something back is to pay it forward!
Sincerely,

Mike Ashmore
Editor, Future CEO Stars Magazine
mashmore@entre-ed.org
From the Pharmacy
to the

Farm
Dr. Pierre and “friend”

D r. Pierre Dionne looks at food production through

the lens of health for both the people he treats and
animals he raises. Raised by generations of farmers in
Northern Maine, Dr. Dionne from his earliest years had
a passion for animals and farm life. Through a series of
choices in his personal life he graduated from Cornell
University (undergrad), S.U.N.Y. Upstate Medical
School, then practiced medicine for full time for over
20 years. He continues to work part-time for the
OGH Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic.
His medical understanding and farming interests
underscored the connection between what we eat and
our general well being. Dr. Dionne states, “How we
raise our food has ramifications for both the farmer and
the consumer. We are what we eat, what we inhale,
and what we touch. If your food is contaminated
with insecticides, herbicides, growth hormones, and
antibiotics there are potential health risks.”
Dr. Dionne’s interest in wellness made part-time
pastured farming a satisfying and fulfilling part of his
life, but it wasn’t until two years ago that he made a
decision to semi-retire from medicine and become an
entrepreneur. His transition from a full-time medical
practice to farming took some strategic planning. He
attended many conferences on sustainable farming,
marketing, and became involved in organizations that
also supported regional and organic farming efforts.
With all that in place, farming became less of a risk and
allowed him to pursue a life-long dream of returning to
the farm.
“Once you decide to change something that is the only
decision you need to make. The change for whatever
reason needs to be based on the premise that life
will be better in some way. Thoughtful planning and
understanding is the foundation for success wherever
our choices take us. I would encourage anyone to
work toward achieving their dreams. Students need to
know where their passions lie, what their affinities are
and spend their lives finding ways to grow and enjoy
them.”
For Dr. Dionne, his medical knowledge and caring for
both people and animals has led him to raise and sell
produce that is healthy and is therefore healthy for you.
He started with a few chickens and now his barnyard
is also home to turkeys, cows, honeybees and pigs. His
pasture rotation ensures that all are getting plenty of
fresh greens and fresh air. He models his farm on 5
Freedoms for his livestock: Freedom to express normal
behavior, Freedom from discomfort, Freedom from
thirst and hunger, Freedom from fear and distress,
Freedom from pain, injury and disease.
Dr. Dionne still enjoys medicine and his compassion
for people and keeping them healthy. However, on any
given day you can find him out in the field on Sojourner
Farms with his herd of cattle, pigs, a flock of red laying
hens and one cantankerous old rooster. By offering his
customers wholesome, healthy food he has combined
his two passions of medicine and farming.

Future CEO Stars September 2008

21
 PA Governor’s
School Trains
Future Global
Entrepreneurs
By Trisha Alexy
I magine a unique place where high school students
with an entrepreneurial spirit not only have the op-
portunity to take classes in global business and leader-
ship, but also have the opportunity to live, work and
study with students from at least twelve other countries
and cultures as well. That place is the Pennsylvania Gov-
ernor’s School for Global Entrepreneurship (PGSGE)
held at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA for five-weeks
every summer.
In 2008, fourteen students from Jordan, Spain, Kuwait,
Israel, Denmark, Antigua-Barbuda, Ghana, Mexico,
Ukraine, Panama, South Korea and Greece joined the
64 Pennsylvania students for the PGSGE program. To
date, forty countries have been represented in the pro-
gram and four hundred and eighty-six students have
been trained.
This summer marks the ninth year for the annual Penn-
sylvania Governor’s School for Global Entrepreneurship
for outstanding high school students from throughout
Pennsylvania and around the world. The Governor’s
School is one of nine schools in Pennsylvania, each spe-
cializing in a different area of academic study, operating
under the Pennsylvania Governor’s Schools of Excel-
lence. This year’s program will be delivered from June
28 through August 1, 2009.
The purpose of the Governor’s School for Global En-
trepreneurship is to expose Pennsylvania high school
and international high school students to the topic of
global entrepreneurship, leadership and effective busi-
ness practices and to the ignite the students’ spirit of
creativity, innovation and learning.
“The presence and active participation of the interna-
tional students in the global entrepreneurship program
have provided us with the essential global component
22
of our program,” said Angela Urbano, PGSGE 2006
alumnus. “By working alongside them we have experi-
enced their cultures and their countries and have gained
new perspectives from around the world.”
Angela believes the dialogue she has had with her inter-
national peers has helped her develop a better under-
standing of their belief systems, cultural attitudes and
social customs. At the same time, she believes the inter-
national students’ interest, curiosity and desire to learn
about our American culture has helped the Pennsylva-
nia students explore and better understand themselves.
Of particular value is the insight she and her peers have
gained into how Americans are perceived and under-
stood by others.
“What we have learned from the international students
on both a personal and professional level contributes to
how we will think globally as future entrepreneurs. It is
apparent that one of the similarities we all share is the
overwhelming desire to improve ourselves, our commu-
nities, and by extension, our countries and our world.
The program and its international students have helped
us to transcend our cultural differences and national fo-
cus as my colleagues and I worked together toward a
common goal,” Angela states.
An extraordinary opportunity for Governor’s School
scholars is the chance to attend a variety of Global Vil-
lage Country Presentations. These interactive seminars,
presented by interns from Iacocca Institute’s Global Vil-
lage, focus on a particular region of the world and are
led by interns from individual countries within the re-
gion. In addition to an informative PowerPoint presen-
tation on what it means to do business in that particular
region of the world, participants then enjoy a panel pre-
sentation with dialogue and discussion. The Country
Presentations give Governor’s School students a very
Future
Future CEO
Future CEO Stars
CEO Stars
Stars September 2008
September 2008
special opportunity to learn first hand about global en- Harrisburg Capitol round out the students PGSGE
trepreneurship and business from emerging business education.
leaders from those countries. “I still have all of my notes from every speaker,” states
Sean Sweeney, PGSGE class of 2008. “Going back
The Country Presentations provide the Governor’s through them, I feel as if I opened up a very expensive
School students with detailed information and material book that gives all of the secrets of beginning a busi-
focusing on six particular areas of the world including: ness and going global with it. The information can-
North America, Asia, Africa/Middle East, Western Eu- not be matched in any other program offered anywhere
rope, Eastern Europe, Latin and South America. around us.”

PGSGE core courses include Ethics as an Entrepre-
neur, Understanding the Marketplace, Fundamentals of
Leadership, Developing a Business Plan, Understand-
ing Financial Statements, Developing a Marketing Plan
Trisha Alexy, Director of the PGSGE program, believes
that the support of the local, national and international
business community is a tremendous asset of the Gover-
nor’s School for Global Entrepreneurship and is one of
the primary reasons for the program’s success. Lehigh
University and the Iacocca Institute, the umbrella or-
ganization of PGSGE, enjoy strong relationships with
entrepreneurs and leaders of industry that were a great
support as this program was initiated.

The program is also supported by the local business

community as partners on business projects with the
students. Student teams work on-site to review issues/
problems and develop recommendations and solutions,
develop business plans and or marketing plans to assist
the company. Last year, student teams worked with
companies such as Martin Guitar, The Morning Call,
PBS Channel 39, Just Born and Rodale.

and Going Global: Doing Business around the World.
Students are able to choose one elective focus course a
week that include courses such as: So, You Want to be
a Millionaire; Trading and Investing: Using Tools and
Information from Wall Street; Win-Win Negotiation;
How to Think Like a CEO; Creativity for the Business
Leader; Human Resources 101; Servant Leadership, In-
novation and Culture of Risk; We’re not Really in it
for the Money: Non-Profit Entrepreneurship; Giving to
Your Network the “Glocal” Way; Strategy and Com-
petitiveness in the Globalization Era; Workplace Suc-
cess for Entrepreneurs; and Understanding the Euro-
pean Union and Global Financial Markets.
Special sessions in Dining Like a Diplomat, Global
Warming, Micro-Finance, Project Management, Team
Building, Government Assistance for Entrepreneurs
and field trips to the New York, Philadelphia and the
“Sure you have to work hard and take classes,” said
Fernando Villa, PGSGE 2006 alumnus from Mexico.
“However, I have gained so much from the program.
More than what I could have gained by just taking a
vacation during the summer. This program is a life ex-
perience.”
Article Sponsored By The PA Entrepreneurship
Leadership Team and AdVanz
For further information about eligibility
and how to apply to the Pennsylvania Gov-
ernor’s School for Global Entrepreneur-
ship, please visit www.iacocca-lehigh.org
or www.pgse.org. For general questions
or information on becoming a partnering
business project or instructor, please email
Trish Alexy, PGSGE Director at tsa2@le-
high.edu

Future CEO
CEO Stars
Stars September 2008
2008
Future September 23
 Training
Youth
Take
Charge
terrain. He explained that much of (fictitiously) to put our product on the
T he Desjardins Entrepreneurship
Camp for Young Montrealers is
a project organized by the Carrefour
his entrepreneurial drive came from
boredom in high school and seeing
market.

jeunesse-emploi of Montreal in
collaboration with Coopsco since 2006.
Montreal’s Youth Entrepreneurship
Awareness and Promotion Officers
(YEAPOs) initiated this project in
order to help Montréal teenagers who
are interested in taking charge of their
lives and who want to learn about
entrepreneurship.
For three days in August, fun,
educational activities were presented to
us. The morning of August 18th, our
adventure started, and boy were we
excited! We were also a little shy as the
day began but a couple of icebreaking
activities allowed us to get to know
each other better. The X and Y game
was an excellent activity for learning
about how working together can ensure
that your company is profitable! The
objective of the game was for each
team to cooperate with the other teams
formed to make the most money. We
learned that trusting one another helps
all of us go further.
On day two, we had three guest
speakers and our leaders put us through
a survivor-like entrepreneurship
challenge.
Each guest spoke to us about their
company and how they got started.
It began with a thought-provoking
testimonial from a young entrepreneur
and engineer, Maxime Laporte. Maxime
had recently sold the patent for the
boot cleats he created to prevent the
wearer from falling on ice or slippery
opportunities around him to make cash.
He explained that his first real shot at
money-making was actually mice races
that he organized in high school…
which made him and his buddies
$600 but led the activity to be banned
from the school because it promoted
gambling! However, he learned that
money can be made by giving people
the chance to participate in something
they liked. The other two speakers were
in the field of social entrepreneurship:
doing business to make money and at
the same time change and better living
conditions in your community. Their
message was that being an entrepreneur
means that you are responsible for
your own future and that of the people
around you, hence the choices you
make should reflect your beliefs and
not only your need for financial gain.
Overall, we learned that when you’re
an entrepreneur, it’s not going to be
the easiest thing ever but it’s really
pleasant to know whatever comes your
way is the fruit of your hard work and
determination!
After these talks, we jumped right into
a day long business start-up simulation
activity. The leaders put us through all
the challenges of starting up a business
from coming up with an idea based on
a bunch of seemingly unrelated objects
given to us in a box, to doing a market
study to ensure our product is viable.
At the end of the day we had to present
our project to judges who decided
if they would lend us some money
Our last day at camp was amazing!
A community resource fair left us
with a ton of information on local
and global organizations that support
youth entrepreneurship. We met
youth like ourselves involved in local
environmental projects and others who
worked on engaging youth in politics.
Cristelle Van Ham from Ashoka’s Youth
Venture program gave us an interesting
heads up about how they give training
and grants to youth who had projects in
mind that were socially-driven.
The camp ended with all the campers
receiving a certificate and a celebration
that lasted until we had to head back
home! Everyone was happy but at the
same time sad to leave the camp, the
leaders and their new friends. We left
with plenty of new ideas on how to use
our creativity and newfound confidence
in ourselves. If ever you’re thinking of
participating in a camp like this, don’t
hesitate! Thanks to all the people who
made this possible!

Future CEO Stars September 2008

24
im
ag
el
ice
ns
Entrepreneur On The Move
ed
fro
m
iSt
oc
kp

By Mark Hall
ho
to

reating a venture of value and sustainability has always
been a passion of mine. From the first ideas of crazy
inventions as a young child to the ambitious goals of trying
to solve social issues as a teenager, success has always been the
backbone of my motivation. Every day I find myself aimlessly
considering what things could be made or done better, from
a business point of view. Confirming my passion towards
business development and execution, I am currently pursuing
my master’s degree with a concentration in entrepreneurship.
This degree will assist me with opportunity recognition and
the necessary skills to create a sustainable business venture.
Over the course of the past year, there were issues that we were
able to avoid that could have been devastating to our business.
For example, finding reliable labor can often be difficult,
especially when you are attempting to create a brand name.
Therefore, we tapped into personal networks to sustain a
labor force. Another issue was maintaining creative marketing
techniques. This proved to be a challenge because marketing
strategies that were expected to do well often did not, such as
advertising by mail, while the creative tactics often worked best,
such as advertising on social networks. Keeping things basic
yet creative allowed us to generate continuous customers.

Becoming immersed in such an academic yet youthful We have found that creating a business can be extremely
environment like the University of Florida, I have come rewarding. The amount of knowledge that we have gained
to realize that the foundation of a potential venture exists about business practices, customer relationships and service
everywhere. Finding the opportunity for improvement and development has proven to be tremendous. In the years to
value would come easy. For example, I found that the process come, we look forward to increased sales and further expansion
of moving from my home city of Fort Lauderdale to go off to of services as well as expansion to regions beyond the Central
college in Gainesville was extremely inconvenient. My parents and South Florida markets.
were forced to load up one vehicle, rent another one, and drive
up to help me unload my belongings. This process proved
very frustrating and inefficient. Three years later, witnessing
others going through the same situation allowed me to clearly
see the opportunity. In August 2007 I co-founded a moving
company.

The premise behind my venture is a customized moving service

catered to college students. As a business, my two partners and
I offer full-service moving and storage to college students who
are in need of moving from their home city to their college
town. We are able to execute this using the carpool method of
picking up multiple students’ property in a regional area, who
all attend a particular college or university, and returning it to
them at their new residence in college. By executing a move this
way, we are able to directly pass on the savings to the customer.
Traditional moving companies move one customer at a time;
however, most college students only need to move one room’s
worth of property and furniture. Using a traditional moving
company wouldn’t be cost effective or convenient.

Our service can be accessed and confirmed by the simple

completion of a three minute online application which is
available on our company’s website www.Division1Movers.
com. Being that college students only tend to move during the
beginning or end of a semester, we have expanded our business
to serve the entire community, moving office furniture for
companies in addition to moving non-college residents.

Future CEO Stars September 2008

25
 “Standing with Hope”
BY GAY EVANS
Reprint from September 07 Future CEO Stars
I nvention and innovation, key elements
of many entrepreneurs’ success stories,
require thinking out of the box. Well,
Grayson Rosenberger, this year’s winner
of Sealed Air Corporation’s first Bubble
Wrap® Competition, actually used what
Grayson in Ghana.
people throw away with it. Grayson in-
geniously substituted Bubble Wrap® for
very expensive prosthetic leg covers.
By shaping Bubble Wrap® with
26
Grayson with his
award-winning invention.
a heat gun, he created “muscle like”
shapes around the artificial limb’s tradi-
tional metal rods.
prize for Sealed Air’s annual competition.
Pretty amazing for a 15 year old! It only
goes to show that it is never too early to
start working toward your future.
Who would use Bubble Wrap® instead
of the standard covers typically seen The National Museum of Education is
in the US? Many citizens of Ghana, proud to have developed and adminis-
Africa would and are grateful for it too. tered the Bubble Wrap® Competition.
Grayson’s father’s organization, “Stand- It will now be an annual contest, with
ing With Hope”, works with Ghana’s the due date for this year, on Thursday,
government to provide artificial limbs November 1, 2007. This is only the
for its citizens who can’t afford them beginning of many creative efforts for
otherwise. Although they can walk with students grades 5-8. Check the website
these limbs, they are still looked upon at www.nmoe.org for further details.
as outcasts due to their unnatural look.
Prosthetic covers typically cost $1,000
or more and are unfortunately out of
the question. Grayson’s solution is a
practical, effective, and cost-efficient
way to not only give Ghana’s amputee’s
mobility, but also return their self esteem.
Grayson’s father and mother, who lost
both of her legs in a car accident as
a teenager, say they are astounded by
Grayson’s ingenuity and his winning of
the $10,000 savings bond given as first
Future CEO Stars September 2008
Future CEO Stars September 2008
 H i, I’m Ryan Allis. As for my background, I am
originally from Pennsylvania but grew up in
Bradenton, Florida. My entrepreneurial aspirations
began at 11 years old, when I started teaching senior
citizens computer skills in my hometown for $5 an hour.
Through these early business opportunities, I learned
the importance of word of mouth to expand my client
base. I built off of these early ventures to launch my
first business in 2000, a web design and development
company named Virante. When I was 18, I attended
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
majored in economics for a few years until I decided to
launch my company, iContact.
Right now, I’m 23, and still live in Chapel Hill. I am
currently the full-time CEO for iContact in Durham,
NC, which I co-founded in 2003 with my friend and
business partner Aaron Houghton. Today, iContact is
the leading provider of email marketing tools to small
businesses. Since iContact began, we’ve grown to over
90 team members, more than 24,000 customers, and

From Zero.... over $12 million in annual sales. I’m also personally
very passionate about giving back to my community,
and currently serve on the boards of several local and
national humanitarian organizations.

to a Million!!! I had to overcome several difficult obstacles to get

iContact off the ground. We truly had to bootstrap the
company’s finances until we had earned enough money
to search out venture capital funding. My first official
office headquarters was on the 6th floor of my dorm at
UNC. For a long time when iContact first began, Aaron
and I slept on futons in his office, lived off of Ramen
Noodles, and went dumpster-diving to find $50 rebates
for office supplies at Staples. Eventually, when we had
raised enough money to expand even further, we faced
the barrier of getting customers and other companies in
By Ryan Allis our industry to take our new company seriously.
In my first book Zero to One Million…How I Built
A Company to $1 Million in Sales . . . and How You
Can, Too (McGraw-Hill), there is a detailed account
of the iContact story and all the trials and tribulations
we went through to achieve success. Judging from my
own experiences, it can often take more than 5 years
to build a business into a successful enterprise. It’s very
important to have a “whatever it takes” attitude when it
comes to your company’s finances as you are launching
your business. Most importantly, you must have passion
for what you do. Passion is an essential tool in whether
or not your business will succeed, and it is also crucial
for your personal happiness as an entrepreneur.

Future CEO
CEO Stars
Stars September 2008
2008
Future September
27
 FIRST PLACE, Ages 12-14
Essay Submitted by: JaQwan Jacob Kelly (New York, NY)
Nominee for Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year: Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kelly, Father
also pictured is JaQwan’s proud mother.

Believing in and assisting those who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom is The Veterans Corporation’s
purpose and should be all of America’s number one concern.
The Veterans Corporation is a federally chartered non profit organization designed to provide all Veterans with
the tools necessary to become successful in business. Their assistance includes access to capital, access to business
services, entrepreneurial education, surety bonding, prescription coverage and much more.

The Veteran’s Corporation is proud to honor JaQwan Jacob Kelly, a winner of The Veteran’s Corporation Essay
Contest “Honoring America’s Veteran Entrepreneurs”.
This contest allows students to recognize and honor a parent or grandparent who is both a United States Veteran
and an entrepreneur. United States students, ages 12 to 18, are to write an original essay telling us why their parent
or grandparent, who is a Veteran of the United States Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard or
Reserve, as well as an entrepreneur or business owner, should be named “Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year”.
For complete contest rules, information on last year’s winner and to download the official contest entry form,
visit www.veteranscorp.org

Future CEO Stars September 2008

28
 JaQwan’s Award Winning Essay
M y name is JaQwan Jacob Kelly
and my nominee for the “Veteran
Entrepreneur of the Year” is my dad,
Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kelly.
My dad is a great example for me and the
nation as a veteran and an entrepreneur. He
entered active duty in 1981 and served five
years in the Infantry. As an Infantryman,
he learned basic planning skills and how
to communicate with people from various
ethnic backgrounds. However, the most
important skill he learned was that of
leadership. As a lieutenant, my dad was
placed in numerous positions where he had
to “lead by example.”
In 1992, my dad left Active Duty and joined
the Army Reserves. As a Reservist, he gained
even more skills and training that helped him
not only decide to become an entrepreneur
but to excel as one. As a Reservist, my dad
attended courses and trainings that helped
him improve his ability to manage time,
plan major programs and events, and train
others in the basics of teamwork, problem
solving, self-discipline and self-motivation.
In 1998, while still very active in the
Reserves, my dad established his company,
Beyond the Limit Enterprises, LLC or BTLE
for short. BTLE provides training and
consultation to other entrepreneurs and
non-profit organizations to assist them in
becoming more effective.
In his business, my dad established four major
keys for success: 1) Visionary and forward-
thinking leadership, 2) Excellent customer
service, 3) Dynamic and passionate training
delivery, and 4) Financial soundness. No
doubt, these keys to being a successful
entrepreneur were directly related to the
way my dad grew and developed while in
the military.
As a veteran and entrepreneur, my dad is
an outstanding contributor to our family.
He leads our immediate family in ongoing
discussions and interactions that show he is
concerned about our personal and financial
wellbeing. He is constantly “coaching”
and teaching us how to love each other,
stay involved in continuous learning and
Future CEO Stars September 2008
improve in everything we do. In fact, based
on his guidance and support, my mother
just returned to school to get her Master’s
Degree in Spiritual Counseling. Personally,
for the past three years, I have been on time
EVERY day and have missed only ONE day
from school.
In our community, my dad is involved
in several activities that make him a fine
example as a veteran and an entrepreneur.
From 1999 to 2006, my dad served as a
community volunteer on the Board of
Directors of our Tenant’s Association. He
served as Treasurer for one year and as
President for five years. As President, he
faced the challenge of resolving internal
conflicts between tenants and the critical
concerns about the overall condition of our
housing complex, such as high rents, poor
maintenance, rodents, drugs and crime.
Prior to my dad’s selection as President,
many of the board members and residents
thought that the Association was non-
productive, confrontations, and a waste of
time. My dad changed all that. Here is what
he did:
• He worked with the Board
members to identify small groups
that would be responsible for
specific issues
• He developed a group reporting
format to ensure that the work got
done
• He arrived early and got the meeting
started on time, every time. For
some who were not able to attend,
he arranged teleconferences.
• He used his computer skills
and incorporated visual aids to
emphasize key points.
• He brought in guest speakers and
local politicians to add diversity
to various issues or to highlight
critical concerns.
Early on in the developmental process of the
Board, my dad recognized the strengths of
the individual members and the Association
as a whole. He channeled members’ energies
and got the support of local partners to
help expand the Association’s reach into the
community. Within three years, my dad
built an Association that became a strong
and active advocate for the tenants in our
community.
My dad is also active and highly regarded
in our local church. Not only is he a
minister but he was selected as Chairperson
of the Boys to Men Ministry - a ministry
designed to promote, enhance and improve
the spiritual values and positive attitudes
and behaviors of young men, ages 14-21.
Then, two years ago, my dad was selected
as Chairperson for the Men’s Department
of our church. Additionally, he serves as an
“Adjutant” for our pastor. A position that
was a direct reflection of his experiences
as a Captain in the Army when he served
as a General’s Aide. Now, my dad is being
asked to conduct leadership training for the
entire church. This is a result of the pastor
and others recognizing his excellent military
skills and outstanding entrepreneurial
talents.
My dad continues to serve in the Army
Reserves and makes contributions on a
national level as a veteran. In fact, he has
been so active in the Reserves (to include
a recent tour in Iraq) that he is once again
being called to Active Duty as part of the
Sanctuary Program. This program is used
for Reserve Soldiers who are mobilized and
have achieved 18 or more years of Active
Federal Service (AFS). They are kept on
active duty to achieve 20 years of AFS and
become eligible for retirement.
In the process of establishing this business
and being an entrepreneur, my dad has
taught me how to be more organized, how
to invest, and how to go “beyond the limit”
of my comfort zone in serving others and
contributing to society.
The skills and experiences that my dad has
gotten from being in the military and from
being an entrepreneur have helped to make
him a personal and professional success. He
is my hero and I would be honored to follow
in his footsteps as a soldier, an entrepreneur
or like him, both.
29
 Does your class
need money?

Is your teacher looking for

an effective way to raise
funding for a class project?

Are you tired of selling cookies

or candy?

Do you want to avoid the hassle

of having to deliver what you sell?

We have your solution!

For more information have your
teacher contact The Consortium
for Entrepreneurship Education:
image licensed from iStock photo

fundraiser@futureceostars.com

The Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education is a

qualified 501(c3) non profit corporation and, therefore
follows all rules, laws, and requirements pertaining to
Our Sponsors
When an organization really cares,
it shows!!!
W e would like to thank the sponsors of Future CEO Stars whose forward thinking, support, and
generous contributions made this publication possible. It is organizations like these that keep your
education focused, moving forward, challenging, and potentially profitable. To learn more about what they have to offer please
feel free to visit their websites listed below.

Appalachian Regional Commission www.arc.gov

Buchholz High School www.bhs.sbac.edu
The Coleman Foundation www.colemanfoundation.org
E*TRADE Financial www.etrade.com
Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education www.iiee.org
Marketplace for Kids www.marketplaceforkids.org
MediaSpark Inc www.mediaspark.com
National Council on Economic Education www.ncee.net
National Museum of Education www.nmoe.org
NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation www.nfib.com/yef
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship www.nfte.com
NY REAL www.nyreal.org
Réseau des CJE du Quebec www.cjereseau.org
University of Florida www.cei.ufl.edu
Yourhomework.com www.yourhomework.com
USA Today www.usatoday.com/educate
Small Business Development Center www.ohiosbdc.com
AdVanz, LLC
Insight
Ohio Department of Education

Future CEO Stars September 2008

31
 EARN BABY
EARN.
MAX-RATE
SAVINGS
Complete Savings Account

8x National Average 2
3.30
No Account Fees. No Minimums.
%
APY
1

Transfer Cash In
And Out With A Click 3

1000 new accounts a day

etrade.com/maximize 1-877-929-2434

New Accounts claim based on internal E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. metrics for average daily gross new E*TRADE Bank and E*TRADE Securities accounts between 8/1/07–7/31/08.
Net new accounts were in excess of 200,000 over the same period.
1. Annual Percentage Yield is effective 8/13/08 and is subject to change. A $1 minimum deposit is required to open a new account. Withdrawal limits apply. Online statements
required.
2. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of the Complete Savings Account as of 8/13/08 is more than 8 times the national average APY for savings accounts with balances of $25,000.
Source: Informa Research Services, Inc., Calabasas, CA. www.informars.com. Although the information has been obtained from the various institutions themselves, the accuracy cannot
be guaranteed.
3. For details and important information about Quick Transfer, please visit etrade.com/quicktransferdetails for a listing of the limitations, restrictions and time deadlines associated
with this service.
The E*TRADE FINANCIAL family of companies provides financial services that include trading, investing and banking.
Banking products and services are offered by E*TRADE Bank, a Federal savings bank, Member FDIC, or its subsidiaries. Bank deposits are FDIC-insured to at least $100,000.
©2008 E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. All rights reserved.