Camp BizSmart Announces 2010 Tweenpreneurs of the Year
At a time when many adults are feeling the stresses of major economic challenges and a rapidly changing global marketplace, students at Camp BizSmart, an entrepreneurial business academy that inspires tweenpreneurs, are demonstrating the power of being energized by problems. These young aspiring entrepreneurs working directly with successful company CEO’s and founders, are given real business challenges that the companies are facing. If that were not a tough enough challenge, these students 11-15, who have no previous experience in creating business solutions, have only 10 days to complete their task.
Hope Lab VP Richard Tate discusses the business challenge
Udo Waibel, Hara co-founder, shares the business problem
Sound impossible? Than you don’t know these students and the amazing team of faculty and staff that mentor them through the essential hands-on skill building that allows them to build piece by piece the thought process and critical components that create a game-changing product to address a customers need. Camp BizSmart 2010 took on two big issues facing out nation, energy efficiency and childhood obesity.
Knowing that some of the best learning happens in the struggle, co-founders, Dr. Mike Gibbs and Peggy Gibbs, have created an intense, yet fun, immersion that simulates what it is like to startup a company or work on a project team to create and execute on a new business idea. Students learn to be persistent and collaborative while they gain confidence, problem solving and critical thinking to support and defend their business solution with fierce courage and passion.
By bringing great examples of successful entrepreneurship, these students heard why overcoming obstacles, creating new solutions to great challenges, and doing so in an ethical way that creates great impact for people all around the world is not only a good idea it is good business and therefore, worth their energy, their passion and their skills.
Inc Entrepreneur of the Year, Kevin Surace, CEO Serious Materials
Founded in 2007, Camp BizSmart has rapidly expanded to operate at 4 locations, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and in Oahu, Punahou and Iolani Schools with a newly introduced program in Hyderabad, India just this summer. Students who competed in the 2 week programs in Oahu, SCU and Stanford and won a 1st or 2nd place ranking were eligible for the grand finale round. The Camp BizSmart First Annual “Tweenpreneurs of the Year” competition has just concluded and after carefully reviewing the written business plans and final presentations from each eligible team, the judges have made their decisions for the top 1st and 2nd place teams of 2010.
It is with great pleasure that we announce the CampBizSmart, “Tweenpreneurs of 2010″:
- “Top Tweenpreneur Team of 2010 goes to Hara 2, Santa Clara University session” who has been named, the 1st place team for 2010 out of the 3 Camp BizSmart regional competitions. Team members are: Gregory Hosono, CEO, Devan Panchal, CTO, Gloria Liou, CFO, Maggie Sun, CMO, Jeremy Veis, CSO and Dylan Patel, CIO. The students were challenged by Hara executives to design a fun and creative iPad Hara OMI app that would help Fortune 500 businesses calculate and improve their OMI or efficient use of resources.
Hara 2, SCU wins grand finale, named 2010 top team
WAGIC rendering of Hara 2's winning solution
- “Tweenpreneur Team with the most innovative idea, ready to go to market, goes to Hope Lab 1, Santa Clara University session” who captured the 2nd place, judges choice award out of the 3 Camp BizSmart regional competitions. Team members are: Monica Thukral, CEO, Aditya Reddy, CTO, Seema Saini, CFO, Alyssa Saviage, CMO, Hannah Robinson, CSO, Raymond Zhuang, CIO. Hope Lab executives have been working on reducing childhood obesity and challenged students to test, evaluate and improve upon their concept of an activity tracker, the Zamzee prototype, to engage and create effective incentives for tweens 11-14 to get active and get healthy.
Hope Lab 1, SCU wins 2nd place in grand prize 2010
Hope Lab 1, SCU 2nd place winning design, WAGIC rendering
Both teams, as part of their grand prize, will make presentations to the company that provided their business problem and will engage in a lively discussion with the executives on the details of their solution. Much like a product development team within a company, they will find out what the executive team thinks about their solution and what is required to actually take their business solution to market. Students learn during Camp BizSmart that, “lots of people have dreams, entrepreneurs have goals” – and, “an idea is just that – an idea – until you successfully execute upon it”. Therefore, these candid conversations with company executives, help the students to understand what is required to take a great idea into the marketplace to let the customer decide what is truly successful. A valuable lesson to learn early in life.
Camp BizSmart not only inspires young entrepreneurs, they are helping students be confident and courageous and use critical thinking when solving problems, embracing change as a natural state and looking forward to creating bold innovations that have positive impact.
So, when you find yourself concerned about the state of the world, remember that organizations like Camp BizSmart are inspiring young entrepreneurs to be the difference they want to see in the world! Founders, Mike and Peggy Gibbs, believe that providing these young people with these essential skills will create the thoughtful inventors and entrepreneurs we need to ignite a renaissance of critical thinkers with a can-do spirit!
Camp BizSmart, CEO Mike Gibbs says, "These young entrepreneurs are the ones to watch!"
Special thanks go to the company sponsors and their executives who worked with their teams to provide Camp BizSmart business problems this year: Udo Waibel, Amit Chatterjee and Katherine Brittain of Hara and James Bickford of Tigo and Darren Kimura of Sopogy in the energy efficiency space; and Carey White and Larry Tobin of Club One, Inc. and Pat Christen, Richard Tate, Liz Song and Chris Murchison of Hope Lab in the health and fitness space. Ken and Ron Johnson of WAGIC, who provided their design team, Anders, Cassie, Valerie, Sueng, and Steve to make the students sketches come to life. Faculty mentors, Howard Charney, Cisco Sr. VP, Kevin Surace, CEO, Serious Materials, Maigread Eichten, Eichten Consulting, James Bickford, Tigo Business Development, Paul Witkay, Founder, Alliance of CEO’s, Greg Kim, lawyer and Russel Cheng, entrepreneur, Robert Yonover, inventor, Sharon Web and Chris Horgan, intellectual property. Business Plan Competition sponsor for Silicon Valley sessions: Dan’l Lewin, Sr. VP, Microsoft; Site sponsors, Jim Sweeney, Dir. Precourt Center for Energy Efficiency, Stanford University, Dan Aguiar, Dir. Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Santa Clara University, Ann Yoneshige, Iolani School and Cathy Kawano-Ching, and Casey Agena, Punahou School, Oahu. and Mr. K. Sharat Chandra and Mr. T. Anatharajan, for arranging the Indian School for Business, Hyderabad. Mini-case sponsors: Ron Hazelton with iBuild2 and Tim Jahnigan and Mal Walwick with One World Futbol and Bronson Chang -Uncle Clay’s. Competition judges, Lata Krishnan, Bill Reichert, Manish Chandra, David Dembitz, Harry Motro, George Chao, Maigread Eichten, Paul Witkay, Greg Kim, Patt Steiner and Robin Campaniano. And to our great Camp Directors – Bryan Cockel, John Rankin and Ellen Pieterse, our amazing staff, facilitators and leaders in training at each site – you were great!
Thanks to you all for inspiring Young Entrepreneurs! It’s been quite a year, we look forward to expanding even more to inspire yet more students with entrepreneurial thinking and problem solving! We are already signing up great companies to provide innovative business problems for students to solve in 2011. If you know of a curious student age 11-15 who loves to solve problems and learn about business while they do -you will want to tell them about Camp BizSmart.
