The University of Rochester once again hosted a collection of Rochester’s brightest students for it’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy last Wednesday. The entrepreneurial initiative, founded by the U of R in 2004 with funding from the Kauffman Foundation, asks students, ages 11 to 18, to bring their best ideas to the annual gathering. There the students are given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the YEA. The best ideas are selected for a national competition. If they win at that level, students will have an opportunity to pitch their ideas on ABC’s popular start-up reality show, “Shark Tank.”

The Aim of the Project

Most obviously, the initiative by the University of Rochester and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy is an attempt at getting children interested in business early. Behind the scenes, however, it’s also proven to be a powerful incentive for children to find success in academics and in their professional lives later on. Of those who graduate from the YEA program, 100% graduate high school and an astounding 99% go on to enroll in college.

Exceptional Results in a Volatile Business World

To date, the YEA program has helped students start over 1,000 businesses. Of course, starting a business in the United States is absolutely no guarantee for success; an estimated eight out of every 10 start-ups close their doors within the first 18 months of doing business. Perhaps what’s most interesting about the YEA program is that it’s participants reach a markedly higher level of success than most entrepreneurs. 50% of YEA students keep their businesses open for more than a year, with an additional 19% finding enough success to open up a second business!

As the economy continues to change and evolve, entrepreneurs, young or not, need all the help they can get to stay up with the times. Learning the ins and outs of web marketing, for example, can be a powerful tool for finding success in the Internet Age, with over 6 billion Google searches accessing more than 634 million websites occurring on a daily basis. In other words, it takes more than a great idea to succeed in the world of business. With the aid of the University of Rochester and the teachings offered by the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, Rochester’s young entrepreneurs can learn the web marketing, business development, and economic savvy they need to thrive.