Budding Entrepreneurs in Your Classroom? Bring their Ideas Alive with Y.E.S. for Arkansas! Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation

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1 Budding Entrepreneurs in Your Classroom? Bring their Ideas Alive with Y.E.S. for Arkansas! Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation Marie Bruno Executive Director REAL Econ for All Conference North Little Rock July 22-23,

2 Who We Are A private, 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to education-based initiatives that promote and foster the development of innovation and entrepreneurship within Arkansas. AEAF works to nurture people and ideas to generate future Arkansas entrepreneurs. 2

3 Who We Are Established in 1957 to provide permanent, long-term financing for business startups, expansions, and acquisitions. Partners with more than 100 Arkansas banks; the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Small Business Administration, and state agencies; such as the Arkansas Development Finance Authority and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. More than 1,200 direct loans to Arkansas businesses totaling more than $475 million. When you add in loans with our partner banks, the combined capital to small businesses is more than $1 billion. 3

4 Why AEAF? Arkansas Capital Corporation has met with hundreds if not thousands of people with great ideas and potential for promising new products and services, looking for money to start their businesses. After the pitch comes the questions... Why will your product sell? How are you going to build it? How are you going to market it? How are you going to sell it? How much will you sell it for? Who will run the company? 4

5 Why AEAF? What qualifies them? How will you manage your business income/expenses? How will you get paid? Where do you think you ll be in one year? How much money do you need? Two years?? 5

6 And many of them never came back. Something needed to be done. 6

7 Arkansas Capital and its partners knew first hand that Arkansas has the talent and resources to start, grow, and keep successful businesses here at home. AEAF began in The next step was to fulfill it s mission promoting and fostering the development of innovation and entrepreneurship within Arkansas. How do we showcase this talent and prove to others in the pipeline that being an entrepreneur and starting a business can be achievable if you have a dream and if you re prepared? 7

8 Business Plan Competitions! 8

9 Launched in 2001 Open to any college or university student in Arkansas Nearly 2,200 have competed, presenting 736 business plans And $1.75 million in cash prizes awarded no strings! 9

10 Launched in 2011 Open to any high school student in Arkansas Online only More than 460 have competed, presenting 202 business plans Total cash prizes awarded - $14,625 and no strings! 10

11 Launched in 2006 Open to any 5 th 8 th grade student in Arkansas Business plans submitted; top 25 compete at Expo Day in Little Rock More than 6,400 have competed, presenting almost 2,000 business plans Total cash prizes awarded - $66,572 and still, no strings! 11

12 Why Compete? Teachers, parents, judges and others say these competitions are one of the most real-world experiences students can receive in a classroom setting. Shows students it takes multiple skills financial, marketing, manufacturing, etc. Feedback from judges who are business professionals. Excellent talking points... what did you do in school last year? Taking pride in owning the idea and making the plan their own; project-based. Sense of accomplishment, builds self-confidence, creates enthusiasm never thought they were capable. Like learning to ride a bike an experience they won t forget. 12

13 O.U.R. Cooperative Gifted and Talented Scope and Sequence HIGHLIGHTED FOR Y.E.S. CURRICULUM/ SLO STRAND ONE: LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS STANDARD 1 Creativity and Innovation Students will think creatively and work creatively with others to implement innovations. K Use a wide range of idea creation techniques (such as brainstorming) I D E E Create new and worthwhile ideas (both incremental and radical concepts) I D E E Elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate their own ideas in order to improve and I D E E maximize creative efforts Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively I D E E Be open and responsive to new and diverse perspectives; incorporate group input I D E E and feedback into the work Demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world I D E E limits to adopting new ideas View failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation I D E E is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes Act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur I D E E STRAND ONE: LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS STANDARD 2- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Students will utilize critical thinking to learn problem-solving skills to apply to real-life situations. Problem Solving K Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the I D E E situation Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall I D E E outcomes in complex systems 13

14 1.2.3 Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs I D E E Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view I D E E Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments I D E E Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis I D E E Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes I D E E Solve different kinds of non-familiar problems in both conventional and innovative I D E E ways Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions I D E E STRAND ONE: LEARNING AND INNOVATION SKILLS STANDARD 3- Communication and Collaboration Students will communicate clearly and collaborate with others Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal I D E E communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and I D E E intentions Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and I D E E persuade) Utilize multiple media and technologies, and know how to judge their effectiveness I D E E as well as assess their impact Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multi-lingual) I D E E Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams I D E E Exercise flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making necessary compromises I D E E to accomplish a common goal Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member I D E E 14

15 How to Get Started Ask students to brainstorm business ideas: Is there something they use or do everyday that could be made better or be made differently for a better outcome? Customer Pain. Start logging ideas. Caution: if you don t think some will work don t discourage students if they are passionate about them. Once they run it through the business plan framework, they ll find out soon enough. Form teams around ideas minimum two, maximum six for Y.E.S. competitions and around their skill sets. 15

16 Validation of Ideas Lean Canvas Use questions based on the Lean Canvas model to guide students to think through their ideas: 1. What problem are we solving? 2. How are we solving the problem? 3. How will we measure success? 4. Why should we solve this problem? 5. How do we market to people? 6. How do people buy from us? 7. Who has the problem? 8. What are our expenses? 9. How will we make money? Customer Validation Pivot based on responses 16

17 Ready to Build the Business Plan Business Plan Format (5 points) Please ensure these are followed and please ensure the plan has been proofread before submission. Will set off negative impressions among judges immediately. Company Overview (10 Points) Describe the company s business product or service. Include the company s mission, history, goals, objectives, and the backgrounds and roles of the management team. (LC #2, LC #3) Product or Service Description (10 Points) Y.E.S. 5 th 8 th grades What are the features and benefits of the product or service? Explain why it is better than that of the competitors. (LC #1, #4, #7) 17

18 Ready to Build the Business Plan Innovation/Creativity (10 Points) How is the product or service new or different than what is currently in the marketplace? (LC #4) Marketing Strategy (10 Points) Define the target market for the product or service and the company s sales approach. (LC #5, #6, #7) Financials (10 Points) Include both a statement of what funds are needed to make and produce the product and an income statement. (LC #3, LC #8, LC #9) 18

19 Y.E.S Competition Timeline Intents to compete open: August 17 Intents to compete close: October 30 Business plan submissions open: November 2 Business plan submissions close: November 17 Announcement of Top 25 via livestream: December 16 Y.E.S. Expo Day at Park Plaza in Little Rock: January 22 Governor s Cup Awards Luncheon: April

20 Y.E.S Competition Timeline Intents to compete open: August 17 Intents to compete close: February 19 Business plan submissions open: February 22 Business plan submissions close: March 9 Announcement of Winners: March 25 Governor s Cup Awards Luncheon: April

21 (FYI that the data presented in this video for the Y.E.S. competitions is cumulative from ) 21

22 Students who enter AEAF competitions will gain an entrepreneurial mindset and will be more prepared for opportunities if they arise when they go to college, or to work for someone else... or to start their own businesses. 22

23 Questions? arcapital.com/aeaf Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation 200 River Market Avenue, Suite 400 Little Rock, AR