San Francisco Students Win NFTE West (Northern California) Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
May 27 2024 - 10:00AM
Global entrepreneurship education nonprofit Network for Teaching
Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has named two local student businesses as
the winners of its annual West (Northern California) Regional Youth
Entrepreneurship Challenge. The young entrepreneurs distinguished
themselves through innovative business ideas, which they will
present at the national finals in New York on October 10 to compete
for the National Champion title and cash prizes.
Competitors pitched their original business concepts to a panel
of esteemed judges, including Kate Booth, Head of Corporate Social
Responsibility, Americas at SAP; Samantha Brill, Private Wealth
Advisor at Goldman Sachs; Tommy Goodwin, VP of Lyte Creative; Leo
Mattiazzi, Partner, EVP at CI&T; and James B. Nelson, Senior
Manager at Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) who selected a first-place
winner to receive $1,500 and a second-place winner to receive
$1,000.
- 1st Place: Dorothy Ho and Kimberlee
Tran from Abraham Lincoln High School in
San Francisco with their business idea NutriShell,
which produces organic, eggshell-based fertilizers packaged with a
cute aesthetic.
- 2nd Place: Ayaan Hassan from Silver
Creek High School in San Jose, California
with his business idea AidlyAI, an app that utilizes AI to connect
patients to urgent care centers.
“The NFTE West Northern California Youth Entrepreneurship
Challenge has once again shown our young people's remarkable talent
and potential,” said Tim Blaylock, NFTE West Executive Director.
“Seeing their creative ideas, enthusiastic presentations, and
unwavering determination has been inspiring. This event was made
possible by the hard work of our NFTE West teachers, volunteer
coaches, and judges, as well as the leadership of the NFTE West
team. Their dedication to empowering these young entrepreneurs is
truly admirable!”
The NFTE West (Northern California) Youth Entrepreneurship
Challenge was presented by EY US with signature support from
Shopify and associate support from the Citi Foundation, PayPal, and
Santander.
For media inquiries, please contact Angelika Seaman,
603-504-8554, or Denise Berkhalter, APR, 917-281-4362, at
mediainquiries@nfte.com.
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About NFTE:
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) ignites the
entrepreneurial mindset with unique learning experiences that
empower students to own their futures. A global nonprofit founded
in 1987, NFTE provides high-quality entrepreneurship education to
middle school, high school and postsecondary students. NFTE brings
the power of entrepreneurship to students, regardless of family
income, community resources, special needs, gender identity, race,
or ethnicity. NFTE has educated more than a million students,
delivering our programs in school, out of school, in-person,
online, or through hybrid models. Visit nfte.com to learn
more.
- NFTE West (Northern California) Youth Entrepreneurship
Challenge Champions
- 2024 NFTE West (Northern California) Youth Entrepreneurship
Challenge Winners
Denise Berkhalter, APR
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)
917-281-4362
deniseb@nfte.com