Come join us on August 18th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at UCLA to watch the final 3 Academy of Business Leadership (ABL) teams present their business plans to a group of 100-150 prominent civic leaders, industry movers and shakers, and angel investors. ABL members are entrepreneurs and leaders ages 10-19 from low-income areas around Southern California. This year’s Keynote speaker is none other then YSN’s Jennifer Kushell. Jennifer who recently became involved with the Academy of Business Leadership is the New York Times Bestselling author of the “Secrets of the Young and Successful”, a recognized global expert on emerging entrepreneurs, and the founder and president of YSN.com. Jennifer’s immense passion for her work is the result of hundreds of hours dedicated to working on behalf of some of the most extraordinary youth organizations worldwide. From inner city kids to college students, young entrepreneurs and leaders, making a difference in the lives of ambitious young people is what drives her.
The ABL Business Plan Judging Event is the culmination of the Summer Business Institute (SBI) programs. Students work in teams all summer to create full-length business plans, using Business Plan Pro of Palo Alto Software, that map out their dream companies. This year, 200+ students from 96 high schools and 45 school districts wrote 46 business plans that are on average 60-pages long each. Only three teams go on to the Overall Business Plan Judging Competition, where they compete for the opportunity to win money to start their business – $2,000 for 1st place, $1,000 for 2nd place, and $500 for 3rd place.
This year’s competing businesses include:
- Spiral Music, a company that imports and sells foreign music;
- Eco-toys, an environmental friendly toy store;
- Relaxation Station, a company that manufactures chairs set to their clients specifications;
- Oasis, a women’s shoe with a detachable heel;
- Zip Fit, pants made with discreet zippers for the handicapped.
The Academy of Business Leadership (ABL) would like to invite you and other rising entrepreneurs to be part of this amazing event on August 18th. This will be a phenomenal event where you will see the future entrepreneurs of the world and get the opportunity to network with top executives and community leaders. The event will kick off with a networking session where top business plans will be on display from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and continue into the program, which will run from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Ticket donations are $125 per individual and are tax deductible minus the cost of food ($30). Tables of ten can be purchased for $1,000. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, a donation of $5,000 would make you or your company a “Key Supporter” and a donation of $2,500 would make you or your company a “Friend of ABL”. All major donors will get a table, VIP access, and will be recognized in event materials, media, and on our website. To register for the event, please RSVP to Jessica Glynn or call 626-302-3650.
ABL believes that every student deserves access to an education that helps develop their knowledge in business, finance, and prosperity building principles, as well as provide them with access to influential role models who will empower our young leaders through their example to compete and succeed in a global economy. There are still millions of young people around the world who can benefit through ABL’s value-based business and life leadership education. We invite you to join in continuing to contribute to their success, one student at a time, now and in the years to come! Please RSVP by August 6th.
A Little Bit About the Summer Business Institute (SBI)
Students in ABL’s Summer Business Institute (SBI) program receive over 225 hours of instruction from MBA professionals from Harvard Business Schools and others, manage fictitious $100,000 stock portfolios on StockTrak, and create real viable business plans using MS Office Suite and Business Plan Pro. Since 1998, they’ve graduated over 2,400 students from the summer program. 100% of SBI students graduate from high school, and 100% of them matriculate at universities such as Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and USC, just to name a few.
The program is open to all students between the ages of 10-19 regardless of their GPA. For more information on the 2010 SBI programs and other ABL programs, please visit ABL’s website at www.goabl.org or call 626-302-3650.
