Shark Tank For Kids: Join Manhattan Beach Young Entrepreneurs

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Students in middle and high school have the opportunity to spend a year learning all about business in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce. Applications for the YEA! need to be submitted no later than Monday, Oct. 19 and sooner is better, said Kelly Stroman, Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

The online application will take a bit of time to complete. It asks for the student applicants to provide thoughtful written answers to questions, produce most recent school transcripts, as well as a letter of recommendation. There is a $20 application fee.

Interviews for the program will be conducted via Zoom on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 20 and 21 from 4-6 p.m., she said. All YEA! classes in the upcoming session will be on Zoom every Wednesday from 4:30-7:30 p.m. A parent/student orientation and first class is set for Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 4-7 p.m. via Zoom.

If you have any questions about the Manhattan Beach YEA! program, please contact Nellie Ambrose, program manager and Manhattan Beach resident, at YEAmb@manhattanbeachchamber.com. The class begins Oct. 28 and continues through May 2021. The online application is here.

The Manhattan Beach YEA! is also looking for a few more sponsors who can provide scholarship assistance for students in need of financial aid. Sponsors also have the opportunity to enage with the YEA! program and class, said Stroman.

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"Throughout the class, students develop business ideas, write business plans, conduct market research, pitch their plans to a panel of investors and actually launch and run their own real, legal, fully formed companies and social movements," according to the MB Chamber website. "Complete with dynamic guest speakers from the local business community and exciting behind-the-scenes trips to local companies, the fun, projects-based YEA! approach empowers students to take charge of their futures in a profound way."

YEA! was founded in 2004 at the University of Rochester with support from the Kaufmann Foundation and today serves thousands of students in 168 communities across America. In 2011, the United States Chamber of Commerce and Campaign for Free Enterprise became a national sponsor.