Category: Uncategorized

BizWorld launched its winter cohort of the exciting, life-changing YES! Program where high potential young entrepreneurs create and develop thriving businesses. YES! builds confidence and breaks down barriers to propel youth businesses to success. We had a chance to interview TLeggings’ CEO, Bella Lin, who is a determined and ambitious 14-year old who wants to provide high-quality leggings to customers at reasonable prices. We asked Bella some questions so we could take a peek into her ideas on legging innovations and her desire to provide affordable activewear to all. 1) Tell me a little bit about your company and what interested you in starting TLeggings? My company is an e-commerce startup focused on bringing customers high-quality items at affordable and realistic prices. I started TLeggings when I realized that sportswear is often so expensive and unfairly priced. I was motivated through my own personal experience, and I now know that many others also struggle with balancing quality affordability when shopping. 2) What do you hope to learn and get out of the YES! Program? I would just love to hear new things and be asked questions from different perspectives. I think it’s awesome that I get to meet many other young entrepreneurs and I would love to try out their products! Learning from professionals of different backgrounds is also very important to me, and I think that speaking with them can maybe give me a wider view of the ‘adult world’ and how they think people react to different things. 3) Can you share a fun fact with us about yourself? A fun fact about myself is that I can guess if you’re a dog person or a cat person! Another fact is that I’m actually neither; I would consider myself a guinea pig person 🙂 4) What do you feel has helped you with launching TLeggings? I think that support from peers and also just wanting to improve my company constantly helps me keep going. Things like always thinking about how to run things more smoothly, or just suddenly thinking about checking on things like shipping helps keep the momentum going. My parents are constantly helping me out when I get stuck or even lose motivation for a bit. 5) What is your superpower? And how has it guided you in developing your business? My superpower would probably be the fact that I am an extrovert and a people person. I find it easy to reach out for help, and talking to new people or individuals within my company comes naturally. It has specifically helped me in the YES! program as well, because I find it easier to interact with new people that I am constantly talking to in this program. Bravo on your success with TLeggings so far, Bella! The retail and activewear market is a competitive one, so we look forward to seeing how TLeggings continues to grow and thrive through your YES! Program learnings and connections. Good luck to you! The YES! Winter Cohort opened on January 25th and is scheduled to run until April 8th, 2021. The summer cohort application deadline is May 14th and is scheduled to run until August 27th, 2021. Both cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in the YES! Demo Day and pitch for start-up investment scheduled on September 17, 2021.

BizWorld launched its winter cohort of the exciting, life-changing YES! Program where high potential young entrepreneurs create and develop thriving businesses. YES! builds confidence and breaks down barriers to propel youth businesses to success. We are pleased to feature Bear Matthews, an authentic and successful 19-year old entrepreneur who is passionate about helping communities in need with tech apps developed by Astra Labs. Learn about how he and his team members are developing innovative apps to address mental illness and personal security issues for his customers at a fraction of the cost of traditional models of healthcare. 1) Tell me a little bit about your company and what interested you in starting Astra Labs? Astra Labs is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that builds technology for communities in need. Currently, with roughly 250k active users, and an annual reach of over 6m people, we’ve been fortunate to work alongside some of the largest names in tech towards a brighter future for those who need us most. With just under two dozen team members, we all hail from startup and tech development backgrounds, and collectively are driven by the impact of our technology. In the past two years, we’ve released two applications – Aetheria and Verena, for which respectively address issues of mental illness and personal security. Our team also deployed a rapid-response COVID-19 platform, for which through our private business partners, provided free telehealth counseling to over 200k U.S based frontline workers! 2) What do you hope to learn and get out of the YES! Program? The YES! Program is extremely appealing to our team as a wonderful stepping stone out of the shadows where Astra Labs has previously been operating. As a registered 501(c)3, we often find ourselves in a unique position operating like a startup with the impact of an international NGO. As such, connecting with industry professionals and taking a deeper look at the long-term sustainability of our business model and strategic growth plan will be paramount to the future success of our organization; and that’s precisely the opportunity YES! offers us. 3) Can you share a fun fact about yourself? Sure! I’m a huge lover of art, and have previously served as a public art commissioner for the Town of Basalt in Colorado! 4) What do you feel has helped you with launching Astra Labs? Wow! Well, every day I remind myself of how fortunate we are to learn and build alongside our users. It’s an attribute that I refer to as a patient-designed success. That being, when you develop a product not only for, but with your target user, or what we would refer to as a “community in need”, Astra inherently removes all risk in deployment. Additionally, we operate with several simple, yet effective mantras in business. We remind ourselves to always execute with excellence; to engage and build for other humans, not profits; and finally, that impact as a measurement of success is usually the product of dialogue. So as much as I may not be able to tell you what has helped us the most, I can tell you what helped us yesterday. 4) What is your superpower? And how has it guided you in developing your business? Listening and repeating. Operating in a market like Astra’s requires consistent and open dialogue. Whether it be of internal operations, external community research, or integral partnership negotiations – Astra has a habit of opening every conversation with “how can we help?” It’s through such ethos that we build strong and lasting relationships for which secure sustainable, cost-effective, and measurable impacts within communities of need around the world. Bear, you and your team have accomplished so much since you started the organization in 2018. You have some impressive stats — your tech tools have helped 204,392 people, your apps are on 104,962 smart devices, and your content has reached 304,981 people! We look forward to seeing Astra Labs grow through the YES! Program by strategically looking into your business plan and by connecting you to the BizWorld business ecosystem… good luck! The YES! Winter Cohort opened on January 25th and is scheduled to run until April 8th, 2021. The summer cohort application deadline is May 14th and is scheduled to run until August 27th, 2021. Both cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in the YES! Demo Day and pitch for start-up investment scheduled on September 17, 2021.

BizWorld launched it’s winter cohort of the exciting, life-changing YES! Program where high potential young entrepreneurs create and develop thriving businesses. YES! builds confidence and breaks down barriers to propel youth businesses to success. We had the pleasure of interviewing 15-year old JeNoah, founder of URBAN Stereotype, a one-of-a-kind apparel brand that supports positive cultural and ethnic diversity globally. Learn about how the founder’s strong and resilient attitude propelled him to launch “US” which is not only the acronym for his company but also signifies unity among all diverse ethnic groups. Way to go, JeNoah! Tell us a little bit about who your company is and what interested you in starting Urban Stereotype? My company is URBAN Stereotype, a unique apparel brand and movement supporting positive cultural and ethnic diversity worldwide. Most of our clothing is designed with uplifting quotes, so that all racial groups feel good about who they are. An important aspect and focal point of our apparel is our iconic and uniquely designed logo I created myself. I mention this, because our logo not only stands for our company name URBAN Stereotype, it also spells out the word US. The US is extremely significant, because it bridges the gap between those who experience ethnic stereotyping and those who are against those negative behaviors. I really want to get the point across that my brand is about unifying all diverse ethnic groups in an uplifting way. What interested me in starting my company is quite a story. I started URBAN Stereotype as a positive response to the racial bullying I endured at school. My dad fought for three years seeking justice on my behalf. However, I didn’t want to continue going that route. So I asked my dad to stop all proceedings to help me with my business idea. And even he will admit, he’s glad he did. We are currently working on bigger concepts regarding our business model. However, my company will always be a reminder that negative situations can be for the greater good. What do you hope to learn and get out of the YES! Program? I hope to learn more about myself and my business model. I’m excited to take full advantage of this process and opportunity. I also appreciate having access to all the wonderful business mentors who are a part of the YES! program. Ultimately, I’m looking forward to receiving assistance with creating a solid business plan that can help me secure a spot at Demo Day. What do you feel has helped you with launching URBAN Stereotype? First, I’d like to mention that my dad has been a huge support system in helping me to launch my business. He’s a long time freelance entrepreneur and his encouragement has made me feel like anything is possible. In addition to my family’s support, I’ve been fortunate to receive lots of media attention, as a result of my positive story and business idea. This has helped me gain confidence and create awareness for my brand, and we’ve been able to get some sales as a result. Can you share a fun fact about yourself? A fun fact about me, is that I’m a vegetarian. The funny story about how I became a vegetarian, is that it started off as a challenge. I wanted to see how long I could go without eating meat. Little did I know this it become a permanent lifestyle change. I was influenced to live this life by my mother who has been a vegetarian for over 10 years. My parents taught me the importance of a healthy diet and I’m so glad I have followed this path. What is your superpower? And how has it guided you in developing your business? I’d say my superpower is my ability to be resilient in almost any situation. My resilience and tough skin is the foundation of my business. It’s the reason URBAN Stereotype was started and I believe it’s the reason we will stick around for the long term. I also wanted to share a recent magazine article that was published about my business. If you want to see more on URBAN Stereotype, please visit the media section of my website. What a creative logo you have for URBAN Stereotype, JeNoah! We look forward to offering you mentorship and coaching during your entrepreneurial journey in the YES! Program. Good luck in preparing for Demo Day – you’ll have a solid business plan, no doubt! The YES! Winter Cohort opened on January 25th, and is scheduled to run until April 8th, 2021. The summer cohort application deadline is May 14th, and is scheduled to run until August 27th, 2021. Both cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in the YES! Demo Day and pitch for start-up investment scheduled on September 17, 2021.

BizWorld launched its winter cohort of the exciting, life-changing YES! Program where high potential young entrepreneurs create and develop thriving businesses! YES! builds confidence and breaks down barriers to propel youth businesses to success. Here, we feature Akki’s Cupcakery & Tea whose CEO, Akeila Tejwani, is a determined and ambitious 14-year old who wants to provide healthy sweet bakery options to her customers. We interviewed Akeila so we could take a peek into her exciting world of healthy, baked goods and her desire to practice philanthropy by giving back to kids’ charities in San Antonio, Texas. 1) Tell us a little bit about who your company is and what interested you in starting Akki’s Cupcakery & Tea? I wanted to come up with healthy, vegan options for people to enjoy the baking savories. Lots of people are not able to enjoy all the baked goods due to an unhealthy amount of calories found in baked products at grocery stores. Also, the ingredients used by them are not healthy for overall health and fitness. Through my bakery, it will help the community in San Antonio and also fulfill my desire to be a health-conscious baker. I started with Tea but very soon realized that it is not a feasible business and can get messy, so I’m only focusing on cupcakes and cakes. 2) What do you hope to learn and get out of the YES! Program? I want to learn: a) better financing and budgeting skills b) sales skills c) customer management d) time management for an equal balance between business and personal/school life e) How to grow my business in other cities f) What are the challenges other entrepreneurs face and collaborate with them 3) What do you feel has helped you with launching Akki’s? I feel the support from my family and my passion for baking have helped me tremendously to get started and get the business to this point. I have had a passion for baking since I was four years old. I also believe that sticking to my family core values of HUGPC (Health and Happiness, Upright, Gratitude, Pay forward, and Continuous learning) has brought me here. I have implemented Health and happiness by encouraging organic eating, and Pay forward with profit-sharing with five kids charities in San Antonio. My sister, Nikita, pushed me to learn new recipes along with her. My mom helped us taste and find new recipes that can fit our customers, and my dad made an awesome website and is conducting online marketing that kept us ahead of our competitors. Currently, we spend a minimal amount on our marketing and still get plenty of orders! Lastly, my grandma has always encouraged me to do my best, helps me in the kitchen, and inspires me to be happy like her at 80! 4) What is your superpower? And how has it guided you in developing your business? My superpower is determination when I want to get something done I will push through and get it done. I want to stick by my core value of being upright and say what I mean and mean what I say. My determination has pushed me to get better at baking, to learn new skills like website development, and to improve my sales skills. I also set a goal of giving back $3,000 and kept that note in front of my eyes every day so that I knew what my end goal is for all my efforts. I was able to open the business and give back more than $3,000 to kids charities in San Antonio in 2020. My determination has allowed me to learn and make recipes to deal with multiple dietary restrictions. I started with 5 recipes and now we have more than 50 recipes on our website! Congratulations on your success, Akeila! We look forward to helping you to learn finance and sales skills, as well as how to grow your business in other cities. We applaud your forward-thinking mentality and your philanthropic spirit by giving back to various kids’ charities! The YES! Winter Cohort opened on January 25th and is scheduled to run until April 8th, 2021. The summer cohort application deadline is May 14th and is scheduled to run until August 27th, 2021. Both cohorts will have the opportunity to participate in the YES! Demo Day and pitch for start-up investment scheduled on September 17, 2021.

Here at BizWorld.org we wholeheartedly embrace the entrepreneurial mindset. We truly believe in ongoing learning, reflecting, and improving. And we’re constantly asking ourselves, how we can do better. How can we better equip our students for successful futures? How can we better support our dedicated educators in this mission? And how can we better reach the students that need us the most? We found our answers within our own community of passionate teachers, district leaders, budding entrepreneurs, volunteers, and supporters. So this past year, we leveraged the diverse ideas and wonderful resources and embarked on our mission to create the next generation of BizWorld: BizWorldPRO. Here’s how we did it. Over years of working with classrooms across the country and globally with our international partners, we have observed innovative BizWorld teaching strategies, modifications, and add-ons. We compiled the best teacher practices from around the globe to enhance our core entrepreneurship curriculum including: We interviewed successful entrepreneurs so that we could bring you the most up-to-date, expert business and entrepreneurship content for empowering students with the knowledge and skills to succeed. Finally, we developed the new version of the curriculum using 21st century tools. Our BizWorldPRO curriculum is accessible through our blended learning platform. You can find lesson plans, teaching resources, and student assessments in one, easy-to-access digital toolkit. PLUS the tool is built to integrate technology for student use in the right places, to maximize their learning experience. We’re counting on YOU – each and every educator in our BizWorld community – to check out BizWorldPRO and share your thoughts with us. We are committed to keep innovating for you and for your students!

BizWorld.org announced the winners of the Girlpreneur competition at WorldWideWomen’s Girls Festival on Saturday at The Palace of Fine Arts. The first-place winner, a girl-conceived business called Her Rah! 1st Bra won $1,000 to help finance her business. Founder McKenna (of Florida) confidently pitched her business to celebrity judges Leslie Blodgett of Bare Minerals, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy of Stubhub, Paola Santana of Social Glass and Kara Haspel Lind of Kara’s cupcakes. McKenna wowed the judges with her creative and passionate solution to something every girl experiences. The audience was able to participate and selected The People’s Choice winners Sage, Natalie and Diana of High School Connect located in Oakland, CA, who won $500 after delivering a compelling business pitch. All participants won BizWorld programs for their schools in order to inspire more young people with entrepreneurial programs. In addition, on behalf of StubHub, Sukhinder Singh Cassidy gifted each participant with tickets to a live experience of their choosing to reward them all for amazing pitches on stage. The Girlpreneur Competition is a contest designed to engage the spirit of entrepreneurship among young girls. “We aim to inspire all girls to act upon their ideas and dreams,” said Thais Rezende, CEO of BizWorld.org. “By equipping them with entrepreneurship education, we can help them to lead and succeed. They give all of us the confidence to dream big; we’re proud of them.” The 5 finalists’ companies were Delarai of Chef Koochooloo; Bella of TLeggings.com; McKenna of Her Rah! 1st Bra; Natalie, Diana, and Sage of High School Connect; Mahek of Earth Beauty. It was such an amazing day celebrating all the Girlpreneurs!

Thank you to all of our supporters who made BizWorld’s inaugural Demo Day event a smashing success! It was a thrilling experience to showcase the inspiring business plans of our young entrepreneurs who were mentored through their participation in the YES! Program. This celebratory event signified the culmination of our students’ YES! entrepreneurial journey: a summer highlighted by immersive workshop experiences, webinars and transformative 1:1 virtual mentorship sessions, all in preparation for the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of investors for seed funding. We are so proud of our Demo Day Finalists, who were awarded funding based on their business’ viability: John Ciocca, Founder of youBelong Mathew Galvez, Founder of LOTTAWorldwide James Green, Founder of FixMyKix It is with tremendous gratitude that we thank our community members and sponsors who have invested their time, resources and expertise in bringing the YES! Program to fruition. Together, we created a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, rich in expert mentorship and supported by a community of sponsors who believed in our mission to provide an accessible, inclusive and equitable pathway to entrepreneurship from early education to young adulthood. BizWorld’s 2020 future vision will continue to invest in the forward momentum and expansion of the YES! Program – It is our desire to grow our network of impact across the globe and support the next generation of business leaders and innovators, propelling them towards success! Take action today and become part of this movement by signing up to become a mentor and invest in the future of our community today!

Thank you to the Edison Township Public School District for sending us this great video! It’s so wonderful to see the teachers and students so engaged in the BizWorld Impact Challenge. The children learn to run their own businesses, inspiring them to become the architects of their futures which gives them the confidence to transform their worlds! Watch the Video Here

BizWorld.org Launches YES! (Young Entrepreneur Success) Program To Empower Teen Entrepreneurs to Launch Real-Life Businesses Oakland, CA – May 15, 2019 — BizWorld.org, a global non-profit providing hands-on and engaging entrepreneurship education programs for elementary and middle school children, launched the innovative YES! Program to create a unique and collaborative eco-system of youth businesses. The Golden State Warriors and Attles Center For Excellence are proudly co-sponsoring the YES! Program to support BizWorld in leading the way to entrepreneurship for today’s youth. The YES! Program empowers the next generation of aspiring teen entrepreneurs as they explore, test and launch their real-life businesses. Through the 3-phase program, students will create a business plan, participate in an accelerator program, and compete for $30,000 in start-up funding. The program culminates in a demo day where teams of young entrepreneurs will showcase their businesses to a panel of venture capitalists, and compete for $30,000 in funding. “We are thrilled to launch the Yes! Program to help lead the pathway to entrepreneurship by supporting the vision and passion of our aspiring teens and young adults”, said Thais Rezende, CEO of BizWorld.org. “ We want to equip our young entrepreneurs with practical business knowledge, mentorship and access to capital to help make their dream a reality. We are very proud of them.” Online registration for the Yes! Program opens up on May 20th where young entrepreneurs from across the country have access to a free, 6-week online educational experience to help them create a business plan. After the 6-week program, these young entrepreneurs will submit applications to be considered for the Yes! Accelerator Program. The Accelerator program provides them with the opportunity to engage in one-on-one mentorship sessions with top Silicon Valley business leaders and participate in live workshops hosted by many well-known companies in the Bay Area. On July 10th, 20 semi-finalists will be selected for the YES! Accelerator Program so that 5 finalists may compete for up to $30,000 in start-up funding. The program ends on September 12th. “We are proud to support BizWorld and the extraordinary work they do to empower our future leaders,” said Warriors Community Foundation Program Manager, Evan Schwartz. “By engaging children in entrepreneurship education and teaching them how to run a business, they are inspiring under-served students to become creative, critical thinkers with the confidence to tackle real-world problems. BizWorld is integral to allowing Bay Area youth to achieve their highest potential, and for that we are thrilled to call them our partners.” Al Attles III, Founder of the Attles Center For Excellence said, “ACE is very excited to be partnering with BizWorld to launch the YES! Program. We believe all youth deserve the tools and support to explore their creativity, and our hope is that the YES! Program gives birth to a whole new generation of entrepreneurs.” More information on Yes! and other BizWorld Programs can be found at www.bizworld.org/Yes. About BizWorld BizWorld.org is a global non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA, whose mission is to empower children to become 21st century thinkers by awakening their entrepreneurial spirit, inspiring them to become the architects of their futures, and giving them the confidence to transform their communities. Founded 20 years ago by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper, BizWorld.org programs teach students real-world 21st century skills such as financial management, collaboration, negotiation and leadership that encourage them to become the financially responsible leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. BizWorld.org provides three, project-based programs – BizWorld®, BizMovie® and BizWiz™. BizWorld.org has reached nearly 750,000 students in more than 100 countries. For more information, please visit www.bizworld.org or call toll-free 1-888-4-BizKid. For more information, please visit Bizworld.org. Contact: Shefali Billon at 415-706-4397.

By Harry Gould, VP WorldWide Alliances and Channels, SailPoint and BizWorld Board MemberApril 30, 2019 We’re thrilled to be charity partners with the RBC GranFondo Silicon Valley ride for a second year happening on June 22, 2019. We interviewed our long-standing board member, Harry Gould, on his experience on this wonderful ride in California. 1) Tell us about your experience on the RBC GranFondo Silicon Valley ride last year. I had an amazing opportunity to help create and participate in the first inaugural GranFondo Silicon Valley bike ride last year sponsored by RBC/City National Bank. Here’s how the story comes together: I had met Neil McKinnon, Chief Enthusiast of the GranFondo a couple of years ago when I cycled the GranFondo in Whistler, British Columbia. I was immediately drawn to him and the ride in Silicon Valley in 2018. Being a board member of BizWorld, I saw an opportunity to introduce Neil to Thais Rezende, CEO of BizWorld, in an effort to help raise funds for BizWorld while offering donors an opportunity to give back and participate in this beautiful ride. The 60-mile ride went from East Palo Alto to the Pacific Ocean and featured scenic and breathtaking views of the Bay Area. There were many hydration and rest stations as well as healthy nourishment along the way. The ride became especially challenging because it was one of the hottest days in the Bay area as the bikers were headed back over Tunitas Creek, a steep 6.6 mile climb in San Mateo county. I would definitely do this ride again! RBC was a terrific and generous sponsor of the GranFondo, BizWorld and the other charity partners. It was a great way to bring riders, partners and volunteers from all over the Bay Area together to celebrate leadership and community and have fun, while taking advantage of the beauty of the Bay Area. 2) Why it is important for you to support BizWorld during this ride? I’ve been supporting Bizworld for over a decade now and am currently on the Board of Directors for the organization. I believe strongly in BizWorld because it teaches kids to become entrepreneurs and to communicate in a team environment. Children ignite their creativity and understanding on what they want to do as they grow and what it takes to create a successful business. I taught BizWorld in all three of my children’s 4th and 5th grade classes, and also to at-risk kids in their schools. All of the children learned the fundamentals of what it takes to run a business and how to do things in a business setting. I haven’t seen a more engaging program. I liked BizWorld so much I decided to join the Board many years ago. 3) Why would others be interested to support Bizworld and the other charity partner on this ride? There are not many events that combine healthy inspiration and good giving, and encourage taking advantage of the beautiful Bay Area which we are blessed to live in. The RBC GranFondo brings the community together in a fun and impactful way so that we all have a better understanding of people and important causes. Events like the GranFondo help us all to become more tolerant and supportive of other folks and organizations. The RBC GranFondo offer an amazing ride, inspiration and giving all in one place.