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By Kara Brown, Education Manager Beep, beep, beep. Those three tones signaled the end of the school day for my eighth graders. Yet not a single student moved from their seat. All twenty-eight were still at their desks – eyes focused on the novel in their hands, listening intently as I finished a paragraph in The Outsiders. “Well,” I told the class, “it looks like we need to stop for the day. We’ll pick up here tomorrow.” A collective groan and a round of protests and pleas rose up from the class. “No Ms. B, can’t we keep going? We can stay; it’s ok!” This small moment may seem insignificant to some – not quite worthy of being deemed “my favorite teaching moment”, but for me it is. You see, this happened during my first year of teaching. For those that haven’t been there, I’m trying – and failing – to come up with a way to accurately describe exactly what that first year is like. Chaotic, overwhelming, and tiring are the first words that come to mind. That year, I worked harder than I ever have in my life: creating lesson plans, making up new lesson plans on the fly when that first one didn’t work out, and learning the ropes of classroom management. To top it all off, at the age of 22, I was suddenly a resource for parents who have questions about their 13-year old children. All of it was a shock to the system. Nevertheless, I persevered, determined that all my students would learn to love reading and writing just as much as I do. Some things are easier said than done, though. I tried my best: we wrote short stories and filmed them, we played games, we moved class outside….but nothing seemed to engage one group – my eighth period. This was my last class of the day; twenty-eight eighth graders and me crammed into a tiny portable with two chalkboards (yes, chalkboards…in 2007) and a TV strapped to a cart. Everyone was tired by that time of the day, and no matter how much a lesson plan dazzled my other classes, it would fall flat in this one. Because of these challenges, I lived for tiny moments like the one described at the beginning of the post – moments when I could say “Aha! They get it…and they’re enjoying it!” This one moment was proof positive that my students weren’t just passively listening to the book…they were lost in the novel, caught up in the battle between the Greasers and the Socs, and rooting for their newfound friend, Ponyboy.

Written by Thais Rezende “I knew the event would be powerful, but I didn’t realize it would bring me to tears,” was the comment I got from an audience member who introduced herself to me after the competition. A lot of others had similar comments when describing their experience during the World Wide Women Girls’ Festival, and our 1st BizWorld Girlpreneur Competition. We are all still smiling thinking about what this event meant to all these young entrepreneurs and the profound way it will influence their future. They could not have imagined they would be pitching their business ideas to top venture capitalists at this young age…. And they were amazing! We chose five companies with girls ranging from 8-17 years old, and all of them exuded passion, confidence, and smarts. These Girlpreneurs worked hard on their business ideas and were selected from a pool of many compelling entrants. At the end, a company had to be chosen as the winner and after much deliberation our judges selected MySelf. A company formed by sisters June, Ginger and Holly Bernstein of Mill Valley who bravely and boldly pitched to Tim, Mark and Sue, and answered tough questions to beat out the competition. Their prizes include $2,500 seed funding for their company and the gift of the BizWorld program to their own schools so that they can help inspire other young entrepreneurs. People in the audience also had a chance to vote for The People’s Choice winner, and they picked Lucia Patterson of Oakland, for her company, Lucy’s Sushi. 9 year old Lucia wowed the audience with her hard-hitting and well-executed business pitch, and left the judges practically speechless. I truly enjoyed seeing Sue, Mark and Tim interact with these Girlpreneurs. They treated them with such respect and truly cared about giving these young entrepreneurs good business advice for their companies. They were inspirational! WATCH LUCY’S SUSHI WORLD (VIDEO) As a mother of 3 girls, I couldn’t help but think these are the opportunities I want to see opening up for them. I want the world to realize they are powerful, smart, and full of great ideas. I want them to be respected, have a voice, and act upon their dreams. BizWorld is creating a better world for them and every child in the world. A world where they can take control of their financial future, be creative, and where there are no wrong answers, just learning opportunities. When we designed this competition, we had one thing in mind: to sprout the spirit of entrepreneurship among girls… and boy (girl) did we do that! At BizWorld, we believe entrepreneurship is a life skill. A life skill that needs to be learned by all kids just like math or English are learned at schools today. Not every child will be an entrepreneur when she or he grows up, just like not all of them will become mathematicians or writers; but we can inspire every child to become the architect of their future and empower them to transform their world through our entrepreneurship programs!

Written by Janet Lee, Education Manager “It takes a village…” This seems to be the recurring theme when working with youth in educational spaces. As I transitioned from the classroom into the nonprofit world, one of my main goals has been creating that bridge between community resources and the schools that they seek to serve. In order to make “real-world learning” happen effectively, our classrooms not only need funding and support from the communities, but also the authentic interactions and experience where students can begin to imagine and plan for their futures. BizWorld Camps provide such a unique opportunity for corporate sponsors to partner with a school and make a lasting impact as they empower students through entrepreneurship education. Earlier this month, thanks to the generosity of Bank of the West, we were able to bring the BizWorld Camp experience to a classroom of 4th and 5th graders from Garfield Elementary School in Oakland, CA. During this 2-day field trip, we invited Mr. Khalifah’s boys mentorship group to Bank of the West’s corporate center in San Ramon, CA and introduced the scholars to an unforgettable entrepreneurship experience. For many of the students, this was their first time in a corporate environment, and they were so excited! They were so eager to meet the employees who had volunteered their time, not to mention, entering and exiting through the fancy security entrance for the building which was a hit! Volunteers from the Bank of the West team served as venture capitalists, company advisors, and marketing consultants along the way to enhance this experience. The students shined as they presented their pitches to “VCs” and they were thrilled to work with volunteers as they learned all about running a successful business! It really did feel like an inspiring learning experience for everyone who participated. I loved watching the students light up as they worked in company groups to start and run their friendship bracelet businesses. Of course, we faced some challenges and disagreements about which color raw materials to purchase or what the company logo should look like, but hey, that’s real life, and we all learned to work through it. The classroom teacher, Mr. Khalifah, reflected on the experience saying that there were “lots of ‘aha! moments’ in terms of decision-making, cause and effect, and using math skills to practice financial responsibility.” He also noted that many soft skills were highlighted such as working on self-control, collaborating with team members, and practicing leadership roles. The students also shared little nuggets of information that they learned from the experience: All useful advice, even for adults!

Our 5th Annual Awards Dinner inspired and brought together nearly 300 business leaders throughout California and students from four local schools. Guests came to the Park Central Hotel in San Francisco last Tuesday evening, April 19, to support BizWorld.org and honor Meg Whitman, President and CEO of HPE with the Excellence in Leadership award. Twice a year BizWorld.org comes together to celebrate the impact our innovative programs are having in children’s’ lives around the world and honor one of today’s prominent leaders who serve as role models to these kids. In addition, we also introduced the Bill Porter Award to honor the legacy of the late William Porter, co-founder of E-trade and International Securities Exchange. Two well-known individuals, Alison Davis and Kelly Porter, co-chaired our awards dinner. Our deepest appreciation goes out to them for their leadership and commitment to the success of the event. The evening kicked off with guests networking at a cocktail reception. Guests then came were welcomed by the night’s vibrant emcee, creator and host of The Valley Girl Show and CEO of Valley Girl, Inc., Jesse Draper. BizWorld.org’s CEO Thais Rezende gave an inspiring keynote address, impressing the crowd with the organization’s accomplishments and goals for the future. She highlighted that BizWorld has reached nearly 600,000 children with our programs in over 100 countries around the world! She also announced BizWorld’s newest innovation called the BizWorld Impact Challenge that gives children the opportunity to run their own businesses, but also develop their roles as active citizens in their communities and give their profits to social causes of their choosing. Check out our Impact Challenge video. We were pleased to also have a special guest speaker, Sherri Wright, BizWorld teacher from Hidden Hills Elementary in San Ramon, CA, speak about her BizWorld classroom experience and the positive and lasting impact BizWorld has had on her students and their families. Her heartfelt remarks were greeted by a standing ovation from the crowd – bravo Sherri! After accepting her award, Meg Whitman and our founder Tim Draper had a highly entertaining and absorbing fireside chat covering a wide range of topics. Meg noted that she is happy to see innovative programs like BizWorld available in schools because they inspire confidence in children as they grow. We’d like to thank everyone who attended the event, as well as our amazing sponsors and volunteers who made the event possible. Thank you for your support and commitment to BizWorld.org! Press Release

We are one day away from our big event! We are hosting our 12th Annual Education Riskmaster Luncheon on December 18 at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. We are thrilled to honor Eric Migicovsky, founder and CEO of Pebble Technology, with the Education Riskmaster Award this year for his innovations and accomplishments in the smart watch technology industry. We are also honoring a BizWorld educator and champion, Francie Kugelman, with our first Educator of Year award.

Congratulations to Fiona McKeon, CEO of BizWorld Ireland, for winning the Bank of Ireland’s 2015 Start Up Hero Award!

On August 27th we launched our first BizWorld.org Speaker Series event on the topic of “Fostering a Culture of Innovation”. This was the first in a series of panel discussion and networking events intended to bring people together who share our passion for developing an entrepreneurial mindset in children. A huge thank you goes out to our knowledgeable panelists Ross Mistry (Microsoft), Kim Vu (Bank of America), John Rampton (Entrepreneur) and Gurdip Jande (SMART). Our wonderful moderator, David Ahrens, led the panel in an informative conversation about innovation and how it has become a vital component in shaping our corporate and social landscape. Our guests lingered long afterwards and kept the conversation going over some quality networking. Thank you our sponsors, Charles Schwab and PG&E, who made the evening possible. We are very grateful for their generosity and support. Our next Speaker Series event will take place on January 13, 2016, and will focus on the Future of Education. We are thrilled to be co-hosting with our friends at the Italian International School, La Scuola. We will be joined by special guest speaker, Vivek Wadhwa, a well know academic, researcher, writer and entrepreneur. Stay tuned for more information and join us as these short talks spark big ideas that shape the future for generations to come. We look forward to seeing you in January!

BizWorld.org CEO, Thais Rezende and Chair of the Board, Hale Boggs were honored to be able to participate in the official launch activities of BizWorld.org Mexico in Jalisco last week. A standing-room only press conference was followed by meetings with Jalisco’s Minister of Education, the Minister of Innovation and several other dignitaries, officials and corporate representatives as the country prepares to embrace BizWorld programs in their schools. The festivities were capped with a pitch session for local start-ups with BizWorld.org Mexico founders Roberto Malpica and Roberto Arechederra. Classes will be starting soon!

As a proud exhibitor, BizWorld.org invites you to join us at the 54th Annual Financial and Economic Literacy Conference, held October 7-10 in St. Petersburg, Florida. We look forward to meeting all the wonderful educators and sharing best practices and strategies for incorporating economic and financial literacy in the classroom. Come meet us, we’re in Booth 11!

On September 22nd, 2015 Carla Foster, COO of BizWorld.org, was invited by Superintendent Barbara Nemko to Napa County Office of Education (NCOE)to attend their “Mission Possible” meeting of principals and administrators. The meeting was a fun way to introduce new programs and resources available to this team of awesome educators, thus enabling them to accomplish their mission of serving Napa County’s children with the best programs possible. This was a great opportunity to build on our success in St. Helena and introduce BizWorld to more educators in this region. Thanks Superintendent Nemko and friends for such a warm and enthusiastic reception. We are looking forward to working with you!