© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya’s Story- a Look at Youth Entrepreneurship in America’s Schools

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Young people want the same things you and I want… “I want to own a nice home someday” “I want to go to college” “I want to make my family proud of me” “I want a nice car”

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. But very few have a clear path to get there…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Worse, they are all too often looked at as liabilities to society…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Perhaps a few shine as strong employee candidates…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. According to the Manhattan Institute an estimated 50% of minority youth drop out of high school …

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. According to Civic Enterprises and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation study 81% said they would not have dropped out if school was more relevant and real-life. … According to Civic Enterprises and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation study 81% said they would not have dropped out if school was more relevant and real-life. …

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. What if high school were more relevant in preparing youth to make it in the economy?

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Poverty in America is a family of four living on an estimated $15,000 a year in many cities.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. 1:5 youth in America live in poverty.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. That’s about $50 a day to live on for a family of four.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya’s Story

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Four Woodson High School students received $50 each in November 2005 as an experiment.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Woodson High was selected as one of the ‘drop-out factory’ schools in America and is located in a high crime neighborhood.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. One student, Sarah went to see the movie Mission Impossible III. She took her best friend.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. $50 was used to open a bank account at ABC Bank for the second student, Lena…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Maurice put $50 into Fidelity mutual funds…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya received $50 seed capital to start a small business from her teacher Ms. Mena Coleman.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. She bought 12 men’s ties for $24 from a NYC wholesaler and a dozen women’s scarves for $26 to launch her new accessories business…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. So what was the return on each student’s $50 investment?

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Sarah had fun at the movies, but had no money left from the $50 she spent…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Lena ended up with $51 after leaving her money at the bank for a year with a 2% interest rate…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Maurice received 10% interest on his investment in mutual funds…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. He now has $55 provided there are no annual fees…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya sold all 12 scarves for mother’s day for $7 each and 8 men’s ties for $8 each making $148 dollars.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. She used $72 and re-invested in 36 more scarves…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Her teacher told her she had to write and present a NFTE business plan at the beginning of the year and she really didn’t want to…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. But putting pen to paper in her entrepreneurship class she could see that she needed to identify places to showcase her business beyond school…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Something started shifting in Tanya’s brain…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya had worked once at a record store making $150 in a week part-time…

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. She wonders if she could make even more with her business - perhaps $250 a week.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya has always made baby blankets and sport- themed pillows out of fleece as a hobbie. Can she sell them as well?

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Perhaps she can make enough money to help her mother afford the computer class she needs to get a better job?

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. “I always thought business was for older people, wealthier people… but now I know that I can run my own business and not have to work for someone else” - Tanya

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya got excited about more than just running her business Tanya got excited about more than just running her business

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Tanya decided to continue studying business and is now a freshman at Babson College on a four-year scholarship.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Some of the names and faces have been modified as Tanya captures the experience of thousands of youth who Dare to Dream

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. This is a story about the power of OWNERSHIP. By investing in HERSELF, Tanya took control of her economic future. This is a story about the power of OWNERSHIP. By investing in HERSELF, Tanya took control of her economic future.

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. "For the United States to survive and continue its economic and political leadership in the world, we must see entrepreneurship as our central comparative advantage. Nothing else can give us the necessary leverage to remain an economic superpower." Carl J. Schramm, The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America’s Economic Miracle Will shape the World (And Change Your Life) (New York: HarperCollins, 2006)

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. “Tanya used to say I CAN’T all the time. Now since running Tanya’s Beauty and Accessories, she says I CAN a lot more.” – Tanya’s teacher

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. Isn’t it time we taught our children the AMER-I-CAN Dream!

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved.

Prepared by Julie Silard Kantor National Vice President The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship For more information on The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship National Headquarters FOR-NFTE

© 2008 National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Inc. all rights reserved. MISSION POSSIBLE