In an effort to promote entrepreneurship among today’s youth, the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and the McAllen Independent School District (MISD) are offering students enrolled in a MISD school the opportunity to participate in “The McAllen Youth Entrepreneur Factory” program.  The program will nurture entrepreneurship and an experience that will inspire future businesses. The process will help students gain a better understanding of how to develop a business idea and find its path to market.

The program and competition is intended to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms. This program is divided into the following phases: First, interested participants should attend an orientation to learn about the process and activities required to complete the program. The second phase is the Idea Lab. The Idea Lab program is an eight session program that proposes several tools to help participants define their competitive advantage, their market space, their target customer and their first actions to arrive to the market place.  The last phase is the development of the project summary and presentation. The program will offer one grand prize of $500 and one second place prize of $100.

The judges function as venture capital investors deciding which business venture they would most likely fund. The quality of the idea, the path to market, and the clarity and persuasiveness of the idea, all influence the judges’ decisions. Ultimately, the winning projects will be the projects in which the judges would most likely invest money.

Enrollment began on January 7 and will end on January 17.  Each participant must be enrolled in a McAllen ISD Middle School or High School, have an idea in preliminary stages of development and will need a parent or guardian to co-sign the entry.

For additional information, please contact Eduardo Millet, (956) 682-2871 or emillet@mcallenchamber.com