Local Young Entrepreneurs Learn How To Take Their Businesses Global
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Some young entrepreneurs from around the Delaware Valley are graduating from a program that gives them a chance to learn just what it takes to make it in the business world.
The year-long program with the Young Entrepreneurs Academy gave roughly a dozen teens a chance to develop their business ideas, which some shared with KYW Newsradio:
"My business is a car detailing business where I'll detail your car to make it look like it just rolled off the showroom floor."
"I developed a sock business that sells unique socks."
"My business is 'Baily Games' and it's a deck of cards and every card has a trivia question on it, so you can either play a regular card game, science trivia game or you can combine them together."
During the program, the kids worked with mentors and even pitched their ideas to a panel of local investors that donated money to help them start their businesses.
Fourteen-year-old Shreyas Parab (pictured above) started the company "Novel Ties" -- a business where he makes fun-themed neck ties for teenagers:
"I'm already in one store and we're looking at another. It's been exponentially grown through this program."
His best-seller -- the chick magnet -- has small magnet designs all over it:
"I go to a school where I have to wear a tie every single day and it's not a fun experience, so I decided why not make it fun? So I came up with a novel idea."
Shreyas business won him a trip to a national small business completion in Washington DC where he'll compete for $50,000. While there, he'll also have an opportunity to pitch his product to Sams Club executives.