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The Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce launched a new program in 2012 that offers students an opportunity to start and launch a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year. The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, or YEA!, is an innovative program that guides students through the process of starting their own real business. The program requires a nine-month commitment from the students, during which time, they brainstorm and form their enterprises, make pitches to potential investors, obtain funding, register their companies with governmental agencies and actually launch their own company or social movement. Through the support of business mentors, graphic designers and local entrepreneurs, the students will own and operate a functioning business by the end of the class.
The program is open to students between the ages of 11and 18 and was developed at the University of Rochester with support from The Kauffman Foundation. The Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce is the first Chamber or organization to offer the YEA! Program in the state of Kentucky.
The chamber is working in cooperation with Centre College as well as Danville and Boyle County Schools to offer the program, which is supported through a major grant from Walmart, as well as the U.S. Chamber and New York Life Foundation, and a sponsorship from ferm Solutions.
For more information on the YEA! Young Entrepreneur Academy, contact the Danville-Boyle County Chamber of Commerce at 859-236-2361.