(Washington, DC) — On July 23, 2009 at the Martin Luther King., Jr. Memorial Library, DSLBD presented the Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Experience Business Pitch Competition for the group of young entrepreneurs participating in the agency’s Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Experience.

Student entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to a panel of judges from DSLBD, Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) and Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE).

The business ideas and plans the talented and entrepreneurial youth shared with the large audience in attendance were: a healthy, Latin-flavored bakery; a sporting goods line for District school athletic teams; specialized products for pets; a customizable t-shirt line; a children’s toy distributor; and ‘green’ t-shirt line.
 
The Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Experience was designed by DSLBD’s Training and Education Division as part of the District’s Summer Youth Employment Program in order to teach entrepreneurial-minded youth about the ins and outs of business ownership and give them the tools to set themselves on the path to starting their own businesses and wealth creation. Participants are being taught by a NFTE certified teacher Lonell Johnson, founder and director of Technology Playground.

At the pitch competition, the young entrepreneurs gave a 3-minute pitch and answered judges’ questions and were rated on the following criteria: speaking ability; passion; feasibility of business; originality of idea; ability to handle the Q&A session smoothly; and financial literacy.

Ruth Graves’s Pet Lovers business pitch earned the most points, making her the winner. Runners up were Brenda Reyes, with her Amor for Cakes business and Vanessa Henriquez, with her ¡Feo!t business.

DSLBD’s Summer Youth Entrepreneurship Experience will culminate in a business plan competition on August 14th in the Citywide Conference Room at 441 4th Street, NW that promises to be exciting and inspiring.

Select this link to view pictures of the Pitch Competition.