Bank of America 2006 Youth Entrepreneur Awards Now Accepting Applications

Friday December 30, 2005

You can start as an entrepreneur any time, but it's even better when you start young. Entrepreneurship helps children develop self-discipline and self-respect and sets them up for economic success.

I'm a big believer in youth entrepreneurship, so I was honored to be asked to be a judge and help get the word out about the 2006 Bank of America Youth Entrepreneur Awards, a program that "rewards and nurtures local [New York City] youth-run businesses and nonprofits by providing grants, technical assistance, and publicity to participants."

To enter, entrepreneurs must:

live in New York City and be between 12-22 years of age;
offer a product and/or service and have served at least 3 customers;
have an original concept, long-term goals and strategies to meet those goals;
be able to provide two professional references.

All applicants can attend free workshops on January 14th and 28th and receive a full scholarship to NFTE’s Summer BizCamp at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Applications are due by February 20, 2006, but if you apply before January 30, you also receive $200 worth of free business plan software from Palo Alto Software.

20 winners will recieve:

from $300 to $2,500 in cash awards
an all-expense paid three-day trip to the Emerging Business Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.
exhibition space at the Youth Entrepreneur Expo, with 2,000 attendees
recognition at an awards ceremony with top business and civic leaders
recognition in a booklet to be distributed throughout NYC
opportunities for media coverage

Download the application

Learn more about the program