SAN ANTONIO, TX, March 21, 2016 -- VentureLab, a non-profit entrepreneurship and innovation curriculum creator, today announced its first annual VentureLaunch Startup Competition for south and central Texas youth. This one of a kind startup challenge exposes students ages 5-18 to pursuing their passions, learning from experience, working with mentors, and gives students the opportunity to see how their work can positively impact and develop the greater San Antonio community. The deadline for applications is April 20.
“Technology by itself doesn’t create value until we apply it to create products and services that will benefit society,” said Cristal Glangchai, founder and CEO, VentureLab. “Students need to take what they’ve learned in school a step further and apply it to a real world problem. In a nutshell students need to have the entrepreneurial spirit.”
The annual challenge for young entrepreneurs allows for students to compete within two tiers. The Inspire tier aims to develop ideas further and focus on team building. The Accelerate tier focuses on product launch and business development. The top 40 students from two age groups (5-13 and 14-18) will be chosen to participate in the VentureLab mentorship program. The mentorship program will last for one year and offers quarterly meetings and events at VentureLab headquarters.
“With our rapidly changing global economy many careers that exist now may not exist in the future, so it will be up to our students to create the new ones,” Glangchai said. “This is where I challenge you to become true innovators and leaders of the generation. Do you notice any problems or opportunities around you? Think about how you would solve those problems. Ask the question: what if. Solve the problems that we don’t know exist yet. Don’t be afraid to take risks and fail. Get out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself.”
The competition, scheduled for May 21, will award eight teams or individuals with seed funding to build their companies and products. A total of $15,000 is available. Teams or individuals will work with dedicated mentors to learn about budgeting and scalability. VentureLaunch will help students grow into passionate innovators and provide them with the tools and confidence to truly believe that they can stand up and start up.
Apply here for your chance to win.
For more information, contact Grace Frye at grace@venturelab.org.
