Minnesota Business Venture 2022 – Dare to Dream SJU

We are so happy to invite our students to Best Prep’s second week of Minnesota Business Ventures! We are prepared for a week of fun and learning at the beautiful St. John’s University campus.

Today’s theme was “Dare to Dream.” We thank 3M, one of our longtime partners, for sponsoring our first day of camp! Each day has a different theme and is sponsored by a new company, so we will be shouting out a new company everyday!

Jesse Ross

This week, we began camp welcoming Jesse Ross to the stage. As our first keynote speaker, he brought the energy and excitement we hope everyone will have throughout the week! He spoke about his life and dreams, inspiring all of us. Asking questions like, “What is your role?”, “What is your goal?”, and “What is in your soul?” we all thought deeper about ourselves and what we want out of our life. A huge thank you to Jesse Ross for bringing the energy to our first keynote!

After that, students got into groups, which we call “companies” to get to know each other. Campers will be spending the week working with their companies on their very own pretend business, which they will present to business judges at the end of the week. Today’s company meetings consisted of getting to know one another and learning about what the rest of the week will bring.

Our second keynote of the day was with Adam Cohen, from UnitedHealth Group. He spoke about “making it count” and brought us helpful advice for our well-being in the workplace or at school! Thank you to Adam Cohen for being our second keynote speaker today.

After dinner, companies went to pick out their “junk” for Junk Night. Each company picked a representative to pick out junk for the company. Holding a “draft,” representatives chose one piece of junk. On the seventh round, representatives picked three items, leaving each company with nine total items. Then, back in company rooms, students created an infomercial with the junk they picked. Once students were done, they performed in front of everyone, including judges. Today’s performances ranged from Mini Mini Ball to a cleaning bear called “Bright Bear.” After a tough decision, the ultimate winner was Company C, with their product: “Rent-a-Friend!”

After a long day, students headed back to the dorms. Until about 10:45, campers played pool and hung out with new friends they have met already! We are excited for what tomorrow will bring!