Students woke up this morning nervous and excited about presenting their business plans to the venture capitalists. After a short company meeting, students attended a Shareholders Address by Joe Keeley, founder of College Nannies and Tutors. Keeley talked to the students about entrepreneurship and how he started his company in college. Keeley gave advice on not only how to be a small business owner, but to follow your dreams and passions. He said that not everyone has to follow the same path to success.
After Keeley’s message, students went back to their company rooms and listened to individual speakers who talked about financial success in life. They taught students about saving for retirement, living within your means, and how to invest money wisely.
After a filling lunch, students finally presented their business plans. The students, CEOs, RBLs, and other staff members had been looking forward to these presentations all week. Companies were each assigned a room that they would go to at a certain time to present their plans to venture capitalists. The venture capitalists consist of adult volunteers who work in business and banks. Companies pitch their business plans for 15 minutes, the capitalists ask questions for 5 minutes, and then decide whether or not to give the company the loan amount they requested. All the companies did a great job presenting and should be very proud of all the hard work they did. All the companies worked hard all week learning about business and it finally paid off!
After the companies presented their business plans, everyone attended a Shareholders Address by Gaye Hanson. Hanson is a hilarious motivational speaker who keeps the crowd interested. Hanson shared stories about her life and taught the students a valuable lesson: your attitude is your choice. She spoke about how this motto has affected her life and made her successful in her career. Hanson definitely made an impact on the crowd and kept everyone laughing throughout the speech.
Students look forward to Minute to Win It tonight, which is a game show. Campers go up on stage and have to perform tasks like eating an Oreo without using their hands. Students who win the first round will go on the second and third rounds and eventually the competition is between a few students and the first person to complete their task is the winner. Students always have loads of fun during Minute to Win It and get to spend time with their new camp friends. After Minute to Win It, students have the option to attend a dance, watch a movie, or hang out with friends at the dorms. Today is the day the students have been anticipating all week, and tonight is the night that the students get rewarded for all their hard work. This week has been a successful and fun experience for the students and staff!