Local middle and high school students will be starting their own businesses in the upcoming school year as the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce prepares to launch the third class of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!). 

YEA! is a cutting-edge program that takes students between the ages of 11 and 18 through the process of starting and launching a real business or social movement over the course of an academic year . By the end of the class, students own and operate fully-formed and functioning businesses, which may be carried on after their graduation from the program. YEA! aims to teach students at an early age how to make a job, not just take a job. It is the ONLY pre-college program developed by an entrepreneur, at a university, with support from a major entrepreneurial foundation, the Kauffman Foundation and the United States Chamber of Commerce.

"We are so thrilled to be offering the Young Entrepreneurs Academy program to local middle and high school students in our community," said Laurie S. Moran, CCE, President of the Chamber.  "This program enhances business education for our students, and provides a unique, challenging, and fulfilling experience for all participants."

YEA!, which will begin in early November and run through May, allows students to brainstorm and form their enterprises, make pitches to real investors, obtain funding, file their DBAs, and by the end, actually launch their own business or social movement. Business mentors and local entrepreneurs across a variety of industries will support the students throughout the program. All of the learning is real and experiential.

If you business is interested in becoming a sponsor of YEA!, please contact the Chamber's Education & Workforce Development Coordinator Antonio Logan at alogan@dpchamber.org or at 434-836-6990.  If you know a middle or high school student with the desire to start a real business, YEA! will begin accepting applications later this summer.