July 2010

eVenture 2010 Prepares Tomorrow’s Innovators

As we ponder the constant stream of bad economic news today, it is easy to wonder what happened to that pioneering spirit where this country used to find new and better ways when faced with onerous competition and challenges. On June 20-25, 24 high school students showed we can reclaim that innovative drive.

These students were all part of eVenture 2010, a unique hands-on entrepreneurship experience conducted by Charter Partners Institute. They were asked to work together to find something they could do better than what is out there now, and then develop that idea into a workable business or social initiative largely on their own. Staff and mentors were there to ask good questions and help them find answers, but they had to figure out what steps to take and decisions to make based on their own intuitive judgment.

What happened was amazing! Many students had a hard time initially believing they could come up with a good idea because they are accustomed to doing what they are told. But, with some stimulation, great ideas starting flying. Then came the issue: what next, as students faced the more difficult task of figuring out how to implement their ideas. They were encouraged to test their ideas in the real marketplace using simple prototypes and sharing with industry experts, partners, resources, and potential customers. All encountered challenges—some just needing to do much more work to make their idea practical, but others forced to totally reformulate or regroup. Fortunately, by now they were engaged and passionate about their own ideas, and we observed a new can-do mind set to deal with even the most difficult issues. By Friday afternoon, seven teams made convincing presentations to a panel of experienced business leaders who asked a lot of tough questions and shared some excellent advice.

The seven businesses were:

(1) My Groceries to Go: a local grocery delivery service targeted at older people who have trouble getting out and others who are just too busy to shop

(2) Find Your Coach: a website that helps students and others find a private coach who fits the skill level, background, and fee arrangement they need

(3) ArteCalle: a business that prints artwork from regional street artists on clothing to create unique garments and promote unrecognized artists

(4) The Beep: a simplified TV/entertainment remote control that beeps on command so one can find it when misplaced

(5) B²: a business that produces new fashions for teens that are sized in several dimensions so they really fit different body shapes

(6) C&J Auto: a business that rebuilds and certifies damaged cars and sells them for a large discount with a special warranty

(7) Killer BMX: a business that rebuilds and customizes old bicycles to provide affordable and personalized transportation for urban teens

One more team missed some critical development days, but shared an interesting idea to the rest of the group for a restaurant named Delicate Desires that serves modestly priced menu items presented with great taste and visual appeal, such as a fruit dish made to look like a lobster.

The creativity and resourcefulness behind these business ideas was truly remarkable, and the sophistication was well beyond what one would expect from this age group in less than a week. Several reviewers and observers on Friday asked where Charter Partners found students with such drive and motivation. But that question missed the point. These students were a fairly normal cross section representing all types of backgrounds from an elite private school (Moravian Academy) to a challenged urban district (Allentown), and a lot in between. The fact that all showed high levels of creativity, skill, and engagement demonstrates that almost everyone has the capacity for innovative leadership if that ability is just nurtured appropriately. This gives one hope that we can become a nation of innovators if we prepare all future leaders in this manner.

The secret of eVenture is the focus on the creative entrepreneurial development process. The founders noticed that students fail to demonstrate initiative and innovation not because they don’t know how to write a business plan or study a market. Rather, they have been indoctrinated by education and society that there is one right way to do anything and they should not act unless they fully understand what is expected. By putting the students in charge of their learning and engaging passion by working on their own ideas, eVenture transforms that mind set, nurtures native innovation and initiative skills, and gives participants the confidence and experience to tackle complex ambiguous tasks. Further, students learn to test their ideas in the marketplace and evaluate basic financial viability before spending too much time on detailed plans and financials since innovative ideas will almost surely need to be changed anyway. We find that students generally master the more standard financial and planning skills fairly easily after the passion and ideas are developed and tested.

A short video from eVenture 2010 is available on the website at http://charterpartnersinstitute.org/multimedia/videos/.

The Institute thanks the 25+ business and community leaders and board members who volunteered their time to make this program a success. For more information, contact Mark Lang at mlang@charterpartnersinstitute.org.

In this unique program high school students learn to innovate like an entrepreneur by doing it.  Participants identify an idea they believe in, form a team, and mold a novel business or social venture in four days.  They present to an investment panel on the fifth day (Friday).

While it sounds like a major challenge (and it is!), an atmosphere charged with creative energy helps participants do what they never thought they could do.  The learning is fed by:

• Peers sharing innovation experiences
• Successful entrepreneurs/mentors contributing their guidance and assistance
• A casual, stimulating setting where open thinking and experimentation thrive.

Previous participants have said:

“I have been to other programs where I learned about entrepreneurship, but this experience was completely different because we had to figure everything out in our own way.”

“Working together is the key.  I thought I could create an empire on my own, but working with people makes it easier and better.”

“You come to realize that ‘limits’ are only what you set them to be.”

“It was a great experience during which you have the opportunity to learn from the best, follow your dreams, and meet new friends.”

“You gain so much confidence and learn so much from so many different people.”

For further information, check this website under Programs > eVenture.   Download the brochure at:

eVenture 2010 Brochure

The eVenture 2010 application form can be downloaded using the following link:

eVenture 2010 Application Form

eVenture 2009 proved to be the most successful summer program yet for Charter Partners Institute.  Eleven students came together for an exciting, fun, and intense week at the end of June.  They took responsibility to collaboratively identify a problem or opportunity for which they could find a better way, and then develop the idea into a viable innovation.  Participants are shown below:

No boring lessons here!   The group ended up forming six teams, and each developed an original idea that held special meaning and passion for them.   More than a dozen successful business leaders dropped in throughout the week to provide guidance and provide feedback, but each team took full responsibility for their innovation.  This year we also had three previous program graduates who provided much of the leadership all week (Laurie Wagner [Lead], Beth Bracey, and Steve Rosen), as well as two others who assisted for a briefer period.  By the end of the week, six innovative businesses were developed:

Each team presented to a panel of very successful business and financial leaders on Friday.  The panel was overwhelmed by the quality of the ideas and the insights each team showed to carry out their innovation.   This panel ended up praising all six innovations as providing an excellent foundation for a viable business venture, and encouraged each team to continue developing their venture.   The most frequent comment was ” I cannot imagine what it would have been like for me to have come this far and had this kind of experience at your age.”

There is no question that all these participants will be innovative leaders in whatever they do in the future, and we expect several of them will continue to develop their business ventures.   We are step-by-step developing more and more young people who can take our businesses and community to another level of success in the 21st Century.  If you are interested in helping us develop more innovative leaders, please contact the Institute.

Mark has an interesting and varied background that has involved pioneering new activities in technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and education.  While in high school, he designed and built a working digital computer from raw logic circuits that won trips to three consecutive international science fairs.  He went on to earn a B.S. in Physics from Texas Tech and a Ph.D. in Acoustics from Penn State, where he did new work in sound scattering, acoustical holography, and computer graphics.

Mark came to the Lehigh Valley in 1982 as a Lehigh University faculty member in Mechanical Engineering.  Within two years he helped launch the Ben Franklin Partnership Center at Lehigh, serving as its Executive Director from 1987-2001. At Ben Franklin Mark played a key role in developing new methods and approaches to help entrepreneurs and advanced manufacturers grow innovative businesses that became standard practice nationally and even internationally.  He also championed and supported pioneering efforts in total quality management applied in both business and education, factory simulation, business collaboration, and applied education.

Mark left Ben Franklin in 2001 to work on new tools and approaches dictated by today’s hypercompetitive global economy that can take organizations and communities to the next level of performance and innovation.  He worked with DeSales University in 2004 on a symposium series and publication entitled “Creating an Economy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Greater Lehigh Valley”, and again in 2008 on a conference and publication focused on co-creating new educational models for a world where technology-mediated, global networks drive competition.  Mark worked with Charter Partners Institute as an advisor and Board member for about 18 months prior to accepting this role.  He was impressed with how the Institute has used entrepreneurial experiences to help young people learn initiative and innovation.  He believes that, for a successful future, everyone will need these skills, and he is excited to leverage and expand the Institute’s experience to make the community and the country more entrepreneurial and innovative.

Ms. Carolyn Santangelo presented Mr. Fiore with the 2008 Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education by the Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge. The Leavey Award honors educators for their innovative efforts to help young people better understand the function and benefits of America’s private enterprise system.

In June 2007 Charter Partners Institute launched its first annual summer entrepreneurial education program. Highlighting the experience known as “A Week in the Life of an Entrepreneur” was a real-world, hands-on opportunity for students to build a business and present the plan to a venture capital panel for review.

Seventeen students, representing seven area high schools from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, learned by creating, listening and participating. The students heard entrepreneurs’ success stories, participated in interactive personal development seminars, and developed their own business plans with the help of entrepreneur mentors.

Students who participated in the 2007 “A Week in the Life of an Entrepreneur” were introduced to the world of entrepreneurs with these words……

“Welcome to a week in the life of an entrepreneur. Our challenge to you is this: Entrepreneurship is an option. Integrity is not! Your task over the course of this week is to start a business. The only rule is to proceed with respect and integrity. See you on Friday!”

Todd Welch, Co-founder, Charter Partners Institute

Charter Partners Institute regards learning as an inquiry-based, experiential process. This innovative approach to educating youth is designed to give our high school students the skills and experience necessary to become creative thinkers, fearless problem solvers and skilled entrepreneurs in whatever career path they might choose. For one week in the summer of 2007, students listened to the stories of successful entrepreneurs; engaged in seminars on leadership, ethics and interpersonal skills; and, most importantly, worked together in teams and with volunteer mentors as they developed their business ideas.

At the conclusion of the week long experience, each teen presented a business as an individual or team member. Ideas included: a teen recreation center, a mobile car wash delivery system, a vibrating-bed-alarm company, a teen temp agency, a disc jockey business, a national youth business conference, a handmade greeting card company and a web/graphic design firm.

A venture capital panel listened to the presentations, debated the potential of each company, and finally awarded three companies $500 and asked them to return in August to present a more complete business plan. Those companies were: Nicole Maione’s Busta Argento, a handmade greeting card company; Curtis Webb’s National Youth Business Conference, a youth business conference; and Xin Chi Yang’s web and graphic design company, Vipier.

At the final competition, held on August 20, 2007, XinChi Yang was awarded first prize. Her web and graphic design company, Vipier, works with clients to understand their needs and vision, then outsources the work to a group of independent teen contractors to make that vision a reality. Having teens do the work is one of Vipier’s strategic advantages, enabling clients to get professional quality work. Vipier is currently working on four design projects.

Charter Partners Institute was created in response to co-founder Todd Welch’s frustration with traditional learning when he was in high school. It wasn’t until he started working in his father’s insurance business that he recognized the correlation between the knowledge he gained in school and success in business. His dream was to create a way to engage high school students in real-world business experience while still in high school. He felt they could more easily recognize the importance of what they were learning in the classroom through a real entrepreneurial business experience. The result of his vision was Charter Partners Institute, whose mission is to attract, inspire and nurture the next generation of cooperative entrepreneurs through real world, hands-on entrepreneurial learning experiences.