Business Plan Competition
Project ECHO hosts an annual Business Plan Competition for high school students at UCLA Anderson School of Management in partnership with the Entrepreneurship Association and the Harold & Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Teachers at varying schools in the Greater Los Angeles area apply in early Fall to lead a student team through the competition.
The Business Plan Competition has three components: the business plan curriculum, the mentor program, and the competition. The business plan curriculum is a guide to help students create their own business plans (now available online)*. The mentor program brings graduate level students into the classrooms to assist the students in developing their business plans and personal career plans, to provide guidance in career technical areas, to encourage personal development and to teach life skills. The competition is an opportunity for the students to showcase what they have learned and created, to experience life on a university campus, to network with other high school entrepreneurs and to interact with judges from the local business community.
2009 Competition Winners:
Existing On-Campus Business
1st Place: Santa Monica High School – Vike’s Inn & Café
2nd Place: Santa Monica High School – Totally Awesome
3rd Place: South Pasadena High School – Tiger Nation
New On-Campus Business
1st Place: Banning High School – Beauty Devine
2nd Place: Narbonne High School – Secret Garden
3rd Place: Animo Film & Theater Arts High School – Nick-sters Production Co.
Ivy Academia – The Ivy Den
Off-Campus Business
1st Place: Charter Oak High School – Organique
2nd Place: South Pasadena High School – Kiwi Corner
3rd Place: Animo Film & Theater Arts High School – Nocturnal
* The curriculum meets the Business/Entrepreneurship standards set by Los Angeles County Regional Occupational Program (ROP) and has been certified as a “G”-elective by independent school districts in Los Angeles County.
On-Campus Support
Over the years, Project ECHO has supported teachers and students in starting and managing on-campus businesses and provided on-going support by bringing in community business leaders, participating on the Business Advisory Board, hosting student workshops, assisting with public relations and providing advocacy within the school and the district. As more and more schools become involved with Project ECHO, they are beginning to launch the ventures they presented at the Business Plan Competition. In order to better support these schools, Project ECHO is currently structuring ways to be able to assist those ventures as it has done so in the past. Stay tuned as Project ECHO works with these schools to identify the best ways to support their student-run businesses.
