The Allsup Entrepreneurship Academy at the Chaifetz School of Business offers high school students the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, grow their business skills and develop their own entrepreneurial ideas each summer at a week-long enrichment program on the campus of Saint Louis University. Presented by the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship, the camp offers participants the opportunity to connect with fellow entrepreneurial high school students from around the region, SLU students and some of St. Louis' most successful entrepreneurs while competing in a pitch competition.
Monday, July 27
Camp programming begins at 9:00 a.m. each day. Please log in by 8:45 to ensure you are prepared for a prompt 9:00 start time.
When Lily was 8, she noticed her grandpa, who has Parkinson's Disease, was knocking over his cup a lot, creating spills that grandma needed to clean up. Inspired, she came up with the idea for Kangaroo Cups: a three legged cup that won't tip over. Lily's cups have been featured nationally on CNN heroes, NBC Nightly news, NPR's weekly edition, Fast Company, Business Insider, internationally on the Daily Mail (UK) and the Telegraph (UK) as well as locally in the Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, and on CBS. Lily has also been recognized by A Mighty Girl and Amy Poehler's Smart Girls as someone who inspires other girls to follow their passions and dreams. In this session, learn more about Lily's story as a young entrepreneur.
Join Cheyanne Gerlach as she leads you in Brave Conversations, a conversation based conference designed to create a fast-paced learning environment that discusses the relationship between technology and society. This session will help engage your mind for a week of creative problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking.
Grab lunch and join in for a casual lunch chat with filmmakers including Aliza Brugger (based in NYC) and Andres Solorzano (based in Los Angeles) as they share what it's like to be professional filmmakers.
Breakout session to meet your teams and team leader. You'll also receive your prompt for developing your business idea throughout the week.
Join guest entrepreneurs Ucheoma Nwaozuru and Chisom Obiezu-Umeh from SLU's College for Public Health as they share about the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in Public Health. They will also share about their work with the 4YouthByYouth research project in Lagos, Nigeria, where youth use entrepreneurship to develop delivery strategies to promote uptake of HIV self-testing.
Tuesday, July 28
Camp programming begins at 9:00 a.m. each day. Please log in by 8:45 to ensure you are prepared for a prompt 9:00 start time.
Joshua's Heart Foundation was founded in 2005 in Miami, Florida by Joshua when he was four and a half years old and is dedicated to the fight against global hunger and poverty. JHF is a not-for-profit youth run organization which empowers people by providing necessities such as groceries and personal items. In 2012, Joshua became the youngest recipient of the Champion of Change award given by the White Houes for strengthening food security in the U.S. He as also been awarded the Nickelodeon Halo award, CNN Heroes Young Wonder, Youth Service America- Harris Wofford Award and THEGRIO 100 History Makers in the Making.
Join fellow Allsup Academy participants for a virtual tour of Mission Control, a St. Louis based start-up providing a business to business software platform for rec league esports. Founded by Saint Louis University alumni Austin Smith, Byron Abrigg and Brandon Smith, the company's customers range from Duke University to Gamestop to the Dallas Parks & Rec. Department.
A pioneer and trailblazer Khalia Collier, is the owner & general manager of St. Louis’ own women’s professional basketball team, the St. Louis Surge. A St. Louis native with a deep commitment to the city, Collier is an entrepreneur dedicated to her franchise. She is a strong believer that St. Louis can support a women’s franchise, and is working hard to see her vision through. Delving into sports management, she has taken on the task of re-branding the face of women’s athletics through the St. Louis Surge. Collier has developed a strategic business model partnering with prominent executives, corporations and non-profits to build the Surge brand and develop new initiatives, while encompassing the community. Instilling the notion that all Surge players are leaders and mentors in the community, Collier has personally represented the Surge organization through her personal community service work and by giving back to youth and providing a platform for women’s athletics.
Wednesday, July 29
Camp programming begins at 9:00 a.m. each day. Please log in by 8:45 to ensure you are prepared for a prompt 9:00 start time.
Project I am was created by Jahkil Naeem Jackson when he was 8 years old and came from a heartfelt desire to help those in need. Project I am builds awareness homelessness and distributes "Blessing Bags" which contain items such as wipes, socks, deodorant, hand sanitizer, granola bars, and other essentials to the unhoused population. He has organized distributions to over 35,000 people across the world including those in Chicago, Los Angeles, Oklahoma, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Virginia, and Idaho. He has also provided Blessing Bags to orphans in Mbabne, Swaziland, as well as volcano victims in Guatemala, and hurricane survivors in Florida, Houston, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. Jahkil has been named a Youth Ambassador for Heartland Alliance, the WE International Youth Council, a member of Independent Youth, and has been listed as one of BET's 15 under 15. Most notably, Jahkil was acknowledged as one of three influential people of 2017 by President Barack Obama and the Obama Foundation. Jahkil was also tapped to participate in Disney's Be Inspired Black History Campaign, Lebron James' #AlwaysBelieve 2018 campaign, Nike's 2019 Future Varsity Program, and was named a Marvel Hero.
Jessica Douglass is the owner of Flowers & Weeds, a flower shop and garden center in South City St. Louis. Douglass graduated from SLU with a major in entrepreneurship in 2009. After years of dreaming, planning and working in the field, Douglass started Flowers & Weeds in 2012 with a little consignment opportunity. It quickly grew into a Cherokee neighborhood staple. The garden center, flower shop and cutting garden keep Jessica, her partner Carly, and a staff of three very busy. Jessica will share her story of how she overcame her fears and took the leap of faith in herself and her community.
Grab lunch and join in for a casual lunch chat with some of SLU alum and Raw&Real NYC founder, Meghan Loftus to talk fashion and wellness.
Matthew and Joseph Brugger are twin brothers from Nebraska and co-founders of Upstream Farms. As young agriculturalists, they aim to push against the current to provide a new narrative of what modern agriculture could and should be. By using the values and agricultural practices of generations before as a foundation, they have built a farm they believe allows them to live the dream instilled in them by their parents. They believe farm-to-table should actually be from our farm to your table. They believe in farming with a purpose and on this virtual field trip of their Nebraska farm, they will show you how.
Thursday, July 30
Thirteen year old Gabby is the CEO of Confidence. At the age of seven, she invented GaBBY Bows, the first patented Double-Face Double- Snap Barrette to save families time, money, and frustration. Solving the age-old problem of disappearing hair barrettes, GaBBY Bows are engineered to prevent hair slippage. Gabby has since filled online orders in all 50 states in the US, and in twelve countries. GaBBY Bows are carried in select Target stores and other retailers in the US, Canada, and South Africa. Gabby has been featured on The Real, THe Harry Connick Jr. Show, The Tom Joyner Morning Show and The Today Show, and in Kiplinger Magazine, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, US Chamber of Commerce Free Enterprise Magazine, JET.com, Essence.com, Madamnoire, AOL and NOW This. Gabby was named a 2015 South Carolina Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the youngest to ever receive this award. The company was named a 2016 SCORE and Sam’s Club American Small Business Champion and the 2016 SCORE Foundation Outstanding Diverse Business of the Year. Gabby was also named the 2018 Black Enterprise Teenpreneur of the Year and 2019 SpeakerCON Teen Speaker of the Year.
Join Carol Mertz, Kysha Lockett and Maurya Cockrell on a panel as they discuss their unique areas of entrepreneurship and what it's like to be an entrepreneur in today's world.
- Maurya Cockrell, Founder of YKNOT Consulting and Founder of LLC and Leaves Speak Healthcare Inc.
- Kysha Lockett, Founder & CEO of Rhonda's Heart Inc.
- Carol Mertz, Founder/ED of PixelPop Festival and Founder/Game Designer of Insatiable Cycle
Open Zoom session for Q&A and to work on your businesses.
Friday, July 31
Breakout sessions to work with your team for any final preparations.
At age five, entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer founded Me & the Bees lemonade putting her own twist on her great granny's lemonade recipe. Over the last ten years, she's grown her humble sidewalk lemonade stand into a successful business distributing five flavors at Whole Foods, World Market, the Frech Market and other grocery stores across Texas. From the beginning, Me & the Bees has donated a portion of proceeds to support bee conservation and today supports the Healthy Hive Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Mikaila and her family. In this keynote, learn more about Mikaila's story and her tips for young entrepreneurs looking to make a difference through entrepreneurship.
All teams will present their final pitches to a panel of judges who will determine the top three pitches.