Wednesday, May 8, 2013
LZACC Young Entrepreneur Tom Stawinski, of Buffalo Grove, is marketing a bandana that keeps sweat out of your eyes and honors U.S. troops.
Tom Stawinski, a Stevenson High School senior, has had the entrepreneurial spirit for some time. As a sophomore, he started a clothing company with his best friends, Swanky & Co., which was a balance between class and street wear. Now Tom has created Battlefield Bandanas as part of his involvement with the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneurs Academy. Read about Tom and his Battlefield Bandanas in this Q&A: Tell us about yourself: As a kid I have always loved being outdoors and playing sports…My biggest childhood accomplishment would have to be going down to Daytona Beach, Florida with my football team and winning the National Youth Football Championship…Two years in a row! Besides football, I’ve played soccer, …
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Young Entrepreneurs Academy program held its annual investor panel Thursday night, awarding more than $8,000 to local students to start their own businesses.
Lake Zurich High School junior Jamie Passaglia was shocked Thursday night when she learned that she’d not only been awarded $1,330 to start her own business, Jamie’s Organic Bakery, but that she also had been chosen to represent our area at a national competition. Participating in the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy — also called YEA!, Passaglia designed a business that will sell packaged, dry cake mixes that are organic, fair trade and made with whole grains. An investor panel selected Passaglia to represent the Lake Zurich Chamber at the Saunders Scholars Bright Ideas competition in New York. “I can’t believe it,” said Passaglia. “It’s like a dream. I’m really happy that people are excited about my idea…
Friday, May 27, 2011
Six Young Entrepreneurs Academy participants officially graduated from the program Thursday and presented their new companies to Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce members.
Six local students had the opportunity to present their new companies to members of the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday. The students officially graduated Thursday morning from the Chamber's Young Entrepreneurs Academy, a program that allows local students to create "truly functioning, hopefully money-making businesses," said Dale Perrin, executive director of the Chamber. The Young Entrepreneurs Academy, or YEA!, started two years ago as a way for the Chamber to make better use of its donated scholarship funds. The Chamber gives a $1,500 scholarship to a local student each year. More scholarship funds are used to pay for the rights to use YEA!, which started in Rochester, NY. From October to May of each school year, students…
Monday, April 18, 2011
For the third year in a row, the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Young Entrepreneur Academy (YEA!).
A panel of investors from the Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce (LZACC) sponsored program, the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) recently awarded four businesses from YEA! a collective $5,154 They also chose Jason Krasavage and his business, Modern Media Conversions, to compete in the Saunders Scholars Bright Idea Competition in Rochester, NY. “He presented the best and his business plan was very solid," said Lynn O’Brien, investor panel judge. The awards were presented at Lake Zurich High School. Krasavage, 13-year-old eighth grade student at Middle School North will travel to the competition in May and compete against 30 other YEA! chapter winners by presenting his business idea. Scholarship money to Rochester Institute of Technology…
Kenneth Grooms
12:10 pm on Saturday, April 7, 2012
I had the privilege of working with these young entrepeneurs over the past few weeks, and admire the dedication they put into the establishment of a working company. Dale Perin of our chamber and the entire YEA program are to be commended for developing this program.These students were given an opportunity to learn, and they took full advantage. Way to Go Yea class of 2011-2012! more ›