history

The idea behind Young Entrepreneurs of America began in 1996 when the organization's founder, Brian Acord, was a graduate student at the University of Virginia. (Go HOOS!) Because he had already started several businesses before graduate school, he was asked to visit a local high school along with a few other local entrepreneurs to talk about what it was like to start a new business.

 

The teacher of the local high school was thrilled with the interaction created between the entrepreneurs and the students and her classroom continued to buzz about entrepreneurship for the remainder of the year. Over time, Brian was asked to return to many classrooms and he started searching for existing organizations that helped teachers and students gain a realistic understanding about what new business ventures were like. After several years of fruitless searching, he found nothing that came close to providing the interaction that was created on that first visit back in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

Since that time YEA has worked hard at developing relationships with teachers, principals, and other educators to involve their students and programs in entrepreneurial projects and programs. The organization has tried many projects over the past decade and while not all of them were successful, the programs and services have improved steadily from year to year.

 

Today, over 100 volunteers and mentors offer their time and services to help Young Entrepreneurs of America fulfill its stated vision of educating and motivating the next generation of entrepreneurs. Many of our programs are expanding to reach a much broader, national audience, and our efforts continue to receive high praise and accolades.