PRESS RELEASE: Teen Girl CEOs From 40 States Aim to Change #BLM, #Social Distancing and More With Business Ventures
Graduates of Girls With Impact gain business skills and CEO mindset with live, online education and advice from ThirdLove CEO Heidi Zak
Neha Shukla, 15, created SixFeetApart, which leverages sensors to keep people at a safe distance amid Covid-19.
Armed with business skills and a passion for social change, teen girls from 40 states are embarking on their entrepreneurial ventures -- the result of completing the nation’s only live, online entrepreneurship academy for girls.
Nearly 800 teens came together in a live, online ceremony where girls unveiled their ventures and heard from Silicon Valley CEO Heidi Zak of ThirdLove, who talked about the power of grit.
“It was tough selling us in the early days to investors who were mostly men,” she said. “They don’t wear bras.”
But hearing ‘no’ is part of life – from when she pursued 50 retailers in search of an internship in the industry she loved to pitching your company for funding. “Turn those ‘no’s into an opportunity to learn about your business.”
Research shows that 60% of GenZ wants to personally drive social change. Indeed, with #BLM bringing diversity front and center, these Girls With Impact graduates are taking matters into their own hands.
Among the ventures developed through the virtual education and unveiled by the girls are SixFeetApart (a sensor device informing the user when someone has crossed the six-feet mark)), Melanin Magic (a clothing line with 25% of proceeds for pro-black orgs), BananaX (tackling sugar), and Bank Academy (teaching people how to use e-commerce).
The girls, ages 11-18, underwent Girls With Impact’s live, online entrepreneurship Academy – the only program of its kind in the country.
Amid #Covid school and camp closures, Girls With Impact has been filling the gap for working parents and school districts with its live, virtual, instructor-led education from home.
Shelley Zalis, the founder and CEO of The Female Quotient, talked about the choice we have to be an order taker or a copycat. “But you’ve all proven you can be leaders,” she said.
A sampling of girls’ ventures:
· Grace Chadaiz, 13, Milwaukee — Grace’s Fashions (always very shy but a designer since 4, she’s more confident and ready to sew her fashions for money)
· Angela Choe, 17, Farmington, CT -- Quarantine Fit, a fitness app
· Neha Shukla, 15, Harrisburg, PA – SixFeetApart, a social distancing app (sensors that alert the user when the 6 feet range has been crossed)
· Maya Walker, 15, New York — Anxiety Buddy (an app for those with selective mutism)
· Amira Archibald, 13, New York -- Melanin Magic (clothing with a % going to #BLM)
· Aarna Aurora, 14, Saddle River, NJ – Lens Fort, customizable contact lenses
· Kayli Cooper, 15, Los Angeles – Girl Well (wellness kits for homeless teens).
· Anoushka Chitnis, 14, Berkeley, CA – BananaX, an app to help people say “no” to sugar
· Ailee Watanabe, 15, Hawaii — Helping Hands -- Losing her father when he was jogging was the impetus for her venture, providing resources for single parents.
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Kayli Joy Cooper, 15, Los Angeles founded Girl Well, a self-care kit for homeless teens. She says “privilege takes many forms.”
About Girls With Impact: Girls With Impact, a 501c3, is the nation’s only live, online mini-MBA for girls 12-18, designed with Harvard leaders. Offered year-round, the 10-week, after-school Business and Innovation Academy moves girls from ideation to a business plan and venture pitch, driving improvements in confidence, leadership, college readiness and professional skills for success. Programs offered include virtual camps, workforce readiness workshops and virtual mentoring. Girls With Impact was developed by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jennifer Openshaw to increase the number of diverse women leaders and innovators in today’s workforce. Watch this.