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Miami Dade College (MDC) has partnered with The Underline to facilitate the launch of The Underline’s Budding Entrepreneurs program, which has facilitated 10 teen created businesses to launch Saturday, June 5, in its first phase, the Brickell Backyard.
The Underline, which also has partnered with the Children’s Trust and the Beacon Council, received an $80,000 Innovation Grant from The Children’s Trust to foster innovation among high school students.
Students took a 16-week entrepreneurial class and then competed in a shark-tank style presentation to be one of 10 startups to kickoff their new business in the Brickell neighborhood. The Budding Entrepreneur program establishes a formative foundation for innovation, engagement and collaboration for high school students in underserved schools.
Participating students will have a powerful platform to test and apply their creative vision and business concepts in the real world.
“The program gives our MDC dual enrollment students an edge by putting them in a position to practice immediately relevant and practical pillars of success, along with idea execution delivered with excellence, as they pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and endeavors in Brickell, Miami’s Financial District,” said Yanatha Desouvre, MDC School of Business professor.
The program debuts in a small business incubator kiosk on The Underline near the Brickell Metrorail Station. This urban location has heavy foot traffic from the more than 1.9 million patrons who transit through the area, plus neighboring residents and numerous businesses.
“The Underline is thrilled to provide our bustling urban park to creative students to help them implement their entrepreneurial concepts and experience the challenges and opportunities of business startups firsthand,” said Meg Daly, founder and CEO of Friends of
The Underline. “High schoolers will be given the tools needed to explore a commercial venture and better prepare for the journey to college.”
For more information about Miami Dade College, visit www.mdc.edu.
About Budding Entrepreneurs
Participants are selected through Miami-Dade College’s Dual Enrollment program and in most cases are rising high school juniors and seniors participating in a summer internship.
Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus targets high school campuses within their feeder pattern, particularly those that serve low-income populations, including: Booker T. Washington Senior High School, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Miami Edison Senior High School, Miami Springs Senior High School, and Coral Gables Senior High School.
