Youth Can Creatively Discover an Entrepreneurial Mindset Through The Junior Business Academy at ESF Camps

ESF Camps and Programs and the Jack Welch Management Institute, one of the Top Global Online MBA Programs for 2017 as named by both Princeton Review and CEO Magazine, are teaming up this summer to launch the Junior Business Academy to help young future entrepreneurs ignite their inner spark to learn, create and lead.

The Academy will be offered at The Haverford School in Haverford. The Junior Business Academy instills an entrepreneurial mindset in fifth through eighth graders while helping them build a personal foundation to become innovative business leaders.

Campers can participate inThe Perfect Pitch: Marketing, Advertising, and Business Communication and Restaurant Inc.: Expert Tips for Creating Your Own Eatery.

Each camp is infused with business strategy and tips from legendary Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE and Executive Chairman of the Jack Welch Management Institute (JWMI). Under Welch's leadership, GE market capitalization had a 30-fold increase of more than $400 billion and in 1999 he was named "Manager of the Century" by Fortune magazine.

ESF has partnered with local powerhouse MLB, MLS and NFL teams, as well as many prominent cultural institutions on camp offerings, including The Franklin Institute, The Philadelphia Zoo, Vetri Community Partnership and The Woodmere Art Museum. The Junior Business Academy unites for the first time business leaders at both ESF and the Jack Welch Management Institute.

“I have admired Jack Welch and the Institute for years,” said ESF Co-founder and Executive Director Michael Rouse. “We could not pass up an opportunity to spark the entrepreneurial spirit of our campers by providing them with the tools to help them become the business leaders of tomorrow and give them the opportunity to learn valuable lessons inspired by one of the world’s greatest business leaders.”

“Members of JWMI observed ESF Camps and came away excited to see the positive impact on the next generation of leaders,” said Dean Sippel, CEO of the Jack Welch Management Institute.

“Michael and his team do a great job for campers,” Sippel said. “As the father of a 12-year-old, I know that the concepts JWMI teaches to business professionals can be equally beneficial to kids who love hands-on applications.”

“Our world has changed dramatically,” said Rouse. “A summer lemonade stand used to be the height of a young person’s entrepreneurship. Now the sky is the limit.”

Alexa Buckley, who attended ESF Camps before going to Harvard, is an example of the success young people can have, Rouse said. Buckley, 24, is the co-founder of Margaux, a thriving lifestyle shoe company.

“Junior Business Academy may help develop the next Alexa, Mark Zuckerberg or Mario Batali,” Rouse said. “In just five days, parents can point their children toward a limitless future.”

In The Perfect Pitch, campers create a value proposition for a product or service. They study some of the most popular advertising campaigns and discover how to communicate a product or service through the power of words and images. The camp concludes with campers creating an advertising plan and an integrated marketing campaign.

In Restaurant Inc., campers create a restaurant or food service company. They begin by exploring restaurant service styles, cuisine and consumers. They research a location, collaborate on a pricing strategy and select a décor. Campers end by building a brand for their eatery and creating a business plan and marketing strategy.

Each Junior Business Academy camp is one week long. Camps begin in late June with the exact dates varying by location. Details are available at https://www.esfcamps.com/