Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay is creating an entrepreneurship academy and lab with Embarc Collective, the innovation and startup hub slated to be finished by the end of the year in downtown Tampa.
The JA Entrepreneurship & Lab at Embarc Collective will educate and encourage middle and high school students within the region about entrepreneurship and innovation. While Junior Achievement currently has an entrepreneurial program, the new academy and lab will give it a home base and also access to real-life entrepreneurs. Students will also learn skills from the Junior Achievement staff and startup leaders including product evaluation, speaking, sales, leadership, creativity and teamwork.
"We have one group that meets on campus and another is at a high school, so this will give us a really cool home in the downtown which is great opportunity," Richard George, president of Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, said. "The opportunity came up and it's too good to pass up. We’re excited."
Embarc Collective CEO Lakshmi Shenoy has had the partnership in the works since 2018. She specifically wanted an international partner with the specific skill set of working with children K-12 on entrepreneurial skills.
"Being able to have this type of collaboration is exactly on brand for the bigger vision of Embarc Collective and will impact not only Tampa Bay's current startup talent, but the future talent," Shenoy said. "I love the ambition, knowledge and confidence that JA brings out in students because those are the qualities that are going to make strong startup leaders for Tampa Bay."
George anticipates a few hundred students will be involved in the pilot program in early 2020 and hopes to have 1,000 students involved in the program by 2022. There will be JA job shadowing, along with in-school curriculum with a focus on entrepreneurship. Students can receive guidance from entrepreneurial adult mentors and join a peer-led startup. The organization will also have students compete in pitch competitions that could earn them scholarships.
"It just makes it more realistic when you have real examples, real-life entrepreneurs going at it every day," George said. "It's serving as a role model and small businesses generate a majority of jobs in the country. We want to be committed to the growth of the region and building the pipeline is essential to that growth. This is just a tremendous opportunity to start building those opportunities."
