Let NYC Entrepreneurs Make Their Plans a Reality

Thank you so much for your donations to NFTE New York Metro through the GlobalGiving platform. We are able to raise over $2,500 to help our students create prototypes of the items they have designed business plans for. As NFTE’s young entrepreneurs advance through our program, they are tasked with developing a business plan for a product or service they are passionate about. This helps instill key business lessons in them; marketing, accounting, target demographics, product development, and more, as they advance the plan for their own venture. The problem is that many of NFTE’s students lack the means to create prototype versions of the products they have envisioned. Recently however, thanks to your contributions, we were able to provide students with specialized kits that allowed them to create a prototype of their products.

Two students who took advantage of the opportunity to bring their ideas to life were Ayinde T. and Haysten P. from East Elmhurst, whose business plan was for Reverse Regime. Talented designers and forward thinking individuals, Ayinde and Haysten felt that today’s youth lack a way to express socially conscious messages. Given their design background they wanted to create a low-budget fashion brand. NFTE’s classroom mentors helped them get started creating their brand, starting with plain white t-shirts and renting a press for their imaging. The initial t-shirts that came from this prototype kit allowed Ayinde and Haysten to demonstrate their graphics to panels of business experts while pitching Reverse Regime in business plan competitions. As they started to win seed capital and expand their business, they were able to buy their own heat press and establish themselves more formally as an enterprise.

As Ayinde and Haysten advanced to the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge, their supporters watched their business pitch wearing Reverse Regime t-shirts. While the duo did not win further start-up capital at the National Challenge, they were able to start their venture thanks to the prototype kit which was funded by your donations on GlobalGiving. It helped turn them into entrepreneurs, giving them the experience necessary to take control of their lives. Thank you for all you do for NFTE's students.

Links:

• Reverse Regime
• Ayinde and Haysten profiles