The Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County (EDALC) and the Oregon Coast Small Business Development Center are excited to host Lincoln County’s first Youth Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition. This event will feature the students who participated in the Youth Entrepreneurship Program (YEP) presenting their business plan pitches to compete for prize money toward their professional futures.
The YEP program kick started at the end of January, with five schools representing almost all Lincoln County high schools. The participants have met weekly with the SBDC advisors and worked in teams or independently to build a business plan and pitch. The top five candidates will compete on May 15 for thousands of dollars in cash stipends that can be used towards any type of education, training, or development toward their career and/or entrepreneurial endeavors.
Thanks to partnerships with Lincoln County School District, EDALC and Northwest Oregon Works, among others, the SBDC has brought new resources, tools, and training to all high school students in Lincoln County interested in participating.
“We have a fantastic cohort of students fully engaged and ready to pitch their business ideas in what will be a great competition with some big winners,” noted Greg Price, director of the Oregon Coast SBDC. “Helping to prepare our young entrepreneurs for the possibility of small business ownership and connecting them with a vast array of support services is one of the best investments we can make.”
The inaugural YEP pitch competition is a project that the Economic Development Alliance is eager to bring to coastal communities.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the hard work of these talented young entrepreneurs,” said Paul
Schuytema, executive director of the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County. “At the heart of this educational experience is learning entrepreneurial thinking skills — skills like opportunity recognition, opportunity creation and risk assessment — and these are vital skills that will serve these students for a lifetime, whether or not they end up running their own business.”
The YEP Pitch Competition will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, at the Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building Auditorium, located at 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport. This is a free event — celebratory refreshments and snacks will be provided. Those interested in RSVPing for this event (walk-ins are also welcome) can visit the punchbowl invite at tinyurl.com/YEPpitch
The Youth Entrepreneurship Program could not have been successful without its sponsor, Northwest Oregon Works (NOW). NOW is a champion for impactful workforce solutions, acting as a catalyst in workforce development to provide leadership, foster partnerships, and make investments that address the employment needs of individuals and the business community in Benton, Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln, and Tillamook counties.
EDALC’s entrepreneurial events, including the YEP pitch competition, are funded in part from grant dollars from Business Oregon’s Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI) program. The ROI program provides funding and technical assistance to rural organizations and partnerships to foster the awareness (and future success) of local entrepreneurs.
