The startup world often emphasizes the importance of telling a story about your brand that’s personal. For 17-year-old Raneem Al Suwaidani, her food truck rental platform Lilypad starts with exactly that.
“My inspiration was my family’s dream to start a restaurant and then realizing the big capital need,” said Ms. Al Suwaidani. “I realized others must be held back by lack of capital and wanted to create a solution to fix it!” She came up with the concept because food trucks were prohibitively expensive and rentals were nonexistent in Providence, Rhode Island, where she and her family lives.
Ms. Al Suwaidani experienced stiff competition in the national competition from other students with innovative ideas. Runner-up Rachel Solomon created an accessibility-focused business idea called Quick Change, a monthly subscription service which offers walkers and replacement wheels for the disabled. Ms. Solomon is an 18-year-old scholar from the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts.
At the NFTE South regional competition, high school senior Thomas Vo presented his electric heated gloves called Reheats, a practical invention spurred from real-life experiences working outdoors in the cold for his uncle.
A Path to Success
Finding youth who have innovative, marketable ideas and turning the ideas into real businesses is the grand mission NFTE hopes to achieve. Geared toward middle school, high school, and postsecondary students, the nonprofit created an educational program that develops the eight core “domains” of an entrepreneurial mindset: initiative and self-reliance; critical thinking and problem solving; flexibility and adaptability; comfort with risk; future orientation; communication and collaboration; opportunity recognition; and creativity and innovation.
It’s this kind of immersive education that propels ideas like Lilypad. Equipping students with an awareness of successful business practices and concepts helps them own their futures. This is especially vital for youth living in under-resourced, densely populated urban communities, said NFTE CEO J.D. LaRock. He added that there are two key elements for youth entrepreneurial success: functional skills and having a successful mindset. Functional skills include knowing what market the product serves, identifying competitors, setting up a marketing plan, and establishing a pricing structure. For a successful mindset, students learn effective communication, critical thinking skills, and how to manage risk, harnessing “the passion and the dedication to sustain the business,” he said.
A Bright Generation
The road to entrepreneurship is filled with failure. Mr. LaRock wants to encourage more students to continue trying despite the challenges. “It is well worth doing, because when it works, it is extremely fulfilling. It is okay to fail and then to learn from it.”NFTE advocates more attention to free enterprise, which is the bedrock of the foundation of this country, Mr. LaRock said. “Yet it is not part of the national school curriculum or funded and supported by federal government programs.” He hopes that NFTE’s programming can eventually help every student who has the entrepreneurial spirit to get access to such education.
In its 30-plus-year history, NFTE has expanded to 30 states. Historically, the nonprofit has focused on urban communities. But a new initiative will broaden its reach to rural communities, where small businesses are vital to economic stability. NFTE’s free programming is largely underwritten by corporate donations, which helps the nonprofit expand to areas most in need.
While NFTE supports students’ dreams to go to college, many of its participants delay or choose not to attend because they are busy building a successful business. Mr. LaRock believes that school systems and organizations like NFTE should offer an array of options to encourage success, especially for those with an entrepreneurial mindset.
As for Ms. Al Suwaidani, what’s her next step? “To launch a Lilypad food truck in every major city to help empower a national network of aspiring chefs!”
Nurturing the Next Generation
1.3 million learners reached since NFTE’s founding in New York in 1987
75 percent of NFTE alumni report having career satisfaction, while 1 in 4 say they have started or run businesses
World, national, and regional-level entrepreneurship challenges give out prize money totaling $46,350
Successful businesses by NFTE alumni include:
Compass Real Estate, real estate company operating in 72 markets around the country, founded by Robert Reffkin
EDEN BodyWorks, skincare line sold in Walmart and Target, founded by Jasmine Lawrence
Latimer Ventures, a successful venture capital firm, founded by Luke Cooper
This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
