Eighteen high school students spent last week living on the University of Delaware’s campus, learning the essentials of entrepreneurship and college life as part of the EntrePrep Summer Institute.

By Friday, the students were creating and running their own “Business-for-a-Day” on Newark’s Main Street and throughout the UD campus.

During the EntrePrep program, run by the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE) at the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and financially supported by Barclays and TD Bank, students spent six days residing on campus and received more than 30 hours of classroom instruction on business, economics and personal finance.

At the end of the week, the students put their new lessons into action – and on Saturday, they presented on what they earned and learned.

“That’s an awful lot to do in 144 hours, but they’ve each done an amazing job,” said Carrie McIndoe, director of Economic Ventures Inc., who led and taught the students throughout the week.

McIndoe worked with Jim O’Neill, UD professor of economics and founder of the CEEE, to first bring EntrePrep to UD in 2008.

This year’s EntrePrep student businesses hosted community-focused sports tournaments at UD, sold creative handmade products and more.

Buckets Not Bullets

Feeling concerned with the problem of gun violence, Hodgson Vocational-Technical High School students Curryn Henry and Korryn Braxton-Young decided to host the Buckets Not Bullets Basketball Tournament.

Braxton-Young said that although their “Business-for-a-Day” may have only lasted for one day, the team hopes to make an impact that continues to grow.

“We decided to come [to EntrePrep] because we felt like this was going to be a great opportunity where we could potentially start something that makes a change and is not just for a day, that could potentially grow into something bigger,” she said.

Braxton-Young said that community feedback has been positive, and that people like the fact that she and Henry were able to incorporate fun into their efforts to make positive change.

The team utilized GoFundMe to support their tournament, eventually earning $890 in revenue, with a profit of $698. They donated half of their proceeds to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and hope to hold additional tournaments in the future.

Henry, who plays basketball, said that the experience of living in the residence halls last week gave her a much better understanding of the college experience.

“Now I’m ready for college,” she said.

EntrePrep participants Giorgio Grimes from Delcastle Technical High School and Ayo Ajao from Howard High School of Technology also turned their passion for sports into a soccer tournament on Friday.

Grimes said that upon first arriving, the EntrePrep students were encouraged to conduct research for their venture ideas. With this in mind, Grimes and Ajao soon noticed many soccer players on UD’s North Campus.

“The University of Delaware is home to a very strong soccer community,” he said. In just a few days, the team was able to hold a six-team tournament of players from high schools across Delaware. They raised $120 on GoFundMe, as well as a $5 fee per player.

Ajao and Grimes also explored different career paths during their time at EntrePrep.

Grimes, who is interested in real estate, had meetings with the CEO of Lang Development Group, the founder of Caffé Gelato and a local small business owner.

“Favorite thing about the experience here: knowledge,” he said. “I gained a lot of knowledge, and that’s what I came here for.”

Ayo met with CEEE Director Carlos Asarta, a meeting he said helped him to build ideas about the future. He also visited the New Castle County Courthouse, attended an economic lecture from O’Neil and sat in on a macroeconomics course.

Main Street marketers

EntrePrep students Olivia McGough and Liliana Lopez opened their TYE DIY T-shirt stand in front of Switch Skateboard Shop on Main Street at 10:15 Friday morning. By 3, they’d sold out their inventory.

During their research, the team noticed people on Main Street of various ages wearing tie-dye, but shirts in stores were priced around $35.

“We decided that we wanted to do something that wasn’t overpriced so people would buy more of it, and so that they would enjoy it,” Lopez said. “We also wanted to do tie-dye because it’s an expression of creativity.”

The team sold their shirts for $10, and earned a $260 gross profit. They’re considering opening the business up again at other events in the future.

McGough and Lopez also got some help from students from the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship’s Edge Program.

This year, the programs worked together: EntrePrep students pitched their ideas to Edge Program participants, who also provided help with the one-day businesses.

Students from the Edge Program suggested that the team turn on some music, McGough said, which brought in more customers.

Down the road from the TYE DIY team, Delcastle Technical High School student Serena Levy sold her Bath Bliss bath bombs.

“I feel as if a big problem in the world is stress management,” Levy said. “So the idea of teaching people about how to manage their stress… I’d like to help solve that.”

Levy used Pokemon Go to her advantage on Friday: Her store was a Pokestop.

And while she was nervous to open her own business at first, she said, “Carrie and the other directors made me feel like I was comfortable, made me have confidence in myself that I could do this.”

Near Levy were Ashley Lang and Victoria Campos selling their AV JEWELS handmade string charm bracelets. The team used Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram to promote their business.

Naiyla Richardson, a 2014 EntrePrep participant who returned this year to be a counselor, worked with Lang and Campos to make their bracelets.

Richardson, who will return to UD in the fall as a freshman, said that EntrePrep helped her to realize the multitude of opportunities she could explore.

“I never felt like I could do any of the things that we’ve been doing here,” she said. “It’s opened my eyes that there’re so many people we can talk to and get in contact with if we just try and open up those doors. Honestly, people are super helpful if you just ask the right way.”

Lang added that she was tasked with obtaining permits for the teams from the city of Newark, a job that originally made her nervous but resulted in a helpful contact with the Newark city secretary.

“Without Carrie, I would’ve never done that. I would’ve never actually pushed myself to go talk to them,” Lang said. “It was an amazing experience to be able to understand the permitting process, gaining permission from each store owner and ensuring that we understand what it takes to open and operate a Business-for-a-Day.”

Also on Main Street Friday afternoon was the FLOW3ERIEST team, Damonae Backus, Tershonda Taylor-Money and Amil Gibbs. This EntrePrep group made a gross profit of $98.94 with their handmade fashionable flower crowns.

EntrePrep participants Aicha Pierce, Michaela Currey and Kim Kelly also spent some time on Main Street Friday afternoon selling their Charming Chokers handmade necklaces.

The team spent most of their time, though, volunteering to create a community garden at the Lutheran Community Center in Wilmington.

“It was a lot of hard work, but I’m glad we did it,” said Pierce, also a Delcastle student. “We had a lot of fun, and just knowing that I helped feels good.”