Update 12/12/2011: Treasures 4 Teens distributed holiday cheer to over 400 teens at last Saturday’s distribution day! Awesome!

Toy drives are a common sight this time of year, but did you know that the proceeds are actually distributed to children and teens up to age 18? Because most associate “toys” with younger children, there is often a shortage of teen-appropriate gifts. Camp BizSmart grad (2011) Michael Daboll recognized this problem, and Treasures 4 Teens was born.

Michael Daboll, pictured above, recounts how Camp BizSmart helped him develop the skills to take his ideas to the next level.

“I started Treasures 4 Teens before I went to Camp BizSmart, and while I felt very successful my first year, once I attended Camp BizSmart I realized how much more I could do. I discovered I had a real interest in marketing and sales, and that I had strong presentation skills. I also learned that a marketing plan had to be much more than one idea. This year, I used these skills to develop a multifaceted marketing plan to get many more individuals and businesses in our community involved in supporting Treasures 4 Teens.

I also learned how important people are to any business success. This year, I expanded the program to serve many more needy teens, but I also expanded the volunteer base I had and the programs that the community could participate in – from cash drives to benefit days to Facebook “likes” to gift wrapping for donations – and have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people even in tough economic times.

Camp BizSmart gave me the confidence to know that even though I may still be a kid, I can really make something happen if I set my mind to it and use the skills I learned at camp. I am too old to attend Camp BizSmart this year, but too young to be a “leader-in-training”, but I guarantee I will be back next year. Camp BizSmart really was one of the BEST camps I have ever attended. Seriously! If you are a kid, but want to be an entrepreneur, then Camp BizSmart is the camp you should be attending.”

Michael, we can’t wait to have you back! At Camp BizSmart, Michael played a key role as the CMO / CSO of his team to design an all-electric mini moto and go-to-market plan for Zero Motorcycles. Michael and his team are pictured above on BizPlan competition day at Microsoft.

Treasures 4 Teens was created by Los Gatos students to to ensure teens in the local area have a happy holiday season. To learn more about how you can participate in this inspirational program, visit their website or Facebook page, or send an email to info@treasures4teens.com.

Our 2011 Grand Prize winning team charmed the audience of investors with their business savvy and energy at the Keiretsu Forum’s Angel Capital Expo, held November 17th in San Francisco. Team members included Shannon Hong, Karen Tu, Annie Zhou, Joseph Krackeler, Quentin Delepine and Tony Sun.

November 17, 2011; Keiretsu Forum Angel Capital Expo; The Julia Morgan Ballroom, San Francisco, CA; photo courtesy of Keiretsu Forum

Winning team NeuroSky 5 from Camp BizSmart Stanford was not only honored onstage by both Randy Williams, CEO and Founder of Keiretsu, and Sonja Markova, Managing Director, but they actively participated in asking questions following presentations and speaking to Keiretsu Forum members about their experience.

November 17, 2011; Keiretsu Forum Angel Capital Expo; The Julia Morgan Ballroom; San Francisco, CA; photo courtesy of Keiretsu Forum

Keiretsu Forum is the largest global community of angel investors with over 850 members on 3 continents and 21 chapters. This was the Sixth Keiretsu Forum Angel Capital Expo, where angel investors participate and collaborate on supporting the entrepreneurial community.

Keiretsu Forum has been a special partner of Camp BizSmart and BizSmart Global since 2008. Our organizations complement one another in mission – while Keiretsu has continuously provided great learning opportunities for our students to see real entrepreneurs work hard to increase the value propositions of their companies, seasoned entrepreneurs are also inspired by the joy and passion our young students bring to solving the problems we currently face. Our students continue to demonstrate what is possible even at a young age, when teams are mentored through best practice business skills and apply innovative mindsets and determination.

Thank you Keiretsu Forum, for making this special opportunity possible, and congratulations again, Team NeuroSky 5!

Click here to see the video shown about Team N5′s journey at the Keiretsu Forum event.

Keiretsu Forum, the world’s largest angel investment community, will hold its upcoming Angel Capital Expo on November 17, 2011 from 7:30am to 3:00pm at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. At this premier gathering of angel investors and entrepreneurs, will be six young people still in middle school, who will be honored for their achievement in winning the Camp BizSmart business plan competition 2011 with their own innovative product solution.

The NeuroSky Team 5 as they are known, created NeuroSport, highly sophisticated sports gear that includes a convertible beanie and a state of the art watch interface which detects an athlete’s level of relaxation, attention and heart rate consistency to provide feedback and identify the optimal state for peak performance, using NeuroSky technology.

NeuroSport team members are: Shannon Hong, CEO, Quentin Delephine, CTO, Joseph Krackeler, CFO, Karen Tu, CMO, Tony Sun, CSO, Annie Zhou, CIO.

The Camp BizSmart Top Team will have the opportunity to spend the day observing other entrepreneurs pitch their best ideas and compete for recognition for the most valued team and to network with other entrepreneurs during the exhibit portion of the day.

“What better place to honor Camp BizSmart’s young entrepreneurs, who have the potential to create great value and address the challenging problems in our ever-changing world, then at our Angel Capital Expo,”  said Sonja Markova, Managing Director of Keirestu Forum. “We are pleased to continue to inspire and nurture their entrepreneurial spirit.”

Register to Attend

The Angel Capital Expo will feature a dozen presentations from early stage companies in technology, life sciences, consumer products, real estate, financial services, social ventures, and other segments with high growth potential. All presenters will be pre-screened by a select committee of Keiretsu Forum members. Each entrepreneur will make a 15-minute presentation and will be available for additional discussion and due diligence at their exhibitor booth throughout the day. Following the presentations, the attendees will vote and award the top three presenting companies the “Most Valued Company” award.

Hosted by Keiretsu Forum, the Angel Capital Expo is the premier gathering of the angel capital community. Invitation to attend is extended only to accredited investors. Accredited investors wishing to attend the Angel Capital Expo may register here. For more information please contact Nina Quasebarth, Associate, Investor/Member Services, at nina@keiretsuforum.com or call +1 (415) 573-0753.

About Camp BizSmart

Camp BizSmart inspires young entrepreneurs with hands-on education and expert mentors.  Instilling in students 11-15 entrepreneurial “thrival skills” for the global competitive marketplace, Camp BizSmart draws upon real world business experts from companies like Serious Energy, Cisco, Apple and Google and “hot topic” business cases to practice and gain mastery in essential 21st century skills.  At world renowned universities like  Santa Clara University in partnership with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Leavey School of Business; at Stanford, in partnership with the Precourt Center for Energy Efficiency; and Punahou School in Hawaii, our graduates are inspired to be courageous, dream big and work hard, play by the rules, and challenge themselves to create priceless value for their customers, communities, their country and the world. Microsoft,  is host to the business plan competition and WAGIC, an industrial design firm, creates the renderings of the students’ product designs. For more information, please visit, www.campbizsmart.org

Join in as 123 countries and 10 million participants celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week!

GEW President Jonathan Ortmans reflects, “You only have to look to the state of the European economies to recognize that the developed world has become as unpredictable as its underdeveloped neighbors. But today’s globally networked, creative, open and yet adaptable generation is not only comfortable with such constant change, it thrives on it.” (from essay published in Huffington Post)

We at Camp BizSmart are excited to be working with said generation of internationally-connected innovators!

On October 22, nearly 200 high school students from the Bay Area gathered at TEDx Harker School, hearing from some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Guy Kawasaki, Apple Fellow and SV venture capitalist, and Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Energy and longtime faculty of Camp BizSmart.

Two Camp BizSmart alumni (both 2009) made this event possible – Neeraj Baid and Neel Bhoopalam, both grade 11 students at The Harker School, curated the event. Pictured above with Guy Kawasaki.

Attendees not only had the chance to pick the brains of established entrepreneurs in small groups during lunch, but shared an afternoon of laughs, lessons and inspiration with an all-star line up of speakers. Aside from Guy Kawasaki and Kevin Surace, serial entrepreneur and author Sramana Mitra and Karl Mehta, founder and CEO of PlaySpan, imparted lessons learned from their own journeys.

Young entrepreneur Rahim Fazal was a hit with the crowd as he divulged his trials as a teenage entrepreneur. His story shows that persistence can prevail, regardless of age.

We at Camp BizSmart tend to agree. The skills of successful entrepreneurs can be learned and developed from a young age.

“We came to Camp BizSmart knowing very little about entrepreneurship, but left the camp understanding that entrepreneurship can be for anyone of any age who has the passion, interest and drive.” — Neel Bhoopalam, Curator, TEDx Harker School, Camp BizSmart alum 2009

Congratulations Neel and Neeraj! We look forward to hearing all about what you do next! To all BizSmart alumni: let us know what you are up to – we would love to help you spread the word about your entrepreneurial pursuits.

A global leader in business and entrepreneur skill development for students11-15, Camp BizSmart inspires and nurtures the next generation of successful entrepreneurs who will lead a changing world. During Summer 2011, more than 200 students at 3 locations, Santa Clara University, Stanford University in Silicon Valley, CA and Punahou School in Honolulu Hawaii, competed to earn the title of top team for 2011. Student teams were given business problems to solve, support and defend provided by senior executives from company sponsors, NeuroSky and ZeroMotorcycles.

Capturing the prestigious top team ranking for Camp BizSmart 2011: NeuroSky Team 5 at Stanford, made up of six members, Shannon Hong, CEO, Quentin Delepine, CTO, Joseph Krackeler, CFO, Karen Tu, CMO, Tony Sun, CSO, and Annie Zhou, CIO (pictured below with NeuroSky execs), who participated in the Camp BizSmart session at Stanford University and the business plan competition that was judged by an esteemed panel of judges made up of angel investors and venture capitalists.

The business plan competitions for Silicon Valley sessions were held at Microsoft Corporate Executive Conference Center, in Mountain View and the Hawaii competition was held at Punahou School. First place teams were named at each of the three locations and then competed for the judges’ ranking of top team for 2011.

The student’s winning product concept innovation, NeuroSport, integrates the best of NeuroSky’s brainwave computer interface technology into a convertible beanie/sweatband, which detects brainwaves using a new an affordable conductive fabric and BCI technology. The information is then transferred into a state of the art watch which will immediately display one’s level of relaxation, attention, and heart rate. This product is aimed towards helping athletes achieve proficiency and consistency to attain peak performance using feedback provided by their device.

Our judges came together and praised the finalists in defining the target market and working together as a strong team. Lead judge Maigread Eichten, former CEO of FRS, explains that winning team N5 set themselves apart by differentiating their product for their target consumer. She adds, “the real impressive piece was the product roadmap with new product features across a timeline. This is how a real company needs to think to engage an investor and capture a consumer’s mindset.”

Watch for the announcement of the special recognition this team will receive at a prestigious, upcoming premiere event this November in an upcoming post. Congratulations N5!

Update: All team videos are up on YouTube!  Check out Soccertes and Mindbeat!

Camp BizSmart students sure know how to keep themselves busy! We’ve been receiving updates on all fronts: school, sports, community service, music and arts, and of course, personal business ventures, since our 2011 camps have ended. However, just because summer is over doesn’t mean the learning, ideas and fun have been left behind.

NeuroSky, one of our amazing 2011 company sponsors, has generously donated time towards taking student team concepts from the boardroom to the public. Each NeuroSky team CEO was invited to film a 1-minute pitch of their idea, also showcasing their WAGIC rendering. These pitches are now up on NeuroSky and Camp BizSmart YouTube channels, and the forum is open for your feedback.

You can now join in the learning! Let these teams know what you love best about their idea, or perhaps questions you have on any features or go-to-market plans. Watch, enjoy, be inspired, and don’t forget to leave your own thoughts and comments!

A huge shout out to our supporters over at NeuroSky. Thank you especially to David Westendorf, VP of Marketing and Business Development (pictured below, speaking @ Stanford CBS 2011), for working so closely with us to provide wonderful learning opportunities for our students.

A big thank you to Tansy Brook, Head of Communications, for dedicating so much time to organizing this project. Also thanks to Xavier, for your help with filming!

Read more about the NeuroSky project for 2011 teams here.

Camp BizSmart Stanford’s winning team, N5, took time out of their school day last Thursday to present their winning plan at NeuroSky’s weekly lunch meeting. As an unexpected bonus, David Westendorf, VP of Marketing, gave the team and parents a tour of the office and various NeuroSky products, and even a glimpse of the latest product in development (don’t worry, we won’t spill corporate secrets here)!

A winning team, from left to right : Joseph Krackeler, CFO (“finances are not a laughing matter”); Tony Sun, CSO and Karen Tu, CMO (“being outgoing is in our job descriptions”); Quentin Delepine, CTO (“our specs are so good, just you wait”); Annie Zhou, CIO (“they will listen to every last detail I have to give”); Shannon Hong, CEO (“so a procrastinating team CAN win after all”).

To Shannon, we wish we could tell you it gets better with age.

Camp BizSmart students were challenged to use NeuroSky’s Brain Computer Interface technology to create a product that would enhance an athlete’s concentration and performance. The team came up with a convertible beanie / sweatband that would measure focus and transmit data wirelessly to an accompanying watch. Check out the watch in the WAGIC rendering below – cool colors and features!

If you aren’t keen on watches (but with something that looks this good, why wouldn’t you be), the team has also created an iPhone app that also displays data.

Stanley Yang, CEO of NeuroSky, encouraged students to keep their minds open to new ideas, as boundary-less as a 4-year-old’s imagination.

David Westendorf (far right) applauded the team for choosing Camp BizSmart, which “coaches [them] for life.”  We love that phrase!  He’s certainly VP of Marketing for a reason!

Thank you NeuroSky and especially to David, for being an amazing partner and working with us to make all of these opportunities available each step of the way!  Pictured: Team N5 with Stanley Yang, David Westendorf and Jake Chuang (COO).

NeuroSky makes brainwave sensors for every body.

On Monday, the Z2 team members from the Santa Clara University session brought their winning plan, the DB40,  to Zero Motorcycles headquarters in Scotts Valley.  The Z2 team edged out 5 other teams to win first place, and the Zero Motocrcycles executives graciously made it worth the team’s while.

Z2 realized adults can be funny too, or maybe they’re just being polite. Team (left to right): George Lu (CSO), Anika Krishnan (CMO), Rohan Vembar (CTO/CIO), Nikita Vemuri (CEO), Dylan Patel (CFO – not pictured, but greatly missed!).

Gene Banman (right, wearing blue), former CEO and current board member, not only arranged the visit, but was also actively involved as one of our 2011 business sponsors. We have yet to see him without a smile. Thanks Gene!

Scot Harden (left, wearing black), VP of Marketing, is widely known as the “father” of the mini-moto from the 90s. In case there was any doubt that Z2 was presenting to a panel of experts, we should also mention that Scot has accrued 20 different international motorcycle racing titles and over 200 wins including two SCORE Baja 1000 wins, three SCORE Baja 500 wins, and two SCORE Championship titles.

How do you turn your Master’s thesis into something that sounds cool to everyday people?  Ask Abe Askenazi (far left), CTO, who convinced his UC Berkeley professors to sponsor his thesis on “The Dynamics of Motorcycles”.

Thanks to Steve Salyer (above), VP of Manufacturing and Operations,  the Z2 team, parents and staff got an inside glimpse into the ZM process of building the motorcycles.  Steve did a great job of engaging everyone in the process – definitely good enough to pique the parents’ interest in motorcycles!

If there is anyone that loves the field of work they are in, it’s these accomplished individuals.  A lesson for all of us — you can turn your passion into a successful career!  Thank you Zero Motorcycles, for inspiring all entrepreneurs!

Zero Motorcycles is committed to transforming the motorcycling experience by bringing to market highly innovative electric motorcycles that offer exceptional value and performance. Zero is powered by innovation, driven by passion, guided by integrity and measured by results — values that we at Camp BizSmart certainly share!

Future Zero interns?

We held our final Camp BizSmart session at Santa Clara University, sponsored by the Leavey School of Business and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship where six teams competed for first place.  4 NeuroSky teams and 2 Zero Motorcycles teams brought their best performances to Microsoft Corporation on August 11.

Our panel of judges included: Maigread Eichten, Bill Reichert, Harry Motro and Rick Reis.  Read more about our judges here.

The judges again decided to award a second place prize for “Most Innovative Design and Go to Market Idea”.

NeuroSky 3 takes the award for their design of “Soccertes”!  Team members are: Kaili Sun (CEO), Ketan Kapre (CIO), Ryan Decker (CTO), Vineet Tummala (CMO), Elisabeth Siegel (CSO), Steven Chung (CFO).

And first place went to…

Zero Motorcycles 2! Team members are: Nikita Vemuri (CEO), Rohan Vembar (CIO, CTO), Anika Krishnan (CMO), George Lu (CSO), Dylan Patel (CFO).

Zero Motorcycles teams were challenged to design a cool all-electric mini-moto for 9 – 17 year olds. The team’s solution caters to both riders through the “cool factor”, as well as to parents through innovative safety features. WAGIC’s rendering of the winning design, the “DB40 Electric Motor Bike”, showcases the sleek look and customizable colors aimed at teens.

The Zero Motorcycles team has been invited to present their winning product and business plan to company executives at Zero Motorcycles headquarters in Scotts Valley.

Check back for more on team presentations to corporate sponsors, as well as more about the Camp BizSmart Grand Prize 2011!