Future Founders wants to inspire more young women to become entrepreneurs. That’s why we spent last week partnering with Google for another year of Startup Spring Break, a free week-long camp for middle school girls.
The camp brought together 23 aspiring female entrepreneurs from 13 different Chicago Public Schools. Working with the amazing team at Google, Future Founders built a full slate of virtual programming that offered students the opportunity to:
Here’s what some of the students had to say about their week with Future Founders and the Google team:
“I find the program very interesting and fun. I enjoy the feeling of working together to see an idea become something that can come to life.” -Grace Wang
“I think today was great! It was exciting to meet more new people! You don’t get to really meet entrepreneurs. Especially people that work for Google.” -Serenity Watts
“I really enjoyed meeting the women who have started their own business and I really heard a lot of experiences that they had, and it really motivated and showed me that we can really achieve our craziest goals and we have such a sweet and inviting community to help us out. I learned from Kristen and Tay that no matter what people say about your size, gender, or race, you can accomplish and go after your dreams, because nothing can stop you. I also learned from Caitie that when you try to help other people, you can also get a benefit from it as well.” -Ruby Hao
Future Founders would like to thank all the amazing volunteers who participated in the various Startup Spring Break events, including:
In addition, we want to thank the six incredible Googlers who volunteered their time and expertise as panelists on the Startup Spring Break “Women of Google” event:
Future Founders would also like to thank The Loyalty Foundation, who gifted five of our participants with a computer so that they would be able to fully participate in the program, as well as pursue any other virtual learning opportunities in the future.
Throughout the week, students worked with their peers to develop a new business idea. The teams then pitched their new businesses at the Startup Spring Break Pitch Competition, with the top two teams (as decided by our panel of judges) earning special cash prizes. Here’s a look at the students who were crowned winners at the Startup Spring Break Pitch Competition!
First Place Winner ($150 cash prize for each team member): Periscope Period Tracker: An app that helps girls navigate the challenges of menstrual cycles.
A Mockup of the Periscope Period Tracker App
Runner Up ($75 cash prize for each team member): Verbal Release: An app that provides users with a safe space to communicate about difficult topics.
A Mockup of the Verbal Release App
Future Founders is incredibly grateful to all the amazing students, speakers, mentors, volunteers, judges, and other individuals who made the Startup Spring Break program possible. We also want to thank Google for their continued support of our programming, and their dedication to youth and entrepreneurship across Chicago.
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