Future Founders Partners with Ford Motor Company Fund to Empower the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

August 30, 2022

Earlier this summer, Future Founders concluded our Be Your Own Boss Internship Program – Powered by Ford Motor Company Fund.

A fun, interactive, paid learning experience, the Be Your Own Boss Internship gives high school students from across Chicago the skills they need to take control of their future and succeed in the 21st century. The cohort, made up of 27 participants, had the extraordinary opportunity to learn entrepreneurship firsthand due to the generous support of Ford Motor Company Fund. 

Students from 17 Chicago high schools came together for three weeks to learn the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, engage with members of the Chicago startup community, and apply the skills they learned on an internship project.  Working with their peers, participants developed and pitched their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges. These judges ultimately declared one team the overall winner for the best pitch. Friends, family, and community members also voted on a People’s Choice Award winner. 

“My favorite part [of the Be Your Own Boss program] was being able to meet a team of diverse people with a lot of great and different ideas. I loved creating the business with my team.” – Sandy Zheng, Jones High School

Future Founders would like to extend our sincerest thanks to the entire team at Ford Motor Company Fund, as well as to the Future Founders alumni who made this program possible, including:

• Tayyaba Ali (Venture Capital Analyst, Southwire Company)*
• Brandon Balbin (Graphic Designer, Motorola Solutions)
• Madison Ballance (Partner Development Manager, Fetch Rewards)
• Pamela Cervera (Senior Account Manager, RF-Comunicad)
• Jennifer Cortez (Equity Specialist, Ford Motor Company Fund)
• Christina Fontenelle (CEO & Founder, Fontenelle Art LLC)*
• Omar Hernandez (CEO & Founder, ONEBIT)
• Robyn Hugh (CEO & Founder, Love Finesse)
• Chaneil Imhoff (Fellow, Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative)
• Victoria Leon (MBA Associate, Hyde Park Venture Partners)
• Jess McPheron (Senior Product Manager, Venminder)
• Taylor Morrison (Founder, Inner Workout)*
• Tyler Nass (Cybersecurity Consultant, PwC)*
• Daniel Segal (Deputy General Counsel, Fetch Rewards)
• Rose Vasquez (Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships, RF-Comunicad)

*denotes present Future Founders Fellow and/or program alumni

If you’re curious to know more about the prize-winning ideas from this year’s pitch event, read on for the full list of winning teams:

Pitch Competition Winners:

Fixation Station – a person-to-person trading platform to help people with ADHD connect and exchange materials associated with past hyper-fixations

• Klaire Mendoza, Lincoln Park High School
• Ayla Montero, Noble Street College Prep
• Erica Obua, Senn High School
• Feranmi Oladipo, Senn High School
• Hector Torres, Curie High School

People’s Choice Award Winners: 

Zeal Scooter – a company that distributes energy efficient–and safety-centric–E-scooters around college campuses.

• Isabel Enriquez, Noble Muchin High School
• Saul Hernandez, Lake View High School
• Anik Shetty, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
• Chauncey Yeboah, Noble Academy High School
• Sandy Zheng, Jones High School

The next Be Your Own Boss cohorts will run from October 10 – October 27 and November 1 – November 17, 2022. For more information or to apply, visit our program page.