Our plan
In a five-day entrepreneurial workshop, BizAcademy offers students from under-served urban school districts opportunities they would never have otherwise: the chance to run their own company. With BizAcademy, high school students learn the business basics directly from talented salesforce.com employees and industry leaders. At the salesforce.com offices, 12-15 high school students are able to experience business from the inside out. They manage all aspects of a company from raising money and learning about finances; to manufacturing a product of their own creation or developing a service; to marketing and selling their product and services; all using Salesforce on-demand software as a service. And they get to keep the profits! In addition, students are placed in valuable summer internships and meaningful mentorships. The program also offers scholarships for exceptional students to help pay for college—and a promising future.
What we did
Initially we partnered with BizWorld Foundation to develop relevant BizWorld curriculum for high school students. Next, we worked with local school and youth development organizations such as School To Career and MYEEP (Mayor's Youth Employment and Education Program) to interview and select the students for this program. They had to have the commitment and desire to spend five full days of their spring break at an office. We also recruited many salesforce employees to mentor, coach, and even lead discussions on such topics as interviewing, pitching, networking and marketing. The students, divided into three teams, reveled in the opportunity to learn and practice these skills on and with professionals. At the end of the week teams were awarded the profits they earned along with prize money for their businesses. Over the summer, youth are invited to apply for internships and are paired with a mentor. In the fall we offer scholarships.
Our results
We helped give students real-world experience and expose them to opportunities they may not ever have had the chance to experience otherwise. When we have waiting lists for kids to get in to this program, it tells us it's a success, as the graduates are our word of mouth results. We've had students return to intern at the company and grow their skills. The students -- very shy when they start at the program -- have very few inhibitions speaking with VPs or adults who are not like them by the end. When I hear that a student has used our application ("cloud computing") to work on her class presentation at home, has shown it off in the classroom and WOWed the teacher -- it's a success. Students have increased comfort levels and the ability to present in front of their class. This program has also been delivered in our global offices (London, Toronto, Singapore, Dublin, Tokyo) with similar results and extremely positive feedback from the students.
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