CAMBRIDGE, MA – TiE Boston, the second-biggest and oldest chapter of the TiE-Global, announced that Second Chance, a social enterprise that helps train the currently incarcerated to successfully enter the workforce, is the winner of the 2017 TYE Business Competition. The second and third place went to Brite Barrel and Checkups4All, respectively.
Second Chance will represent TiE Boston at the TYE Finals later this year. Teams from up to 26 chapters across the globe will go to California to compete in the 2017 TYE Global Final. Over 20 teams are expected to participate and present at the Applied Innovation Center at UC-Irvine. Last year, the winning teams walked away with seed awards totaling $11,000 at the 2016 Global Finals.
This year saw the rise of social entrepreneurship with the three winning teams each startup having a clear social mission. Along with “Second Chance,” the second place winner,“Brite Barrel,” and third place winner, “Checkups4All,” each set out to leverage their talent and resources to make the world a more equitable place for all, TiE Boston said in a statement. TYE announces three winning teams each year and they are awarded a cash grant to either be used as seed funding to launch their startup or to fund their college education.
TiE Boston will hold an TYE Open House for interested parents and students at 6:00 pm on June 5th at the headquarters of Constant Contact, located at 1601 Trapelo Road in Waltham, MA.
TiE Boston statement said that with the sobering statistic of 77.6 percent of those released from prison will serve a second prison sentence, “Second Chance” is a social enterprise that helps train the currently incarcerated to successfully enter the workforce.
“First, current inmates are matched with a skilled or semi-skilled position through a ‘Second Chance’ partnership with a large company. As inmates now have a job waiting for them upon release, they can engage through the ‘Second Chance’ e-learning platform to prepare for the position,” the statement said. “Leaving prison, individuals are well-trained and prepared to enter these positions, thus eliminating the need to commit a crime to cover basic needs.”
TYE (TiE Young Entrepreneurs) is a youth entrepreneurship program for high school age students develop their business skills, confidence, leadership, problem solving, public speaking and ability to multitask through the creation of a startup. In its 13th year, this award-winning program for high school students was created to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs for success.
“It has been incredible to see how young adults who have grown up watching ‘Shark Tank’ can use that exposure and our curriculum to come up with some awesome business ideas! I’m blown away each year when I watch final pitches,” said Pallavi Singh, TYE Program Chair and champion for entrepreneurial youth. “The problem solving skills we teach our students will help them through college and beyond.”
Developed and launched by TiE Boston in 2005, TYE has grown to be a global youth empowerment and education curriculum taught in 26 chapters throughout the globe.
“As someone who has been involved with the TYE program for 7 years as a program coordinator, I have seen over 300 students come through the program, including two of my own children. I can say that this program provides an in-depth view of a entrepreneurial life cycle along with some critical life skills,” said Suneha Kamdiwan, a long-time volunteer and a parent of the winning team. “It is an exhilarating experience to watch each batch of students go through the program. Entering unsure and inquisitive, to transforming into an individual ready to take on new challenges, it has been my greatest pleasure to see TYE alumni move on to start their own companies, organizations and taken initiatives that have made a real and positive difference.”
At the TYE Open House on June 5, TYE Program Manager Simone LaPray will walk through the program, answer questions and lead interested participants through a TYE leadership activity. Students are strongly encouraged to attend with their parents to find out more! To RSVP to the Open House, please send an email with a number of those attending to tieadmin@boston.tie.org. Refreshments will be provided.
Applications are open now at www.tye-boston.org.
