Seventh Grader Chosen to Represent Lynchburg Region in Young Entrepreneurs Academy Event

LYNCHBURG, Va. - April 24, 2014 - PRLog -- Holy Cross Regional Catholic School seventh grader Jason Rony was selected to represent the Lynchburg Young Entrepreneurs Academy in the national semi-finals of the Saunders Scholar Competition.  The Young Entrepreneurs Academy business plan competition held at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) on April 22. is part of Leadership Lynchburg’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) hosted by the Lynchburg Regional Chamber.   Program partners include the Boys & Girls Club of Great Lynchburg, CVCC and premier partner, SunTrust.

More than a dozen students aged 12-18 have worked with business mentors for several months, developing their business plans and pitches.  The investor panel members who judged the competition included Nat Marshall (The Babcock and Wilcox Company), Stefanie Prokity (Successful Innovations), Marc Schewel (Schewel Furniture Company) and David Wilt (SunTrust Bank).

Thirteen year old Rony’s business is Doceo Data which creates short and concise digital training guides based on practical examples under the brand name “Explore by Example.” These digital training guides will help the consumer, step by step, use the software application.

During his presentation, Rony asked the investor panel for $420 for his business, and he received the full amount.  He will travel to Boca Raton in southern Florida to compete in the Young Entrepreneur Academy semi-finals on May 15-16.

“I wanted to win… I tried to be positive,” said Jason. “After seeing others’ presentations, I was nervous because they did so well.”

Rony fully enjoyed the entire program. “I looked forward to every Tuesday when I went to class. We went on field trips to other businesses, guest speakers came in to speak to us, and mentors helped us create our business plans. It was kind of like a second class for me.  You have your friends in school, but you also have your friends in YEA class.”

When asked about his future plans, Rony is excited. “I want to keep making more training guides. With this business you only need to create the product once and you can sell it over and over again with no additional efforts or inventory concerns.”

About Holy Cross Regional Catholic School

Founded in 1879, Holy Cross Regional Catholic School is a fully accredited college preparatory school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.  Holy Cross has passed the rigorous accreditation requirements of both the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and School Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (CASI).  For more information, please see www.holycrossforyou.org  and/or contact Catherine Mosley, Director of Enrollment & Marketing, at (434)847-5436 orcmosley@hcfaculty.com.

About the Young Entrepreneurs Academy

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is a groundbreaking nine-month program that guides students through the process of starting a real business, including business plan development, pitching to an investor panel, obtaining funding, launching the venture, managing the media campaigns, e-commerce and web development, sales events, and trade shows. YEA! Lynchburg is the first program in the State of Virginia. For more information, contact the Greater Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce at 434-845-5966.