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7th Annual Lansing Youth Startup Expo

Bring your business ideas to life at the Lansing Youth Startup Expo! You’ll build critical business skills like developing a business plan, conducting market analysis, pitching your ideas, developing confidence and honing presentation skills. Plus, you'll compete for a share of more than $10,000 in cash prizes!

Resources for Students and Educators

Business Plan Templates

Writing a business plan is an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can prepare for success. This is your chance to discover any weaknesses in your business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. Be honest with yourself as you work through your business plan. Don’t gloss over potential problems--instead, figure out solutions!

Become a Sponsor

Invest in youth entrepreneurship by sponsoring the LEAP's Lansing Youth Startup Expo! Contact Anum Mughal at anum@purelansing.com to learn more.

2020 VIRTUAL Youth Startup Expo

Due to the global concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), LEAP has decided to transform our 7th Annual Youth Startup Expo into a virtual business pitch competition. As opposed to holding a physical event on March 24th, we are asking you to submit a 5-minute video pitch about your business, which will be judged virtually along with the business plan you/your team has already submitted. You will still be competing for more than $10,000 in cash prizes and other surprise gifts!

Videos should be uploaded by the April 30, 2020.

Your video pitch should be a single recording submitted on behalf of your business. If your business is a team, one team member should participate in the recorded pitch, and only one person must submit the video.

 

Submit Your Video Pitch

Awards

  • 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners will be awarded to the top-scoring projects in the following groups:
    • Grades 4-6
    • Grades 7-9
    • Grades 10-12
  • One overall Grand Prize winner
  • Winner Educator

Creating a Winning Video

Submitting your Video

In the registration process, you will be able to upload your video or paste a link to your video in the submission form.

  • If you upload your video directly to the form, please make sure your video is in MP4 format.
  • If you upload your video to YouTube, upload the video as PUBLIC or UNLISTED. Do not set videos to private, as judges will not be able to view it. 
  • You can create a channel just for your video or upload to a family member’s channel.
  • Copy and paste the YouTube video link into your online registration. 
  • You can also use links to Dropbox. Make sure that the settings allow other people to view the link.

Receiving and Using Feedback 

Your video pitch will be judged by experts in the field who will give feedback and critique. Receiving feedback and making changes based on that feedback is an important part of improving your invention! Make sure you record judge feedback in your business journal and note any changes that you make to your business. Remember that feedback is part of the process. 

FAQ

Q: I don’t have access to the internet. How can I complete registration?
 A: Check out some national internet providers. While schools are closed, Xfinity and AT&T are providing free WiFi hotspots to non-subscribers. Additionally, contact your teacher and let them know that you might need some assistance registering.

Q: My video isn’t done yet and I worked on a team. Do we all have to be in the video?
A: No. During this time of social distancing, we do not encourage teams to get together in person to film their videos. One member of the team can do the pitch by themselves. Alternatively, teams can use a videoconferencing platform, like Zoom, to record their pitch and upload that to YouTube. 

Submit Your Video Pitch

Participants can submit their video pitch to the Virtual Youth Startup Expo here. If you have any other questions about submitting your pitch or the Virtual Youth Startup Expo, please email anum@purelansing.com. Thank you!

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