TiE Boston launched its new initiative TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) at a special event in Burlington Marriott on December 8, 2005. Parents came along with their children to learn what this new initiative has to offer.  TYE, a Special Interest Group of TiE, caters to the aspirations of young entrepreneurs to achieve fame, wealth and status and aims at providing proper business guidance to the teenagers and turning them into successful entrepreneurs.

A team of volunteers consisting of six adults and five students is going to be responsible for providing direction to TYE. The team includes Gopi Bala, Geetha Ramamurthy, Ron Beraha, Prasad Karnam, Christopher Hanson, Cristina Vieira. The five students of the team are Sudhir Radhakrishna, Weymouth High School, Sarah Mathews, Concord Carlisle High School, Arun Nijhawan, Lexington High School. Shyam Ramamurthy, undergraduate student, Bio Technology, and Prabhod Sunkara, undergraduate student, Finance. Students from the team feel that entrepreneurial skills will provide and edge over other students and help them realize entrepreneurial potential at an early age.

A panel of young and seasoned entrepreneurs shared their views on entrepreneurship.  The panel consisted of Rhugved Dali, Founder, Third Alliance Entertainment,  Jolin Kish Ph.D., Principal, Kish Consulting & Contracting ,  Kartik Natarajan, Co-Founder, NatuRi ,  Joe Willis, Founder, Quick Fix Gourmet, Desh Deshpande, Founder & Chairman, Sycamore Networks, Inc., and was moderated by Abhi Shah, Chairman, US India PAC (USINPAC) Youth Committee .

The panelists shared their entrepreneurial experiences and provided tips to young entrepreneurs.  “Be willing to do what it takes to get the job done. You need to know what you know and find people to support you in what you don’t know,” said Kish.  The panelists emphasized on the importance of finding good mentor for success in entrepreneurial endeavors.

Dr. Desh Deshpande invigorated  the audience by clearly stating the qualities of successful entrepreneurs. “Your entrepreneurial skill shows in what you do,” said Deshpande. Entrepreneurs tend to the people who don’t complain much, don’t feel entitled to things in the world, they are optimists and excited about what they want to do.  He said entrepreneurship skills can be cultivated, bolstering the need for TYE. Learning the business skills, knowing the nuances of business and figuring out the business processes makes successful entrepreneurs.

The first initiative of  TYE is a workshop focusing on business plan creation. The business plan workshop will culminate in a contest of who can create the best business plan. The winner will be announced at TiE-Con 2006, TiE-Boston’s flagship conference, in April 2006.

TYE  is a member based sig under the umbrella of TiE-Boston, a not-for-profit entrepreneurial organization.  To be a member of our sig, at least one parent of the teenager interested has to be a member of TiE-Boston. Membership rates and benefits are available on our website: TiE-Boston.org.

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