TiE-Boston launched its 8th session of the TyE (TiE Young Entrepreneurs) program on September 15, 2012 in Cambridge, MA with over 90 students and parents in attendance. Once again, there was record interest in the program and 40 students have been inducted into the TyE Class of 2013.

The event commenced with an introductory session about the program by the TyE committee. This was followed by TyE Alums presenting on how the TyE program was a life changing experience for them and how it helped them fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams. Abhi Ashutosh (2010) gave students advice for their final presentations. Meera Nair (2009) spoke about how her team took their idea and started an award-winning non-profit, and Rasheed Raziuddin (2012) spoke about what he gained from the program.

The highlight of the event was Inspirational Speaker, Shakeel Avadhany, co-founder & CEO of Levant Power. While Shakeel was at MIT, he began looking at what big problem he wanted to solve. He spoke about his passion for the automotive industry so it’s no surprise that he turned to cars. One day, he and his buddies were driving on a bumpy road when the idea came to them – what if we create a suspension that generates electricity from the bumps on the road!

Shakeel and his buddies created prototypes in his dorm room and competed in several business plan competitions. People started to take notice and Levant Power was formed. Shakeel mentioned that “things change vastly as you are developing the idea” and talked about the changes that Levant Power has gone through over the years. He stressed the importance of learning and understanding the technical aspects of your ideas.

Some of the key takeaways from his story included: “You don’t know what you’re going to get until you ask” and “Failure isn’t necessary to succeed.” Shakeel’s story was a great inspiration for the new class of TyE students to follow their passion, think creatively, and work hard to succeed.

The event also included a creative and fun exercise for the new TyE students, conducted by the TyE Curriculum Chair, Nitin Tyagi, which got them thinking like entrepreneurs.

The TyE program has become, a place to be, for many high school students aspiring to be entrepreneurs. They find the lessons they acquire highly useful for life. During the program, students attend interactive discussions and workshops on Saturday mornings which are led by industry experts and entrepreneurs. Students work in groups to develop an idea into a viable business plan and participate in a business plan competition. They are coached by serial entrepreneurs in different aspects of business to gain an in-depth understanding of entrepreneurship as they work on their plans for the final competition.  The Business Plan Competition awards 3 prizes totaling 10K in cash.  

Since the inception of TyE in 2005 in Boston, over 240 students have participated in the program from over 25 local schools in New England. The TyE program was adopted by TiE-Global in 2009 and continues to gain momentum across other TiE chapters. Each chapter holds its local TyE competition. The winner from all TyE chapters then participates in a TyE-Global competition which will be held in June 2013.

We thank our sponsors, parents and the TyE organizing committee for their hard work and support in making the TyE program a grand success. We are very excited with the launch of this year's class and look forward to another year of activities, fun and some great business ideas!

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