Young entrepreneurs shine at Dallas ISD’s Bizcamp

From Dallas ISD Staff Reports

Need a sharp business idea? Just ask one of 11 Dallas ISD students who attended the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship South STEM Bizcamp.

Throughout four transformative weeks, aspiring entrepreneurs turned innovative ideas into real-world business ventures. At the end of the month, students presented their business proposals to a panel of judges in a fast-pitch competition.

Brooke Ayars, an entrepreneurship teacher at Career Institute East, said the camp emphasized the design-thinking process and helped students discover their entrepreneurial archetype: investigator, adventurer, navigator or visionary.

“It’s a five-step process where you empathize with the customer, which is a key component of design thinking,” she said. “Week three was exciting because they were so focused on getting their PowerPoints done and helping each other because they wanted to, not because the teacher was telling them they needed to do it.” 

Guided by Dallas ISD’s Career and Technical Education department in partnership with NFTE and the National Academy Foundation, campers learned essential entrepreneurial skills, such as empathizing with customers, punctuality, professional dress and understanding the cost of doing business. For Alexa M., a rising junior at Bryan Adams High School in the Career Institute East interior design pathway, Bizcamp was an opportunity to shine and believe in herself.  “I was so excited to have Alexa at camp because she had the opportunity to blossom and believe in herself,” Ayars said. “She originally said no to competing, but after some encouragement, she ended up winning second place.” 

Alexa’s idea is a floral design business aimed at helping clients find an easy, long-lasting gift that’s high-quality and never generic. “I liked Bizcamp because it is a nice experience a lot of people don’t get to have and I’ve learned that there are many different ways to be an entrepreneur and make your own business,” she said. “I came up with this idea while making a friend a bouquet because I knew they liked Spiderman so I made a bouquet out of Spiderman and that is what inspired me to continue with flowers.”

Campers also earned a Design for Delight certification, created an app to launch their business, and earned Shopify and Google Cloud badges, enhancing their resumes and skill sets.

“I’m just so blown away by the fact that Dallas ISD is helping students earn certifications during school and they’re taking care of the cost. I think taking advantage of every opportunity that comes your way is crucial,” Ayars said. “You can’t wait for it to come to you — you have to pursue it.”

Mars R., a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School and a participant in the International Baccalaureate program, emerged as the first-place winner with her project, “Interio.” She will compete at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in October.

Her app connects interior designers with clients, offering features like private messaging, a shared calendar and data projections. Designers pay a monthly fee for the service, while clients can use it for free to communicate about projects.

For Ayars, being a part of Bizcamp allowed her to make new connections with students from other campuses and continue to foster existing connections with her CI East students. 

“I knew a few of these students because I had them at my school and I was really excited to see some of those names pop up,” she said. “The things that we did in Bizcamp, students can use those life skills no matter what pathway they take.”