Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce, District 15 Host YEA! Investor Panel Event

District 15 junior high school students participating in Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce's Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) will pitch their businesses to a panel of local investors and compete to win seed money to start their business.

The Investor Panel will include 20 junior high students attending D15 schools, and will be a 'shark tank' style event. It will be held on Tuesday, April 16 from 4 until 8 p.m. at Walter R. Sundling Jr. High School, 1100 N. Smith St., in Palatine.

"We're proud to be the only Chamber in Illinois to offer a program that helps to transform local junior high school students into real entrepreneurs," said PACC Executive Director Steven Gaus. "This is an exciting opportunity - we invite area residents and local community members to come out and support this next generation of business leaders."

Each YEA! student business will have five minutes to pitch their business plans to the panel of investors, followed by questions from the panel. After the presentations, the investor panel will determine the amount of funds to allocate to each business. The local investor panel is comprised of business leaders from the following businesses and organizations: Andigo Credit Union, AMITA Health, Community Consolidated School District 15, Lavelle Law, Northrop Grumman, Ritzenthaler Family Foundation and the Walmart Foundation.

For information about YEA! and the Palatine Area Chamber of Commerce, visit PalatineChamber.com.

ABOUT YEA!

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is a groundbreaking and exciting, national program that transforms local middle and high school students into entrepreneurs. Through the year-long program, students in grades 6-12 generate business ideas, conduct market research, write business plans, receive mentorship guidance, pitch to a panel of investors, and launch their very own companies. Visit yeausa.org.