Wisconsin Youth Entrepreneurs Network: Launch announced

Contact Information

Wisconsin Youth Entrepreneurs Network

Gayle Kugler –Director, UW-Extension, WEN, SBDC

(608) 263-7812

Ben Hobbins –WYEN Founder, Wisconsin Entrepreneur

(608) 513-3535

Madison, WI: to mark the 30th Anniversary founding of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network and the 5th Anniversary founding the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network (WEN) –the joint venture between Wisconsin Department of Commerce and UW-Extension Division of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (DEED), a transformational project for our youth is being announced by UW-Extension… the launch of the Wisconsin Youth Entrepreneurs Network (WYEN).

The WYEN project was first envisioned and developed in 2006/07, the brainchild of Wisconsin Entrepreneur Ben Hobbins. Further development linked together Phase 2 Co-founder, Gayle Kugler and Hobbins into the WYEN project linking resources of UW-Extension, SBDC and WEN networks into a complementary, cohesive and effective WYEN delivery platform. The WYEN project was briefly overviewed at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Network Annual Conference in the Wisconsin Dells January 21, 2010. Since then a WYEN Core Team made up of Kugler, Hobbins, and UW-Extension’s Executive Director of DEED Kim Kindschi has been actively planning next steps in WYEN development and interfacing with resources and partners statewide. The first WYEN Steering Committee meeting took place at the Pyle center in February 2010 to mark collective interfacing in statewide WYEN development. A WYEN survey designed by members of DPI and the WYEN Advisory Board was conducted in March by DPI at the State DECA Conference to provide primary source survey data for the project.

WYEN links and networks public and private entities -state, regional and local standing assets (facilities), other hard and soft resources, competencies and capabilities of these entities into a “network’’ designed to leverage and propel youth in the K-12 environment into real world entrepreneurship. By introducing and educating our youth in entrepreneurship early in life through WYEN, Wisconsin can facilitate and harness the creative power and drive of our youth in the context of private enterprise and related economic development –the true drivers of America’s economic future and job creation.

In late 2009, the project was presented to and garnered strong support from then Wisconsin Commerce Secretary, Dick Leinenkugel, ’’this is a visionary project whose time has come for the State of Wisconsin. We actively support aggressive development of this transformational project that will surely spur state and regional economic development, create and positively impact future generations of Wisconsin entrepreneurs.’’ Commerce support continues today.

WYEN is designed to offer youth networked access to youth entrepreneurship and inventreneurship resources and activities at the state, regional and county level -educational and professional development resources available for the K-12 environment designed specifically for youth entrepreneurship and professional youth development.

The WYEN sub-network, called the Wisconsin Youth Business Network (WYBN) is envisioned to link youth, educators and administrators seamlessly together at the statewide, district-to-district and school level in entrepreneurship, professional and associated organized entrepreneurship activities. WYEN will allow ‘’easy-access’’, internet-based and accessible student learning assets and ‘’at-your-finger-tips’’ curriculum for teachers available and linked together on the WYEN network. Even more importantly, WYEN is designed to be transformational and act as a catalyst to start the process for active curriculum development interfacing teachers, administrators and DPI at all educational and administrative levels in the state.