(Oneida, NY – May 2014) Holy Cross Academy sophomore Jilianne Cady recently received a one-year membership to the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce and $600 in startup fundsas anaward through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA) at Mohawk Valley Community College.
Cady, along with ten other middle and high school students from Oneida County, pitched her idea to six local business and banking professionals at the Investor Panel Presentation Event on Tuesday, April 8. Although the competition was intense, Cady said all the students cheered each other on in a spirit of camaraderie and support.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking, but we practiced so many times that once we got started the presentations just flowed,” Cady said.
The investors allocated the funds to the businesses they felt had well thought out plans and ideas that had a good chance of success. Acting on their belief that people can make a job – not just take a job – at any age, the investor panel gave monetary contributions and in-kind donations as well as their support and encouragement to all of the young entrepreneurs.
Cady’s business, GigiRose Bodycare, grew out of her longtime interest in botany and mixing natural ingredients into beauty creams. She invented her all-natural scrub that reduces the appearance of cellulite using organic ingredients imported from three different countries.
“I created the scrub because I felt self-conscious on the beach being curvier than most teens, and because other products I found were expensive and full of chemicals,” Cady said.
After sending her product to several people for testing and receiving 100 percent positive feedback, she knew she had a marketable item.
Cady joined the YEA program after hearing a presentation about it at Holy Cross Academy in September 2013, and found the YEA mentors’ help invaluable. Through the program, she was paired with a graphic designer and advertising professional to develop packaging design and a marketing plan for her product.
“I gained so much from the YEA experience,” she said. “It’s been amazing. I’ve had to meet strict deadlines and present in front of people. I’ve made awesome friends and connections to many people. Everyone has been so supportive.”
Cady sells her scrub through local salons and spas and will have her website www.gigirosebodycare.com ready by the middle of May. She is also joining the other students preparing for the YEA! Trade Show to showcase their goods to the general public on Wednesday, June 4 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at a Greater Utica Chamber Business After Hours Event, held at Mohawk Valley Community College in the Information Technology Building. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information on this event, please contact Carolyn DeJohn at cdejohn@mvcc.edu or 315.792.5410.