Students to Run Youth Business Skills Workshop in Burlington

Edit: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Daksh needed to cancel this workshop. Parents who have paid via Venmo can expect a refund. Daksh apologizes and hopes he can run this workshop during the school year instead.

Do you know a middle-school entrepreneur who would like to hone their business skills this summer? One rising Burlington High School Senior is here to support them in exploring the possibilities. Daksh Shah and his friend, Varun Trivedi, a senior at Newton North High School, will be bringing a Business Skills Workshop to rising 6th-9th graders over four Saturdays this summer.

Daksh has been interested in business since his freshman year in high school, when he enrolled in a program that changed his life. Each year, TiE Boston runs an entrepreneurship academy that supports high school students from concept to a pitch to investors over several months. Together with Varun, Daksh created a pitch that earned their team 3rd Place at the end of the Academy, a notable feat for a group of freshmen. The following year, the two friend returned to TiE as Co-Directors, mentoring a new group of students through the process.

Daksh has also participated in DECA, the business and entrepreneurship club at Burlington High School. Over the last three years, he has amassed a number of accolades: He finished Top 10 in the role play and advancing to the international competition in his sophomore year, and he managed the school store and provided mentorship to the club's underclassmen while a junior. In the fall, he'll be returning as Vice-President of DECA.

These experiences, according to Daksh, made him realize he was interested in the business world, and he wished he'd had the opportunity to explore the array of opportunities prior to entering high school. "Lots of people I talk to say they wish they'd had the chance earlier" to experience the different aspects of business and entrepreneurship, he says, which is why he and Varun decided to create that opportunity for local middle schoolers.

Beginning July 20, these entrepreneurial high schoolers will be offering workshops in an effort to support middle schoolers in exploring their interest in business and entrepreneurship so they don't have to wait until high school.

“I have experienced and learned a lot about the business world,” says Daksh, adding that he is excited for the chance to give back to the community and “to inspire more minds to take business and ignite a passion they may not discover until later.”

Varun and Daksh will use interactive activities like team projects and games to engage the middle schoolers in learning about the different aspects of the business world and convey their enthusiasm for finances, marketing, and the soft skills needed to achieve success.

Classes run from 4:00-7:00 PM on Saturday afternoons this summer and will be held at the Academy of Creative Arts in Burlington. Participants can pick and choose which session they'd like to come to, and each day will have a different focus:

• 7/20 (Financial Literacy)
• 8/3 (Business Finance)
• 8/10 (The Basics of Marketing)
• 8/17 (Teamwork and Professionalism)

To participate in this business skills workshop, fill in this form. Classes cost $5 per session.