High school students around Washington, ENROLL NOW! MFE will be at CWU February 24, 2023!! Watch for an update. (This form is for school-wide registration).

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Entrepreneurs serve a vital role in the world economy.We improve living standards and create novel advances to aid society through business.

We completed our fifth year of the Yakima program before COVID. In Spring 2022, we will launch MFE again!

CWU’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I4IE) coordinates and conducts this daylong event to encourage students to become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

High school students will discover how to create, start, and successfully operate an entrepreneurial venture.

“The tournament is open to all students,” said Bill Provaznik, I4IE director.“ We’ve seen lots of participation from students who are interested in business, design, and project management.”

The competition involves student teams, assembled from among the various high schools with the goal of helping them learn entrepreneurial skills, including:

• business concepts
• teamwork
• marketing
• responding to competition

“Eventually, these skills will help them no matter what they chose for their careers,” Provaznik said.

The MFE workshop involves creating "concept design" pet-containment units for about two-dozen “celebrity” pet owners, portrayed by CWU students.

“The high school teams will need to figure out what these owners’ needs are for their pets, what they could reasonably charge for their products, and then develop and present their ideas for containment unit for their clients,” Provaznik explained.

Each team will have administrators, designers, marketers, purchasers, researchers, and cross-function coordinators. Half of each student team will comprise the marketing unit. The other half will be designers.

The teams will be allotted a budget and can purchase items for their prototypes, through the I4IE “Acme Supply Store,” stocked with dollar-store items and materials left from previous competitions. The teams have only 90 minutes to complete their work and submit a sample product for review.

“Based on student surveys, the biggest challenge for students is the time constraints,” Provaznik pointed out. “It’s the fact that there are so many things that they could do and they have to choose which one they’re going to do, but also which ones they’re not going to do.”

On average, about 50 CWU students are involved in this event, many of whom are enrolled in the CWU Entrepreneurship program.

“They really enjoy working with the high school students and helping them learn about marketing and design, costing and finance, and in developing communication skills,” Provaznik added.

At the tournament’s conclusion, four finalists will present their ideas to a panel of Super Judges, who are noted professionals, business owners and educators who volunteer to help with the program.

They will provide constructive criticism and feedback, and then present awards to students comprising the winning team.

Inquire about or register for MFE: MFE Group Registration Form

MFE is supported by the Herbert B. Jones Foundation.

More About the Herbert B. Jones Foundation