IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Local Texas Accelerator Creates Network for Teenage Entrepreneurs

The project, called SATUS, is tailored to help local teens channel their entrepreneurial passions into creating a viable product, company, nonprofit or sole proprietorship.

(TNS) — While on an educational trip to France last summer, McKinney, Texas, teen Gautam Bhargava began to imagine a way to teach students how to pursue alternative paths to success.

When he returned, Bhargava, now 17, noticed few resources specifically for young entrepreneurs in the Dallas area, so he decided to create a network designed for teens.

He brought together a team of his peers to create the SATUS program, a three-week entrepreneurial accelerator program run by teens, for teens. They are young, but they have big ideas.

The SATUS program will take place for the first time this summer, from Aug. 3-24 at The Werx, a co-working space in McKinney. Bhargava said the program will accept 15 to 20 applicants, primarily from the Dallas area.

“We want to make sure people aren’t just doing it for a line on their resume,” said Bhargava, who’s between his junior and senior years at McKinney High School. “We want people who want to start now, to pursue their passions immediately and not put them off.”

Christine Smith, executive director of The Werx, said she was happy to provide the venue for free and hopes it continues to happen there.

“A lot of us have kids their age,” Smith said. “We would love to see this continue, and maybe even see our kids participate one day.

The SATUS curriculum is tailored to help local teens channel their entrepreneurial passions into creating a viable product, company, nonprofit or sole proprietorship. It covers topics including entrepreneurship, finances, legal issues and pitching. The program costs between $495 and $695.

The audience

Some participants have already been accepted.

Arhum Khan, a 16-year-old who will be a junior at the Greenhill School, talks a mile a minute about his entrepreneurial interests. Since selling socks in middle school, he has moved on to music blogging and apparel design. He said he hopes to make connections during the program.

“I’m an idea tank, and I feel like a lot of people are,” Khan said. “I want to start something, and, honestly, I want to make money.”

Bobby Thakkar, 15, talks with similar passion, but his ideas are focused on his existing business venture — Second Gen, a group that helps teens create products related to programming, music, arts, journalism, film and business.

Thakkar, who will be a junior at Allen High School, hopes to gain a deeper understanding of management and the law with SATUS. He ultimately wants to “remove the limits youths have in the world.”

Thakkar and his Second Gen team are putting on a hackathon for high school students in July, with a goal similar to SATUS’. The teens are eager to create a community of young entrepreneurs.

“We need to be teaching young people how to think for themselves and not be dependent on a business degree,” SATUS co-founder and chief creative officer Jed Rollins said.

In addition to Rollins, Bhargava brought in Nathan Chiu, who will be a senior at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts, and Rhamy Belayachi, who attends Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia. Kevin Hobbs, a longtime friend of Rollins, and 15-year-old Justin Pirk round out the founding team.

Connecting

Once assembled, the core group began to connect with Dallas startups and recruit speakers and mentors for the program.

Nick Kennedy, founder of Rise, a private flight service, got his entrepreneurial start selling pancakes out of his freshman dorm room until his operation was shut down by his resident assistant. When Bhargava and his team asked if he would be a speaker for SATUS, Kennedy said he was impressed by their “gumption.”

Next Zuckerberg?

“We don’t know who the next Mark Zuckerberg is,” Kennedy said. “We don’t know who the next Elon Musk is. They’re probably 13 years old right now, and the world needs those people.”

SATUS mentor Justin Lafazan, 19, has created two ventures that also aim to provide resources to young people. He notes that many platforms are springing up across the country to try to connect those he calls “millennial misfits,” but few are comprehensive enough to provide the young entrepreneurs adequate resources.

Lazafan said SATUS’ mission was “spot on.” As a mentor, he hopes to help participants make connections and advise them on a personal level.

Lafazan is planning next month’s Next Gen Summit in Austin, which has partnered with SATUS to prepare teen entrepreneurs.

The SATUS team is preparing to hold smaller conferences throughout the year in Dallas and potentially other locations across the country.

“The only way to learn entrepreneurship is to go out and do it,” Bhargava said.

©2015 The Dallas Morning News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.