Preparing kids for life: Q&A with Catherine Hutton Markwell, CEO of BizWorld
In my experience as mother to one child, sister to six, and aunt to many, I have found that most kids have a natural desire to set up shop. Not out of greed, but because it's just kind of cool to do something fun and earn some pocket change in the process. I firmly believe that linking creativity and pleasure with work early on is critical.
Enter Catherine Hutton Markwell. She is the CEO of The BizWorld Foundation, an education non-profit that she re-launched in 2003 with Tim Draper, founder and Chairman. To date, BizWorld has inspired over 250,000 children worldwide through entrepreneurship, business and financial programs.
Erica Sandberg: Why is helping kids start their own business and get smart about money important to you?
Catherine Hutton Markwell: Entrepreneurship is what started this country and what solves the big questions we have currently: energy, education, finance etc...in all these areas will have smart entrepreneurs changing and improving how we live.
ES: Why do you think it's so important for kids to develop their own business?
CHM: Kids are born with an entrepreneurial spirit. It is up to us to foster that spirit. Not all children become entrepreneurs but all will be involved in business and the more the know about the world of business the more successful they will become.
ES: Are there any misconceptions are out there about kids and work that you'd like to dispel?
CHM: "5th grade is too young to teach business" From the moment you give your kid an allowance they are part of the economy and making buying decisions and being influenced by business. When you explain business to children as a product of their daily lives they get it and the ones that become entrepreneurs are the ones that see opportunity and how to improve on what they see.
ES: How did you come up with the idea for BizWorld?
CHM: Tim Draper's daughter asked him what he did everyday...how do explain venture capital and entrepreneurship to an eight year old....show by example. When we collaborated in 2003 we moved from volunteers teaching the program to classroom teachers delivering the curriculum. This is what changed everything. Teachers are hungry for innovative curriculum content and once the program was re-designed to meet more teacher needs it has become a staple in many classrooms through-out the US and aboard.
ES: So it's just in the public school system?
CHM: No, the curriculum is taught in all different settings from public, charter, private, after-school and camps. If you have 10 hours of time during your year you can implement the program...the best implementation is 2 hours a day over five days.
ES: Ever experience resistance to personal finance education or entrepreneurship - if so, from whom?
CHM: The main resistance is from not understanding the content. We show them how business is social studies, how entrepreneurship is English language arts, and how finance is math. You need to show the correlation to standards and why it matters. Once teachers are trained, they easily see the standards come alive and the importance of engaging in these hands-on programs.
ES: Which BizWorld programs are you most proud of?
CHM: They are all special but our rising star is truly BizMovie. BizMovie incorporates business and technology to create a modern approach to learning business and engaging children in a very dynamic and engaging experience. In BizMovie children still create business but this time it revolves around technology and computer programing in the movie industry.
ES: How are you funded?
CHM: We are funded in may ways from from individual donors to corporate foundation. The donations range from $10 to $100,000 and above. Recently we applied for the i3 Federal Education Innovation Grant which would make an huge impact on our outreach...fingers crossed!
ES: And finally, any success stories to share?
CHM: We have so many good stories....one of my favorites is about this very shy, 4th grade student who was the VP of Finance for her team. When the company president was worried if he needed to go back to the VC for more funding, the shy, 4th grader raised her hand and said that according to her math they were in good shape with cash and did not need any more VC money. The president then shouted "I LOVE YOU" and as she blushed and smiled broadly, she felt valued for her input. Her financial expertise truly helped the company.
ES: Thanks Catherine!
What about you - do you agree that helping kids in this way is positive? Let me know your take.
Posted By: Erica Sandberg (Email) | July 21 2010 at 01:25 PM
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7/21/2010
City Brights: Erica Sandberg : Preparing kids for life: Q&A with Catherine Hutton Markwell, CEO of BizWorld
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