Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge

What Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge does

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge (YEA BR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit after-school program founded in 2018 that enables high school students in the Baton Rouge Capital Region to launch and register real businesses with the Louisiana Secretary of State. The program is delivered in person at LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business Business Education Complex, where students receive classroom instruction from LSU faculty, one-on-one mentorship from established Baton Rouge entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to earn three LSU college credits upon completion. The annual cycle culminates in a Shark Tank-style Community Pitch event where students present to local investors and compete for seed funding; over $198,000 has been distributed to student ventures through this mechanism since inception, and 140+ student businesses have been launched across cohorts spanning 2018 through at least 2026.

YEA BR is administered as a program of the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership (itself a 501(c)(3) initiative of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber) and operates in partnership with LSU and Louisiana Economic Development. The organization is governed by a Steering Committee of approximately 15 community leaders and is managed day-to-day by President & CEO Casey O'Banion and Executive Director Dana Schlotterer. The program does not charge tuition; scholarship funds (the Charlie D'Agostino Founders Scholarship and the Wilfred 'Bud' Carlin Scholarship Fund) ensure access regardless of financial situation.

The underlying technology stack is minimal: a Squarespace-based informational website (yeabr.org) serves as the application portal and primary communications surface, a YouTube channel archives past pitch presentations, and student recruitment is driven by community referrals rather than digital marketing automation. There is no proprietary software platform, no API, and no disclosed AI/ML components — the product is fundamentally the in-person program itself rather than a technology product.

Name

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge

Legal name

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge

Website

https://yeabr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge is a nonprofit after-school program, founded in 2018, that helps high school students in the Baton Rouge Capital Region launch and register real businesses through LSU-based instruction, local mentorship, and seed-funding pitch competitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Entrepreneurship Education

NAICS

Educational Services (611), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Youth entrepreneurship education
• After-school business program
• High school mentorship
• Nonprofit education
• Student startup incubator

Headquarters

HQ city

Baton Rouge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit program of the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, YEA BR operates entirely on donations, sponsorships, and grants. The program does not charge tuition to students; all operational costs (program delivery, mentorship, materials, pitch opportunities) are funded through community generosity. The website lists multiple sponsor tiers including Founders, Visionaries, Catalysts, Investors, Cornerstones, Friends, and Student-Meal Sponsors.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge (YEA BR) is a tuition-free after-school program that guides high school students in the Baton Rouge Capital Region through launching real, registered businesses. Students receive one-on-one mentorship from local entrepreneurs, attend classes at LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business, register their companies with the Louisiana Secretary of State, and pitch for seed funding at a Community Pitch event.

Product overview

Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge (YEA BR) is a unified after-school entrepreneurship program for high school students, not a software platform. The core offering is the YEA BR Core Program, through which students launch and register real businesses with the Louisiana Secretary of State while receiving one-on-one mentorship from local entrepreneurs and attending in-person classes at LSU's Business Education Complex. Supporting features include the LSU College Credit Pathway (3 credits upon completion), the Community Pitch event for seed funding, and graphic design support for student businesses. The program does not sell separate modules or SaaS products—it is a single integrated educational program that combines mentorship, classroom instruction, business registration support, and pitch competitions into one offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• YEA BR Core Program An after-school program where high school students in the Baton Rouge Capital Region learn entrepreneurship and launch real businesses. Students attend in-person classes at LSU's Business Education Complex, receive one-on-one mentorship from local entrepreneurs and LSU faculty, register their companies with the Louisiana Secretary of State, and pitch for seed funding at the Community Pitch event. The program is tuition-free.
• Student Business Mentorship One-on-one mentorship provided by local Baton Rouge entrepreneurs who guide students through idea validation, business plan development, branding, finance, product, marketing, and operations over a four-week period in December and January.
• LSU College Credit Pathway Students earn three LSU credits upon completing the YEA BR program, delivered at LSU's Business Education Complex within the E.J. Ourso College of Business.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of YEA BR alumni graduate from high school
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership (GBREP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018YEA BR is a program of the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, a 501(c)(3) initiative of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. GBREP provides organizational oversight, administrative support, and connection to the broader business community. Prior to leading YEA BR, Casey O'Banion served as Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at GBREP.
• Louisiana State University (LSU) - E.J. Ourso College of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudents attend in-person classes at LSU's Business Education Complex, the home of the E.J. Ourso College of Business. LSU professors provide classroom instruction, and students can earn college credit upon program completion. The partnership provides credibility, academic rigor, and a direct pathway to higher education for participants.
• Louisiana Economic Development (LED)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLED is listed as a presenting partner alongside LSU and GBREP. The state economic development agency provides support and visibility for the program as part of Louisiana's entrepreneurial ecosystem development efforts.
• Greater Baton Rouge Economic PartnershipcoreOthersYEA BR is a program of the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership. Partnership provides organizational infrastructure, connection to business leaders, and alignment with regional economic development goals.
• LSU E.J. Ourso College of BusinesscoreOthersAcademic partnership providing faculty instruction, classroom facilities at LSU Business Education Complex, and college credit opportunities for program graduates.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: National youth-services organization operating after-school programs that sometimes include entrepreneurship curricula — adjacent rather than direct; competes for the same after-school time slot and donor dollars but lacks YEA BR's venture-launch focus.
• 4-H Youth Development Program: Largest youth development organization in the U.S., offering entrepreneurship and career readiness tracks among many programs — comparable only as a broad youth skills-development competitor, not a direct youth-business-launch peer.
• Babson College Youth and Pre-College Programs: Babson, the leading entrepreneurship university, runs youth summer programs and pre-college experiences; not a direct match for YEA BR's regional nonprofit model, but competes for the same high-school entrepreneur audience and brings academic prestige.

Others

• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation: Major private foundation focused on entrepreneurship education and research; functions as a funder and ecosystem builder in the same youth-and-entrepreneurship space rather than a direct program peer, but shapes the field in which YEA BR operates.

Direct peers

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): National nonprofit that teaches entrepreneurship to middle and high school students from underserved communities through classroom curricula and pitch competitions — closely mirrors YEA BR's high-school focus, mentorship model, and pitch-for-funding structure.
• Enactus: Global nonprofit that mobilizes university students to lead entrepreneurial projects with social impact — comparable in the youth-business-project + mentorship + competition model, though Enactus is university-focused while YEA BR serves high schoolers.
• DECA: International student organization preparing high school and college students for careers in business, marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship — shares YEA BR's high-school business-venture development and competitive pitch format.
• Junior Achievement (JA): The largest youth business and entrepreneurship education nonprofit in the U.S., offering in-school and after-school programs that teach students about work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship — directly comparable to YEA BR's youth entrepreneurship mission.
• Lemonade Day: National youth entrepreneurship program that teaches kids to start, run, and operate a real lemonade business — a direct analog to YEA BR's model of guiding young people through launching actual registered businesses.
• BizWorld Foundation: Nonprofit that delivers project-based entrepreneurship programs to elementary and middle school students using real-world business simulation — shares the youth-business-creation pedagogy with YEA BR but skews younger.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@yeabrla/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/yeabrla
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yeabrla

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge