Through the film Ten 9 Eight, directed by Mary Mazzio, we are taking a page from the Book of Inspiration, written by kids half our age.  The film documents students who participated in an annual business plan contest sponsored by NFTE, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, back in 2008.  In the contest, over 24,000 students are narrowed down to the top 35 across the country to present their business plan to high-profile entrepreneurs in New York.  The winner receives $10,000 to launch the business plan.

William Mack and Ja’Mal Wills, from Baltimore, created the company J&W Sensations for their chemical-free scented lotions.

Evelyn Espinoza

The film doesn’t just document the contest, but the personal lives and backgrounds of some of the participating students.  You will meet kids who have defeated odds in their young years that many of us will not even experience in our lifetime.  Yet these kids found courage to pursue their dreams, some with the help of the NFTE program in their schools, and others from their parents who came to America to give their children better lives.

Through this documentary, you can meet a Los Angeles girl like Evelyn Espinoza, who didn’t make it to the final round with her Hippie Candle business plan, but smiles and says “It’s ok, I’ll just go make the $10,000 myself.”  This film doesn’t just feature the winning business plans, but the drive and determination from the students participating.  You can see the transformation, of an inner-city Baltimore girl like Anna Montague, from a giggling girl in her film interviews to a poised businesswoman presenting her plan to potential investors.

The Ten 9 Eight film was featured in select AMC theaters in 8 cities back in November 2009 and has recently been featured on BET.  You can order your own copy of the documentary and read more about the featured kids on www.ten9eight.com.  Trust that you will be inspired!

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Tags: Business, documentary, Entrepreneurship, Mary Mazzio, NFTE, success, the National Foundation for Teaching

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 9:19 pm and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.