Start Up: Carson High students learn two sides of entrepreneurship

Start-Up! is weekly column on entrepreneurship, start-ups, technology and innovation, powered by the Adams Hub for Innovation.

For a high school student to skip their lunch break, there's got to be a pretty significant reason behind it. For Carson High School, the cause of so many empty cafeteria seats on an otherwise normal school day was nothing short of big deal.

The New Entrepreneur Network, also known as New E, played host to two very special guests earlier in October. Mayor Bob Crowell of Carson City and Andy Head from Dutch Bros. spoke to a crowd of students at Carson High School.

Rather than gossip with friends or chat about what they did or didn't like about the daily cafeteria fare, 90 eager entrepreneurs-to-be skipped lunch and listened intently to the speakers' insights on venture creation, networking, and public speaking, among other topics. Mayor Bob Crowell, a respected entrepreneur himself, brought his warm and personable demeanor to the classroom, and students relished in the opportunity to casually ask questions and converse with their mayor.
"The students spoke to him like he was just another person, not as a politician. That was really big to see that," said Matthew Navarro, President of New E.

In addition to the mayor's wisdom, the refreshing personality of Andy Head helped shed light on the ins and outs of running a successful business. Head is the owner of the Carson City Dutch Bros. coffee shop and an esteemed mentor at Carson's startup incubator, the Adams Hub for Innovation.

Presenting two different sides of entrepreneurship, the governmental/political aspect and the small business owner's perspective, gave students a taste of the many different hats entrepreneurs can (and should) wear. The ability to see different entrepreneurial styles at work and how they relate and often synchronize with each other was one of the biggest takeaways from the event, according to Navarro.

"[The event] changed perspectives and broke barriers, which is really important in a high school setting," he said.

Navarro has seen the New E Network grow firsthand, and views this opportunity as a major stepping stone in the organization's development. With the addition of the mayor and Andy Head, the list of professionals that have volunteered their time to inspiring Carson's youth has grown in both size and scope.

Having such prominent and influential speakers has proven the potential of New E, and students are already reaping the benefits of networking through the club. According to Navarro, several students who had expressed interest in working with Dutch Bros. were able to introduce themselves directly to Andy, and several more students got the chance to meet their mayor in person. It's not every day you get to come face-to-face with the head of the city during lunch.

New E began about a year ago with the hope of facilitating an entrepreneurial community through youth leadership. By giving students of high-school age or younger a hands-on approach to venture creation, the organization has been teaching Carson's future how to think and act like true innovators. Now, with the appearance of more high-profile entrepreneurs actively engaged with the group, there's no telling who will show up next or how far this group can go.

Jonathan Sarmenta is a Journalism and Entrepreneurship Major at University of Nevada, Entrepreneur with BurnReady.com and Intern with Adams Hub for Innovation. Jonathan can be reached at jonathan@adamshub.com