TAMPA, Fla. — A Shark Tank original hopes to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Kevin Harrington started his first business at just 15-years-old. His nonprofit organization, The Harrington Foundation, works to inspire and expose veterans and students to what it takes to start and succeed at running a business.
The Harrington Foundation partnered with Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay to teach students how to create a business plan, calculate operating costs and pitch to investors.
“When I see a child with a gleam in their eye about a business or an idea, it excites me first of all because I love to see entrepreneurship starting and then the passion that many of the kids have,” said Harrington. “But I also think to myself boy, they really need some good advice, they need some doors to be opened”.
Those doors are wide open at Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay’s BizTown, where students like 11-year-old Jaxson Haun get handson experience at the Entrepreneurship Hub presented by Kevin Harrington.
Jaxson is CEO for a day of a business with his fifth grade classmates from Bailey Elementary School. Together, they are pitching a new tumbler.
“It will have things that everybody will like, their favorite colors, the right amount of water and the perfect-sized straw,” said Jaxson of the product they designed.
“The entrepreneurship skills that they’re going to pick up today can carry them throughout elementary school and into middle school and into high school, and then ultimately giving them the foundation to be able to build their own business at one point,” said Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay Vice President of Operations Caleb Schillace.
A foundation is exactly what Jaxson is trying to build. “My dad made his small business and I plan on taking it over,” he said of his family business.
Harrington has launched more than 1,000 products and wants students like Jaxson to feel comfortable pitching theirs.
“Think about Shark Tank, those people have practiced hundreds of times before they give their pitch, so now let’s talk about a seventh grader, maybe, and how do they do it?” said Harrington.
Spectrum News caught up with the entrepreneur at a Shark Retreat, where he was advising aspiring entrepreneurs of today.
“This is a place where we get a chance to decide, is there a good fit to help people launch their business?” said Harrington, who serves as chairman of Big Brand Ventures.
While Harrington works to inspire all ages, he hopes fostering entrepreneurship helps shape tomorrow’s leaders.
The Harrington Foundation is hosting its first ever Harrington Foundation Golf Classic on May 6 at Pelican Golf Club. Money raised will go to fund programs supporting veterans and young entrepreneurs. And, you don’t even have to play golf to contribute.
