Earlier this year, we launched our search for America’s future business superstars with our first “Next Teen Tycoon” online video contest. Our goal? Support teen entrepreneurship by giving away more than $10,000 worth of prizes to three enterprising teens.

We received nearly 40 videos from teens all over the country, from Hawaii to Connecticut. And their businesses or business ideas were just as varied: fashion, technology, video production, radio shows, youth camps, non-profits … The list goes on.

A round of public voting via Facebook determined the top 11 finalists, and a panel of judges gathered behind their virtual magic curtain to select our three winners. And here they are … Drum roll!

Grand Prize ($4,000 to grow his/her business, plus a free trip to New York to attend TEDxTeen along with an adult parent/guardian):

iReTron

Second Place ($2,000 in “seed” money):

a1000x

StudioVictus Multimedia

In the next couple of months, we’ll profile the winners in-depth to learn more about their business, their goals and how VR is helping them succeed. Stay tuned.

All 11 finalists also will receive two best-selling books, “Your Starting Point to Student Success” by America’s top young speaker, Arel Moodie, and “Entrepreneurship” by Steve Mariotti, founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Both authors were part of our expert panel of judges.

Of course, iReTron, a1000x and StudioVictus are only three out of many amazing teen entrepreneurs who entered the video contest. Check out the rest of the finalists and prepare to be impressed!

The videos we received prove that today’s teens are creative, passionate and certainly not waiting to “grow up” before they start their own small business. Congratulations to all our participants – we predict only amazing things on the horizon.

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