Arlington, VA - On Thursday, May 7, 2015 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., student entrepreneurs will take the stage in the Reinsch Library Auditorium at Marymount University to present their business plans before a panel of local business leaders and a public audience. 

Local students, ages 12-18, representing seven businesses and social movements from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Arlington Chamber will have six minutes to pitch their business plans to prominent local members of the business community, during the program's annual YEA! Investor Panel Event (think "Shark Tank" meets "The Apprentice"). Based on the appeal and merit of the students' plans and presentations, representatives from companies like Fluor, JP Morgan Chase, and Graham Holdings will determine the amount of funds to allocate to each business or social movement.

The participating investors will also select the one business group that will advance to the Regional Semi-Finals of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy Saunders Scholars National College Scholarship competition, where they will compete for hundreds of thousands of dollars in college scholarships, a fast-track application pass to apply to be on ABC's "Shark Tank", and the opportunity to attend America's Small Business Summit in Washington, DC courtesy of the United States Chamber of Commerce.

"This is an incredibly talented and driven group of young people," said Kate Roche, President & CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. "We have been extremely impressed with their talents and abilities, and all that they've accomplished since the program launched in January.   We welcome the opportunity for them to be able to showcase their business ideas with the Arlington community."

The Investor Panel will be comprised of prominent local business people, including representatives from the following companies:

• Ballston BID
• Bean, Kinney & Korman
• Fluor
• Graham Holdings Company
• JP Morgan Chase
• Segue Technologies
• Technology Management, Inc