The event started in Austin in 2007 as a way to promote entrepreneurship among children and has expanded to more than 100 cities worldwide. The kids, ages 6 to 14, develop a business strategy, market their products, hone their sales pitches and set their prices.
It’s learning by doing, said David Kirby, who co-founded the fair with his wife, Nicole Spencer. The couple plans to open a private preschool and elementary school in the District focused on entrepreneurship.
In addition to trying to make a profit, they competed for $50 prizes for best business potential, best sales pitch and best original marketing.
Some had business cards and a website. A few had their own YouTube channels and Facebook pages. Products included handmade cake pops, organic dog biscuits, slime, jewelry, bath products and bookmarks.
Semaiah Luma, 10, sold something she said she’d never seen in a store: Colorful African outfits, complete with head wraps, for Barbie dolls.“You usually just see pink clothes or plain casual clothes,” said Semaiah, a fourth-grader from Baltimore. “You don’t really see African clothes.”
Katherine Shaver is a transportation and development reporter focusing on urban/suburban planning issues and construction of Maryland’s light-rail Purple Line. Since joining The Washington Post in 1997, she also has covered crime, courts, education and local government.
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