Paducah Tilghman High School junior Ian Swenson has been accepted to Kentucky Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE). GSE identifies and enables Kentucky high school students to become our Commonwealth's next generation of entrepreneurs.
Through the three-week residential experience, GSE participants are introduced to Kentucky's most successful entrepreneurs and fastest growing businesses. The students are equipped with tools and skills to create and build their own businesses, and matched with complementary skilled peers to develop business plans and product or service prototypes.
During the program, teams of high school students develop a business model, design a prototype and pitch their startup to a large audience and a panel of judges. GSE teaches the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls of taking a business concept from the idea phase to pitching it to potential investors. The program culminates in a pitch competition attended by a large audience representing Kentucky's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Nearly 950 young Kentucky entrepreneurs have been empowered by GSE since its inception in 2013 and over 70 Kentucky-based businesses have been launched by GSE alums. The program is free of charge and open to high school students in grades nine through eleven. This year's sessions will be hosted by the University of Kentucky Gatton College.