The Youth Entrepreneur Academy (YEA!) is a SoCal Community Development Corporation (SoCal CDC) training program and startup grant fund aimed at inspiring entrepreneurship in underserved communities. IYEA is part of our overarching Entrepreneurship development strategy designed to empower young entrepreneurs from marginalized communities to create and grow job-creating businesses, as well as to pursue post high school education and career training. YEA participants complete three modules over six weeks: 1) Business Basics; Leadership, and Business Idea Development. Each class culminates in a public pitch competition event where finalists present their business ideas to a panel of business leaders for a chance to win startup funding up to $3,000! YEA! includes the SoCal CDC Scholarship Fund, dedicated to supporting higher education, through tuition-assistance grants annually. The Innovative Startup Fund is a central tenet of YEA! focusing on igniting innovative start-up businesses created by High School student-participants of the program. The fund provides start-up grants of up to $3,000 to participants who excel in our Pitch Competition events. In addition, academic grants (scholarships) are also provided to support higher education and career training advancement for students who choose to pursue their career goals and aspirations. The vision of YEA! is to prepare young entrepreneurs and students with the financial knowledge and business know-how required to achieve their financial goals and ultimately create successful citizens who positively contribute to the communities in which we all work, live and play.