Just like any high school senior wanting to go to college, Briana Prado applied for numerous scholarships hoping to trim down the cost of college expenses.
Briana, 17, who graduated from Eastlake High School this summer, eventually became one of 1,200 students to sign up for the California Foundation Fund’s FutureBoss Youth Entrepreneurship Scholarship competition.
She then was selected as one of 30 finalists to deliver a five minute business proposal in front of a panel of judges.
Her business proposal for BP Screen Repair blew the judges away and she was named the 2016 San Diego Youth Entrepreneur of the Year.
The honor garnered her a $1,000 scholarship with FutureBoss Youth Entrepreneurship Scholarship Competition and $2,000 from the EY Entrepreneur of the Year program.
She will use the scholarships towards tuition this fall at UC Santa Cruz where she plans to major in Environmental Studies.
Briana’s proposal for a window screen business includes providing timely, quality and low-cost window screens to homeowners and business owners. She said what would make her business different is that she would give back about 10 percent of her proceeds to the South Bay community.
“Great students like Briana prioritize community before self and strive to make a better world,” said Mario Vasquez, CEO of California Foundation Fund. “Her winning business plan demonstrated a model that was viable, sound and scalable. Best of all, Briana’s desire to succeed, help others and improve her community will lead her path towards becoming a caring leader.”
Briana said what made her business plan work was that it was simple. She can work from her garage and all she would need is a truck and tools, there will be no overhead costs, she said.
Although this is a proposal for a imaginary business, Briana said she envisions making it into a reality someday.
“It hasn’t become real yet, but it may be in the future,” she said.
She came up with the idea to develop a business proposal for a window screen repair company when she went for a walk around her Eastlake neighborhood.
On her walk she noticed that homes in the neighborhood are getting older and their screens needed to be replaced. A lot of the window screens in her neighborhood, she said, were scratched up by the pet cat.
“It’s a niche market,” she said. “It’s not something you hear about every day.”
She said not only will repaired window screens look good for the aesthetics of a home but they keep bugs out and protect from diseases against mosquitos, especially in the hot summer months.
Prado comes from a business- minded family.
Her dad once owned a food truck, and sold the business several years ago. He has since instilled Prado with basic business principles such as how to speak to people and how to stay on top of her calculations.
“What I like about entrepreneurship is its self-motivated, if you want something, you do it yourself,” she said. You don’t have to wait on someone else to do it for you.”
She applied those business practices when she attended Eastlake High School where she founded the Outdoors Club.
She compared that club to running a small business because she had to advertise that she was creating the group, had to get people to work with her, and also had to raise funds.
“Entrepreneurship is going out there, talking to people, getting them to work with you for the greater good,” she said.
Prado said the scholarship will go a long way.
“I don’t want my parents to pay my way to college,” she said. “I want to pay my own way.”
