The Basic Summer Business Camp is the entry point into the year round Youth About Business Leadership Development Program. High school students 9th-12th grade gain a contextual understanding of business by participating in actual merger and acquisition transaction simulations. Our program exposes students to business in a fun, competitive environment and adds relevance to their education by helping them understand why academic preparation is important.

In our first year "Basic Camp," students attend a one-week overnight camp on a university campus. Youth spend the week engaged in Mergers and Acquisitions transaction simulations, working in teams of seven. During the week, the student teams assume the leadership of their assigned corporation by acting as the executive management committee and begin their due diligence by researching their company's Annual Report.

Each team is taught by local executives who serve as their business consultants. They help the youth understand complex business transactions and provide guidance on the proper techniques to use in negotiating a merger or acquisition. Volunteer executives include: accountants, attorneys, investment bankers, marketing specialists, and IT and HR specialists. Senior-level executives serve as judges and speakers. The competition concludes with the students negotiating and presenting the best deal to a panel of senior-level executives. The top three teams from each region advance to "Championship Camp" to compete for the National Championship title.

We seek ambitious students with a desire to excel in all aspects of their lives, and promote racial and gender diversity by recruiting students from all socioeconomic backgrounds: 70% of our participants are low- to moderate-income; 65% are from single parent homes; and 80% are from racially diverse backgrounds.

The National Championship Camp is by invitation only at Columbia University for the top three Basic Camp teams from each region to compete in a more complex Merger & Acquisition case for the national title. The winners of the competition are announced at our annual banquet held on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in November. The winning team receives shares of stock in a major corporation.