Online & In Person Academy

June 29th – July 1st

• Site City: Youth About Business Headquarters, Nashville, TN
• Residence:  Commuting and residential options available

We are asking students traveling from out of state to arrive in Nashville on July 29th and depart the morning of July 2nd.

Get an inside look at competitive careers in high-demand industries. 

Over three days, students tour major companies, take seminars with senior executives (partners, SVPs, and managing directors), and experience what it’s like to navigate the world of business—all in a fun, hands-on setting.

Nashville’s $67 billion healthcare industry supports 500,000 jobs and is home to over 900 companies, making it a national leader in healthcare innovation and business.

June 22nd – 26th – Southeast Summer Business Camp  (In Person, Nashville, TN)

• Site Host: Owen Graduate School of Business
• Residence: Vanderbilt University

We are asking students travelling from out of state to arrive in Nashville on June 22nd and depart the evening of of June 26th.  For those staying for the Healthcare Conference, there are weekend housing options available. 

July 6th – 10th – Northeast Summer Business Camp (In Person, New York, NY)

• Site Host: Columbia Graduate School of Business
• Residence: Towers at City College

We are asking students traveling from out of state to arrive in New York on July 6th and depart the evening of of July 10th.  

This camp puts teens in the C-suite.

Work alongside corporate executives in a high-stakes business simulation to buy or sell a company.

Explore careers, build essential skills—like negotiation, presentation, teamwork, and critical thinking—and experience dorm life during this week-long residential camp.

Students team up with real business executives to compete in a hands-on challenge—buying or selling a company.

Along the way, students meet leaders from 15 different fields, including marketing, human resources, technology, finance, accounting, and more.

This session of the summer business camp is built around teaching students the principles of business mergers and acquisitions. Throughout this week-long camp, YAB students will work in teams and learn from accountants, analysts, attorneys, investment bankers, human resource executives, marketing executives, and IT professionals about the process of consolidating companies or assets.

This immersive learning experience will uniquely prepare students with a skillset to understand the world of high corporate finance and business leadership. At the end of the camp, each student team will make a presentation on their simulated merger and acquisition proposal, and compete with other teams to see who negotiated the best deal.

Their presentations will be evaluated by a panel of national business leaders. From this competition, nine teams will be invited to the Youth About Business Championship Camp in New York City.

By the end of the week, students leave with new connections, real-world experience, and a better understanding of what it takes to succeed in high-paying, fast-growing careers in business.

All participants will be invited to our Wall Street Conference and join us in the fall for our monthly year round programming beginning in September of that year.

Sample Schedule

Monday – Research

• Learn Research Tips from an Analyst
• Explore your Bloomberg Terminal

Tuesday – Deal Making

• Learn why Business Deals Occur
• Talk Deal strategy with your Lawyers

Wednesday – Valuation

• Crunch numbers with an Accountant
• Build a Marketing Strategy
• Discuss price with Investment Bankers

Thursday – Negotiation

• Build a Human Resources Strategy
• Discuss Data & Tech with a consultant
• Negotiate your business deal!

Friday – Presentations

• Present your business deal
  to Senior Executives.

July 22nd – 24th (New York, NY)

• • Site City: New York City, NY
  • Residence: Hyatt on the Hudson, Jersey City

We are asking students travelling from out of state to arrive in New York on July 22rd and depart the morning of July 25th.

As the global hub of finance, NYC is where billion-dollar deals happen daily—offering access to Wall Street, top firms, and careers. During this week long Conference, students will have the opportunity to :

• Tour Corporate HQ’s
• Explore an in-demand city
• Enjoy time with friends
• Hear from engaging speakers

Sample Agenda

Day One

• Intro Plenary Sessions
• Networking Opportunities
• Speaker Sessions
• Games / Competitions

Day Two

• Corporate HQ Visits
• Student Outings
• Enjoy the City

Day Three

• Keynote Speaker
• Conference Wrap-Up
• Group Adventure & Outing

Day Four

• Travel and Departure

July 27th – Aug 1st
Championship Camp (In Person & Hybrid)
After the Summer Business Camp merger & acquisition simulation and competition, nine of the top-performing teams will qualify for the Youth About Business Championship Camp. During this camp, students will work on a more complex M&A simulation. This will allow them to deepen their knowledge of the principles they learned in the Summer Camp and work more closely with some of the most prominent business professionals in the world to refine their presentations.

Why the Merger & Acquisition simulation?
Youth About Business builds its programming around the merger and acquisition simulation because it offers an engaging, challenging, and fun opportunity for our students to develop skills in critical thinking, analysis, team work, conflict resolution, and negotiation. We understand that these are all skills that are important for our students whether or not they go on to work as business professionals. This type of business immersion and exposure uniquely develops the personal and professional skills needed as these young people pursue a broad range of career aspirations. We want to help with career preparedness “one merger and acquisition” at a time.

September- May
Monthly Leadership Development In Person, Webinars and Virtual Sessions with Corporate Partners and Volunteers
Every 3rd Thursday, 7PM ET/6PM CT

YAB students will take part in the Leadership Development and Career Preparation session where they will be exposed to various careers and use case studies to further their understanding of the business world. The curriculum will allow them to tackle subjects ranging from “How Corporations are Structured” to “The Language of Business-Personal Finance.”