After multiple years of supporting and mentoring young people (including his own children) in the areas of entrepreneurship and financial literacy, our founder, Matthew Wagstaff, noticed that there were a lot of programs that taught young people the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurship and business development however there weren’t any programs that provided a platform for young people to actually sell what they produced or apply what they learned.

The concept of a shopping experience with all the vendors being 18 years old or younger was a concept that Matt had for several years, but did not bring to life.  It wasn’t until the summer of 2019, after his son participated in a similar youth event in Buffalo, NY, where Matt was inspired and finally decided to realize his vision.  Shortly thereafter the marketplace was created in Rochester, NY with the first in-person event being held at First Genesis Baptist church in September 2019.

The marketplace helps to fill the void by offering real life opportunities for young people (ages 7-18) to market and sell their products and services.  In this process, the young entrepreneurs not only earn a few dollars but also gain valuable life skills and experience that will benefit them as contributing adults in society.  Some of these skills include negotiation, customer service, written and verbal communication, sales, networking, budgeting, marketing, mental toughness, and confident body language.  These are important skills that will support their future success regardless if they decide to ultimately pursue entrepreneurship as adults.