Show Steve Mariotti a group of young people bright enough to rob a man and get away with it, and he'll show you a group of potential businesspeople needing direction. On the uncertain streets of the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, inside a run-down classroom is probably the last place most people would look for America's entrepreneurial future. Steve is trying to change all that.
It was a dark night when he first saw the light. Jogging down a busy New York street, full of the city's normal hustle and bustle, Steve was stopped by a gang of youths who wanted his money.
After they roughed him up, he handed over his wallet and watched them run away. Still somewhat dazed, he was hit with an equally powerful thought. What if the energy these kids had for illegal and destructive activities could be channeled productively?
A successful business man, Steve recognized that the creativity and drive they possessed, however misguided, were the same qualities needed in the business world. They were aggressive, focused -- and they were working together to achieve a common goal. Unfortunately, tonight their goal was his wallet. But Steve knew that with the proper training, these kids could reach higher goals in the world. He decided to leave his successful import/export business behind and decided to follow his dream.
Steve had always wanted to be a teacher. One of his first classes was held at the Central Ward Boys & Girls Club in Newark, New Jersey. And one of his first students was 15 year-old Felix Rouse. Felix was instantly impressed by his teacher, a short white man carefully explaining business concepts like supply and demand, buying wholesale, and profit. To this bunch of kids, the business world was like another planet. As Steve talked, he laid the groundwork for his "mini-MBA." The students soon began to tune in to his energetic, enthusiastic ideas.
Under his guidance, Steve's students quickly learned the basics of running a business. They opened checking accounts, got business cards, and discussed the delicate art of customer relations. They visited Wall Street, met with wholesalers, and were challenged to come up with plans to start their own businesses.
Steve used somewhat unusual techniques for getting his students to think beyond today to what they could become. One day when they came to class, he greeted them by saying, "If you want something badly enough, you'll reach high enough to get it!" They followed his gaze upward and saw that a five dollar bill was dangling from the ceiling. As his classmates and teacher looked on, Felix made several failed attempts at grabbing the bill. Finally, he stood on a chair as his friends chanted, "Fe-lix, Fe-lix, Fe-lix!" He leapt through the air, snatched the five dollars and landed safely on the classroom floor. Money in hand, Felix sat back in his chair and Steve said again, smiling: "If you want something badly enough, you'll reach high enough to get it!"
A few months later, Felix started reaching for his dream, too. He and a friend had a passion for comic books and wanted to open their own comic book store. First, they developed a detailed business plan, outlining their costs, prices and strategy. Then Steve gave them $100 to open their own store. For two years, their business operated out of office space provided by the Boys & Girls Club. The boys did all the buying and selling, bookkeeping and inventory. "Though we didn't make a ton of money, I never had to borrow any," Felix says. "I learned very quickly to take care of myself, and developed the skills to be successful."
In 1986, Steve created the NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship) to make his successful program available to other inner city youth. NFTE now has 45,000 graduates, 400 active and 2,000 trained teachers and 14,000 sponsors who are replacing the dead-ends of drugs, crime and teenage pregnancy with a vigorous pursuit of success in the business world for 12,000 students each year in the U.S. - as well as in India, Belgium, UK and Argentina. Partnerships with Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Koch Industries as well as major universities: Harvard, Stanford and Yale , Columbia's Teachers College and Babson College are making inroads beyond Steve's wildest dreams.
Through NFTE, inner-city kids are taught the ABC's of business while learning lessons for life along the way. And while the business knowledge they gain through the classes is invaluable, so is the personal attention from someone who cares. "Steve was always in the mix," Felix says. "He knew about my struggles, and was always there to listen. He cares about all of us on a very personal level."
Like many other NFTE students, Felix has experienced some "bumps along the road." During his senior year in high school, his adoptive father passed away. A year later, his older brother was shot and confined to a wheelchair. Despite these personal tragedies, Felix had the courage and strength to stay the course and follow his dream of attending college. In 1996, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in political science. Today, he is the first NFTE student to be trained as an entrepreneurship teacher, teaching at the Boys & Girls Club where he first encountered Steve. He's on his way to getting an MBA at Cornell University.
Felix now shares Steve's message to a new generation of students. In him they see a twenty-four year old who overcame obstacles similar to ones they face, and triumphed. In them, Felix sees the dawning of a very bright future. They all thank Steve for helping them discover their potential and giving them a chance to avoid the kinds of lifestyles that are better left behind.
For the thousands of kids like Felix who have experienced the NFTE program, the outlook is anything but "underprivileged." The knowledge, skills, experience and hope they have gained has made their chances of success skyrocket. As one graduate put it, "My dream is not to die in poverty, but to have poverty die in me." Day by day, student by student, NFTE is helping to make that wonderful dream a reality.
A coach is someone who tells you what you don't want to hear;
and has you see what you don't want to see,
so you can be who you have always know you could be.
Tom Landry
Want to help a child learn how to start a small business, get NFTE's entrepreneurial
curriculum into the hands of at-risk youth or sponsor a teach to be NFTE
trained? Visit: www.nfte.com
Storyteller Matthew Malone
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