By Caroline Cluiss
Although they never got a “small loan of a million dollars” like presidential candidate Donald Trump, juniors Emily Chen and Nisreen Alqaisi still want to become entrepreneurs. In order to fulfill this dream, Chen and Alqaisi co-founded a club called SecondGen, which aims to guide students through the process of starting a business.
Over the summer at a software competition, Chen met Bobby Thakkar, a junior at Allen HS who started an experimental club for students at his school who want to become entrepreneurs. Thakkar talked to Chen about starting the club, SecondGen, at Richardson. Chen believes that it is important to show students that they can become entrepreneurs and hopes the SecondGen club will be able to do just that.
“I thought SecondGen would be a great opportunity for me to bring inspiration to students to pursue their passion,” Chen said. “I wanted them to know that they can start a business that they would want to devote their time to.”
Chen said that entrepreneurship is a skill that many schools are beginning to show interest in. Chen and Second Gen co-founder junior Nisreen Alqaisi said they saw a need for entrepreneurial encouragement and thought the club could do the job.
“Entrepreneurship is all about using your imagination to make something that you feel would help improve our everyday lives, and this club is to help people learn the skills to make that happen,” Alqaisi said.
Chen and Alqaisi are teaching students what is needed to run a business by bringing in guest speakers, such as the City of Richardson’s International Business Director Michael Skelton, to teach members about management and presenting business pitches. They are also hoping to find professionals specific to the club members’ business interests.
“I wanted to give students a chance to get into the business world, and so we are finding opportunities for our members to connect with professionals in their field for guidance,” Chen said.
Junior Emmanuel Amponsah is interested in two growing fields, computer science and biochemistry. He said he hopes to combine his two passions in his pursuit to eliminate disease, so he joined SecondGen for the business guidance and professional connections the club offers.
“I want to know how to get started and how to structure my organization,” Amponsah said. “By joining SecondGen I hope to gain insight in the field of biochemistry and to get in contact with a few labs to see what they do.”
Sophomore Syed Pervaid is also interested in an emerging field that, while still controversial, is gaining more acceptance. He has noticed the business potential in marijuana and plans to become a marijuana magnate. Pervaid believes his first step is learning about business through SecondGen.
“Marijuana is getting big,” Pervaid says. “It’s gonna be as big as cigarettes.The huge demand on marijuana is crazy. The SecondGen meetings are kind of far apart, but maybe it will help me learn some marketing and business techniques.”