BRODHEAD — Brodhead High School teen Clayton Elliott will showcase his business CE Property Services in front of a panel of judges to compete for a $5,000 scholarship. It’s part of a Shark Tank-style competition hosted by Junior Achievement of Wisconsin.
The JA Young Entrepreneur Statewide Competition finalist video premiere week is March 10-14. Stay tuned to the JA Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube channel for updates. The Viewer’s Choice Award voting opens March 14 and ends at midnight March 16.
Elliott started his landscaping company in 2017 by mowing the lawn of a disabled neighbor. It quickly added several neighbors more neighbors. Since then, he’s purchased his own equipment and expanded his services to include additional landscaping offerings and lawn care. He now has about 2 dozen residential clients and half a dozen commercial properties. Elliott hopes to continue expanding his business and sees the sky as the limit.
Elliott will present his business and state his case for earning the scholarship to the judges (listed below). The judges will critique the businesses, ask questions, and offer valuable feedback.
Among the many entries from across the state, Elliott was selected as a finalist for the scholarship based on the following criteria: Charisma/Hustle, Business Success, Growth Potential and Social Involvement. Other considerations included the entrepreneur’s age when the business was started, special challenges faced, strategic direction, innovation, personal integrity, and leadership.
Judges include:
● Al Araque, Senior VP — Johnson Financial Group
● Mario Costantini, President — La Lune Collection
● Craig Culver, Co-founder — Culver’s
● Wes Saber, CFO — Haribo
● Denise Thomas, Founder/Owner — The Effective Communication Coach
Finalists competing in the Young Entrepreneur Live Competition:
● Aiden Davis — Whitefish Bay
● Aiden Liu — Brookfield
● Clayton Elliott — Brodhead
● Mason Gay — Withee
About Junior Achievement (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, typically in area schools, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. In the past four years, the 12 area offices of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin have used a dedicated core of more than 13,400 volunteer mentors to impact 440,000 Wisconsin students. For more information about Junior Achievement of Wisconsin: https://wisconsin.ja.org/.
