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2015 | Doing Business in Connecticut 77 ' Let's elevate these kids to who they are. ' — Helen Charov, executive director, Connecticut Invention Convention preneurship in the state. Its mission is to em- power "young people to own their economic success." Using volunteers from business and the community, JA provides real-world experience, both in the classroom alongside teachers, and outside the classroom through special programs. e national organiza- tion has inspired thousands of entrepreneurs-in-the- making, and includes Shark Tank host Mark Cuban as a graduate. While CIC leans towards STEM, JA takes a more business-oriented approach to educating stu- dents. is involves teaching young people entrepreneur- ism, career readiness, and financial literacy. e most important skill, though, may be a mindset. "It's not just about becoming an entre- preneur," said Lou Golden, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, "but thinking entrepreneur- ially." According to Golden, this type of thinking focuses on the whole child and instills a mentality that can be beneficial in a wide range of careers. "No matter what you do, entrepreneurial thinking is oen crucial to becoming successful." Mallory Kievman of Hiccupops is now a junior in high school, and a full-fledged life science entrepreneur. While delivering a keynote speech at last year's Connecticut Invention Convention, the 16-year-old em- phasized the need to give back to the com- munity that supports budding entrepreneurs. For her, that means earmarking a percentage of profits to support youth entrepreneurship and programs like CIC. As CIC's Charov is quick to point out, it's time to start recognizing the serious societal value of youthful ingenuity. CIC, she said, isn't about creating cute science experi- ments but having kids potentially disrupt and launch commercially viable products. Coinciding with a slogan that the state uses to tout itself as Still Revolutionary, programs like CIC and JA ensure that new talent is truly cultivated and properly recognized. "Let's elevate these kids to who they are," said Charov. ❑ Helen Charov, executive director of CT Invention Convention Lou Golden, president and CEO of Junior Achievement of South- west New England 720,404 people were employed by small business in 2012. This is about half of the state's private workforce. 21,051 In Connec cut, small businesses created net new jobs in 2012. The biggest gain was in the smallest firm size category of employees. 1-4 fewer than 100 97% Almost all firms with employees are small. They make up of all employers in the state. Source: SUSB Source: BLS 5.9% Self-employment increased by in 2013 rela ve to the previ- ous year. Meanwhile, the state's private-sector employment in- creased by over the 12-month period ending in October 2014; this was below the na onal average growth of 1.7% 2.3% Firms with employees have the largest share of small business employment. Source: ACS 7.2% 7.2% 12.4% 11.4% 6.5% 7.3% 13.6% 10.9% What percentage of each demographic group are self-employed in Connecticut? Female Male Minority Veteran