This past fall, Harker students Neeraj Baid and Neel Bhoopalam, both grade 11, successfully founded and launched TEDx, an innovative program focusing on fostering youth entrepreneurship.

The students independently designed TEDx, created in “the spirit of ideas worth spreading,” and introduced it via a conference they organized themselves at Harker’s Nichols Hall. The community-wide event attracted nearly 200 high school students interested in entrepreneurship, from both the South Bay and greater San Francisco Bay Area. They came to listen to and interact with successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Most recently, over the winter break, the forward-thinking team of Baid and Bhoopalam got invited by Chuck Reed, San Jose’s mayor, and council member Rose Herrera (who also heads the city’s economic development committee) to speak about TEDx at a city council meeting.

During the meeting, Herrera praised the boys’ work founding the program and promoting teenage entrepreneurship in San Jose and beyond. Speaking on behalf of Bhoopalam, Baid updated council members about their cause and vision of uniting important business leaders with local youth to ignite passion and leadership early on.

The Harker students reported that they were honored for the opportunity to speak at the city council and encouraged by the enthusiasm generated by their first event, which headlined keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki and featured five top entrepreneurs, each offering unique perspectives and advice to the young audience.

Harker News Online looks forward to continued updates and announcements about TEDx happenings in the future.