2024 JA Company of the Year Competition
June 9-13, 2024 | Washington, D.C.
Submission Deadline:
Friday, May 3, 2024
4:00 pm ET
Are you participating in JA Company Program? Join JA teen entrepreneurs and student startups to compete on the national stage!
In June 2023, the Nation's Capital hosted a remarkable event as 15 exceptional student companies from Junior Achievement gathered to compete in the 2023 Junior Achievement National Student Leadership Summit (NSLS).
The NSLS celebrates the business skills, ingenuity, and innovation of JA Company Program® students aged 15-18 in the United States, showcasing their remarkable accomplishments throughout the 2022-2023 academic year. With over 10,000 U.S. students participating and creating more than 500 start-up ventures, the JA Company Program empowers young entrepreneurs to establish and operate real business enterprises, guided by dedicated volunteers from the local business community. These ambitious students devise and market products or services that address unmet consumer needs, while also seeking investors for their ventures.
Highlights
Students will gain many valuable experiences:
Engage with innovation, business, and entrepreneurship experts
Professional development seminars
Entrepreneurship Expo on Capitol Hill
JA Company of the Year team presentation and interview with judges’ panel
National recognition of finalists and winners
Exposure to a national network of teen entrepreneurs
Awards and Prizes
JA student startups compete for national honors, prizes, and college scholarships.
Awards include:
JA Company of the Year – First, Second, and Third Place
Delta Social Impact Award
FedEx Global Possibilities Award
ICE Best Financial Performance Award
Jim Sweeny Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Competition Timeline
April 22-May 3 Submissions Accepted
May 10 Finalists Announced
May 17 Finalists Complete Event Registration
June 9-13 JA National Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.
How It Works
The Summit is Junior Achievement’s opportunity to celebrate the achievements of students from across the United States. This pinnacle event brings the top 15 JA Company Program teams and the top 10 JA Social Innovation Challenge teams to Washington, D.C. for three days of high impact JA experiences. Students will demonstrate their business acumen, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking in a competitive environment—showcasing their companies to Members of Congress and business leaders. In addition to the competition, students will have the opportunity to participate in workshops led by national experts in innovation, entrepreneurship, and business.
JA student companies appear before a panel of independent judges who measure the company’s performance against competition criteria and each other. But winning takes more than creating an exciting product/service or running a financially sound business. The winning teams must balance company performance with each member’s personal development. The 4Cs: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication, are key to success.
Eligibility and Submission Process
All submissions must be received no later than Friday, May 3, 2024
JA Companies must have participated in JA Company Program® during the 2023-2024 school year.
Only JA Area staff may register student companies for consideration. JA Companies wishing to be considered must provide their local JA Area with their JA Company Program company report and commercial/video.
If selected as a finalist, a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 students are allowed to represent their student company at the JA National Student Leadership Summit.
For complete competition requirements and criteria, view the 2024 Competition Guidelines and Criteria: Company of the Year.
JA Company Program students are also elibigle to compete in the JA Social Innovation Challenge at the National Student Leadership Summit. Students may submit to both competitions but will be selected for only one.
