Phil Castle, The Business Times

Braeden Kassaw was hiking with his family on the Colorado National Monument when his mother injured her ankle.

They were unprepared at the time to deal with the emergency. But if Kassaw has his way, others won’t be.

The sixth-grader at Redlands Middle School has developed survival kits to help people more safely enjoy the outdoors in all seasons.

“I thought other people don’t have to go through that experience, and maybe I could help them,” said Kassaw, who’s launched a business selling what he’s branded as Bravo Kilo survival kits.

Kassaw is among a total of nine middle and high school students enrolled in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy program in Grand Junction. 

They plan to showcase and sell their products and services at a trade show scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. May 15 in the clock court of Mesa Mall, located at 2424 U.S. Highway 6  & 50 in Grand Junction.

Coordinated locally by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, the Young Entrepreneurs Academy turns middle and high school students into the chief executive officers of startup ventures. 

Over the course of the program, students come up with new products and services, write business plans and develop their brands. By the end of the program, they oversee fully functioning enterprises they can continue to operate.

They also pitch their ideas to a panel that determines how much to invest in their ventures as well as who will advance to a national competition.

Meilyn Recker, chief executive officer of Rezcue, received $1,860 in funding for her startup. She also qualified to participate in the semifinals of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy competition scheduled for June 12 as a virtual event.

Recker, a sophomore at Fruita Monument High School, launched an organization to rescue puppies on reservations and provides shelter, food and veterinary care until they’re sent to permanent homes.

Kassaw received $750 to help develop Bravo Kilo survival kits. 

In addition to Recker and Kassaw, seven other students received funding for their startups:

Miguel Ambriz Jr., an eighth grader at West Middle School, $1,334 for Armadillo Parts.

Charlotte Douglas, a sixth grader at Orchard Mesa Middle School, $575 for Pet’s Program.

Levi Fink, a sixth grader at Mesa Valley Community School, $662 for Youth Yardz.

Caydence Lusher, a freshman at Central High School, $850 for Better Days.

Nikolas Miller, a sixth grader  at Caprock Academy, $1,400 for QwikString.

Jace Mizushima, a sixth grader at Holy Family Catholic School, $2,000 for Bee Generous.

Julia Shively, a seventh grader  at Caprock Academy, $320 for Jul’s Jewels.

Kassaw said his survival kits include first aid gear, emergency blankets, energy bars, multi-tools, fire starters, headlamps and paracord. A kit designed for winter also includes gloves, a hat and hand warmers. A kit designed for summer excludes those items, but includes sunscreen and insect repellent.

He plans to sell the kits through his website at bksurvivalkit.com.

Kassaw said he might operate his company for a couple of years, but he’s looking ahead to college. He hopes to become a paramedic or doctor.

For now, he said he’s enjoyed the Young Entrepreneurs Academy and its weekly classes. “It’s fun. In the program, you get to learn so many things.”

The Grand Junction Chamber is accepting applications for the next class of Young Entrepreneur Academy participants for an academic year that runs from October through April. More information is available on the chamber website located at https://gjchamber.org.

Kassaw said he’d recommend the program to anyone interested in starting and running businesses.