University View Academy student Andrew Magherini was awarded $1,250 for his startup, AngelTec, through the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge (YEA BR).
Magherini, a sophomore at UVA, was awarded the funding to launch his startup after making a pitch at YEA BR’s annual Community Pitch event on March 26 at the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business.
“I applied to join YEA BR to gain experience running a business and to face the challenges that might arise,” Magherini said. “The whole experience has been a long journey of new experiences and challenges, like finding out what business is good for the current market, calculating the numbers to run a successful operation, and the challenges of pivoting to new ideas when current ones don’t work.”
The YEA BR program runs through the academic year and concludes with startup pitches from each student in the program. Magherini partnered up with Catholic High student, Rylan Carruth, to come up with the idea for AngelTec.
“The main skills I’ve learned through YEA BR are public speaking, learning to work with others, and being open to new ideas,” Magherini noted. “Another area I improved was being able to take constructive criticism. Understanding that people are suggesting tweaks and ideas only makes me better.
“YEA BR was an amazing experience and opportunity for young people to understand what the real world is like early on, so they can handle it and be successful in life.”
Magherini is a competitive skeet shooter and has qualified for regionals. He also enjoys riding motorcycles, going off-roading, and golfing.
You can listen to his pitch for AngelTec below. Learn more about the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge.