Babson College will host more than 25 high school students on Friday April 17 when they present a mock pitch of their business plans to a panel of venture capital judges. Armed with advice from VCs, teams will go on to compete for $10,000 on May 16.

The students are members of TYE (TiE Young Entrepreneurs), an initiative for high school students that is part of TiE-Boston, an organization that fosters, and supports entrepreneurship in the New England region. The students have been meeting bi-weekly on Saturdays through the academic year to develop entrepreneurial skills.

TYE’s mission is to inspire and empower young people to be entrepreneurs by engaging them in a program that includes instruction, mentoring and pitch sessions. The program is designed to inspire innovation, team building, business acumen, and to develop self-confidence, communication, and leadership skills.

TiE-Boston is part of the global TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) group that is the largest not-for profit organization promoting entrepreneurship. It was formed in 1997 and is the second-largest TiE chapter in the US (after Silicon Valley on the west coast).  Through programs on education, mentoring and networking, TiE is the world's largest network of Innovators from various fields, including Business, Academia, Government, Administration, and Non-Profits. Find out more about TiE-Boston at: www.boston.tie.org

TiE Global has over 20,000 members in 53 chapters in over 15 countries worldwide. Founded in 1992, in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region, TiE today has over 10,000 members across 44 chapters in 9 countries. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, TiE's focus is on generating and nurturing our next generation of entrepreneurs. It has kept the vision and decisions of TiE's leadership true to its basic beliefs that wealth creation and giving back to society are invaluable human endeavors.