Stafford County Economic Development and 21^st Central District Extension in coordination of Network Kansas E-Community Partnership, will be hosting Stafford County YEC  on Wednesday, February 11th, 2026, at the Stafford County Annex, as part of the 2025-2026 Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC) series. Students must get signed up by January 16th to be able to participate. The goal is to expose Kansas middle school and high school students to entrepreneurship.  This local competition is made possible by the generous support of Network Kansas and marketing funding by South Central Community Foundation.

There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.  Top place winner will get $750 and a trip to the state competition in Manhattan.

Contact Ryan at 620-549-3527 or ryan@staffordecodevo.com for more information on how to sign up.

Who’s Eligible to Compete
This competition is open to any Stafford County resident in Grades 7th-12th. Teams can consist of 1 to 4 students.

Key Dates

January 16, 2026 – Last Date to Sign Up
February 6, 2026 – Executive Summary Due
February 11, 2026 – Stafford County YEC Competition (mid-morning to early afternoon, the start time will be 11 a.m.)
March 24th, 2026 – Wild Card Entry Deadline
April 28th and 29th, 2026 – State Competition in Manhattan

Competition Components
Teams are required to submit a written executive summary and do an in-person formal presentation. Teams are encouraged to make a tradeshow display, this is optional and not part of scoring at the local competition.

The Executive Summary is a written business summary, in PDF format, including details of how the business intends to operate. An executive summary is similar to a business plan, but usually shorter, covering much of the same information in summarization.

The Formal Presentation is a four-to-six-minute presentation where each business will share details of its product or service with a panel of judges, usually in the form of visual slides.

The Tradeshow Display is optional at Stafford County YEC but a key component at the State Competition. At this local competition, businesses will have the opportunity to pitch their product or service through a tradeshow booth as a visual and informational aid. Tradeshow Displays will be set up and available for viewing by attendees on competition day.

Resources for Product Development and Marketing

Registered teams can request funds to help with product development and marketing. Each team may request up to $50. Teams must provide detailed information on how they plan to use the funds or explain expenses they would like to request reimbursement for (example: $18 for business cards, $30 for wood to make prototypes, etc). Registered teams wanting to request funds must fill out this form.

The deadline to apply for funding will be February 3rd, 2026, with funds being distributed on February 11th, 2026.

Prizes
The students will be competing against each other for a combined total of $1,500 in prize money at Stafford County YEC (with the potential to earn more at the State Competition). The teams will be judged by 2 local businesspersons and a Network Kansas representative.

First Place $750, Second Place $500, and Third Place $250

How to Register
To sign-up go to the Stafford County YEC Event Portal and click on the “Join this competition” Button. You will have to create a Venture Dash account (you will need this to access competition information and submit required documents). Then select “Entrepreneur” and finish completing the form.
The deadline to sign-up is January 16, 2026

Venture Dash is also used for the Wild Card Competition and the State Competition.

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