Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" Announces Finalists
Annual Competition Produced by Genius Brands International Encourages Kids to Become Entrepreneurs
BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/07/15 -- Genius Brands International (OTCQB: GNUS) and the Fairholme Foundation are proud to announce the finalists of the Warren Buffett Secret Millionaires Club 4th annual "Grow Your Own Business Challenge." This year a record number of entries were received. Over 4,000 kids ages 7-14 from all over the country submitted their inspiring business ideas for a chance to win $5,000 and an opportunity to share their ideas with Warren Buffett in Omaha, NE on May 18.
Following are the Secret Millionaires Club "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" Finalists:
Individual Finalists
Miroslav, 12 from Short Hills, NJ
Ethan, 12 from Delray Beach, FL
Alisa, 14 from Short Hills, NJ
Nicholas, 12 from Fishers, IN
Jack, 13 from Glen Gardner, NJ
Team Finalists
Team: The Keep Track Sticky Back from Omaha, NE
Bryn, 11
Emily, 12
Team: Team-Up Techies from Atlanta, GA
Anthony, 12
Jalyn Lee, 10
Jacob, 12
Saleem, 11
Team: EE Farm from Kansas City, MO
Lilian, 9
Simeon, 12
Beginning May 4 and running through May 11 you can help choose the Secret Millionaires Club "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" winners by voting for your favorite idea at: www.smckids.com/vote.
The finalists will fly to Omaha, NE to present their inspiring ideas to Warren Buffett and a panel of VIP judges, including:
Otha Thornton, President of the National PTA
Jennifer Sirangelo, President of 4-H
Ed Grocholski, SVP of Junior Achievement
Roberta Wilhelm, Executive Director at Girls Inc.
Jake Johnson, SMC's individual winner from last year
The group and individual winners will each win $5,000. The runners up will each receive $500. The finalists were also asked to nominate a teacher or mentor who was most inspirational in the process to join them in Omaha and win up to $1,000.
The "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" is a national online competition that ran from October 20, 2014 to January 31, 2015. GYOB is a part of the Secret Millionaires Club Learn and Earn financial literacy promotion, which is sponsored by the Fairholme Foundation and reaches over 100,000 classrooms with tools and lessons for teaching good financial habits to youth.
The Secret Millionaires Club animated series, created in partnership with and starring an animated Warren Buffett, features a group of kids who have adventures in business. Secret Millionaires Club empowers kids by helping them understand the world they live in, teaching them about the impact their decisions have on their own lives...and teaching them to have the confidence to be the best they can be. The series makes it fun for kids to learn to think like entrepreneurs and features a robust list of guest talent including, Bill Gates, Jay-Z, Shaquille O'Neal, Nick Cannon, Gisele Bündchen and Kelly Rowland. The celebrities play themselves; provide their own voiceovers and lend the lessons of their own life experiences in the context of stories that are relatable and inspirational to kids. For more information, visit www.smckids.com
About Genius Brands International
Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, Genius Brands International "GBI" (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia content for toddlers to tweens. Led by award-winning creators and producers CEO Andy Heyward and President Amy Moynihan Heyward, GBI creates "content with a purpose," meaning content that is as entertaining as it is enriching. GBI's growing library of content includes the award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab, Llama Llama, from the NY Times bestselling children's book franchise, and Stan Lee's Mighty 7, the first project from Stan Lee Comics, a joint venture with legend Stan Lee's POW! Entertainment.
A Squared Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genius Brands International, is a brand management and licensing company that represents third-party properties across a broad range of categories in territories around the world. The company currently represents Psycho Bunny, a luxury apparel line; From Frank, a humor greeting card and product line; and Celessence Technologies, the world's leading microencapsulation company.
For additional information please visit www.gnusbrands.com.
About Fairholme Foundation:
The Fairholme Foundation invests in under-valued paths to improving education. Our key: Ignore the crowd by circumventing long-standing roadblocks to progress. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization solely funded by Fairholme Capital Management and its affiliates.
About By Kids For Kids:
By Kids for Kids® (BKFK®) is a platform that empowers youth invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. BKFK promotes youth social innovation and partners with leading corporations to inspire product development, crucial technology skills, invention, and innovation in young people from 8 to 22. BKFK provides a unique platform for young people to develop, showcase, and commercialize their products, inventions and entrepreneurship. BKFK's "cycle of innovation" develops critical 21st Century skills in our nation's youth. The company provides educational resources -- curriculum and challenges that promote social change, product development and entrepreneurial endeavors. Learn more: www.bkfk.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward- looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Three.Sixty Marketing + Communications (for GBI)
Michelle Orsi/Carol Holdsworth
310-418-6430
Email Contact
805-252-1848
Email Contact
Judy Klym
By Kids For Kids
Email Contact
203-921-9039
Source: Genius Brands International, Inc.
Released May 7, 2015