Congratulations to the 2023 Winners!
Best Business Plan
First Place: Bag-Brite; Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Rock
Second Place: Rinse and Shine Soap Company; Southwest Middle School, Searcy
Third Place: Bottle Bracelets; Berryville Middle School
Fourth Place: Lanyard Editor; Harrison Middle School
Best Retail Booth
First Place: Mindful Mascots; Calico Rock Elementary School
Second Place: Simply Customs; Green Forest Middle School
Third Place: Composting in the Classroom; Jefferson Elementary School, Little Rock
Fourth Place: Mood Plush; Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Rock
Best Marketing
First Place: Mood Plush; Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Rock
Second Place: Simply Customs; Green Forest Middle School
Third Place: Essential Pencils; Cabot Middle School North
Fourth Place: Charming Charmington Charms; Tyson Middle School, Springdale
Most Innovative
First Place: Mindful Mascots; Calico Rock Middle School
Second Place: Block Socks; Elmwood Middle School, Rogers
Third Place: Essential Pencils; Cabot Middle School North
Fourth Place: Composting in the Classroom; Jefferson Elementary School, Little Rock
“Y.E.S. stimulates entrepreneurial thinking. Kids have great ideas in their heads. If you can get them to think those may be good ideas to compete with, you’ve got a bunch of young people thinking in a new way.”
– Y.E.S. Veteran Teacher/Team Mentor
Y.E.S. is open to all Arkansas 5th-8th grade students and there’s no cost to enter!
Students and teams can be from classroom-based schools; from virtual school; or from any after-school, church, or other youth program.
Arkansas Capital created Y.E.S. in 2006 based on the success of its Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, launched in 2001. Both are designed to provide real-world, hands-on entrepreneur education for our state’s future entrepreneurs.
Winning students AND teachers/mentors receive cash prizes, certificates of accomplishment, and a cool 3-D printed trophy for their school or program.
2023 Calendar
- September 26
Team Application Window Opens in YouNoodle
Click to head to YouNoodle - November 6
Business Plans Uploads Due in YouNoodle - December 2
Top 25 Finalists Announcement
Virtual on Y.E.S. for Arkansas Home Page - January 20
Expo Day, Winners Announcement
Virtual on Y.E.S. for Arkansas Home Page
Watch Expo Day Presentations from the 2022 Y.E.S. Winners!
Expo Day Presentation Photos – 2022 Finalists



Green Forest Intermediate




Kirksey Middle School, Rogers

Jefferson Elementary, Little Rock

Calico Rock Elementary School

Bergman School District

Terry Elementary, Little Rock

Little Rock

Forest Park Elementary, Little Rock


Pinnacle View Middle School, Little Rock


Why is Y.E.S. important to 5th-8th graders
AND to Arkansas?
- It brings a unique level of awareness to entrepreneur education not found elsewhere on a statewide scale – Y.E.S. encourages a pipeline of future entrepreneurs for the state.
- It benefits all students – whether or not they become entrepreneurs – because they gain learning experiences that will likely serve them well in their future careers.
- It’s real-world, designed to mirror the same steps the grownups have to go through if they want to launch a business idea or improve upon an existing one.
- It’s hands-on. Students are responsible for writing the business plan. They have to figure out how their idea will work, how it can be brought to market, do the math to see if it can make money, and more.
- Students must engage their core reading, writing, and math skills to write the business plan.
- Students must also use their soft skills – creativity, critical thinking, communication, problem solving, teamwork, responsibility to others, and more as they move through the competition process.
Y.E.S. is a fantastic way to promote and teach Arkansas’s
future innovators and entrepreneurs!

Since 2006
9,801
Arkansas Youth Impacted
3,241
Business Plans Entered
$102,217
in CASH Awarded
Competition Awards
CASH prizes will be awarded to the winning teams – that includes the students AND their teachers/mentors!
Previous Winners
Y.E.S. has been around longer than some of today’s competitors! More than 9,400 students have competed since the first competition in 2006. Who were the winners?