NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With more than 250 up-and-coming entrepreneurs in attendance, NYSE Euronext today hosted its second annual “Mentoring Madness” event at the New York Stock Exchange which featured the ringing of The Opening Bell^SM and a panel discussion hosted by CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo with four leading entrepreneurs -- Snoop Dogg; Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS Shoes; Stephen Hanson, Founder and President of B.R. Guest Restaurants; and Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group.

Source: NYSE Euronext
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Following “Mentoring Madness,” Messrs. Mycoskie, Hanson, Sternlicht and Snoop Dogg selected the winner of the “Movers & Changers” competition, a nationwide search by NYSE Euronext and mtvU for young entrepreneurs advancing social change. The winners of the competition, Nic Lagatta, Shea Shelton, and Jay Zhao from Tulane University, received a check for $25,000 in start-up funds for their proposed business, WET Tea. Through the creation of WET Tea, Lagatta, Shelton and Zaho aim to raise social awareness, foster community involvement, and provide monetary support for the preservation and reconstruction of the Gulf Coast Wetlands by selling high-quality, artisan tea. For each box sold, the group plans to plant one baby cypress, and they also plan to work with local state and non-profits to help support communities in South Louisiana through hands-on wetlands restoration.

During the announcement of the award, Mycoskie, Hanson, Sternlicht and Snoop Dogg surprised the two runner-up teams, Joanna Kim, Kyson Bunthuwong, and Stephanie Wu from University of California Berkeley and Tulane University’s Stephanie Roberts and William Kethman, with an additional $15,000 in personal funding for each team. In total, the two runner-up teams will take home $20,000 to make their proposed, socially minded businesses a reality. All of the students will be featured in the mtvU “Movers & Changers” four-part, short-form series premiering November 16, 2009.

“Mentoring Madness at the NYSE proved to be an important and significant event, bringing the next generation of innovators together with successful entrepreneurs for a truly unique and highly informative dialogue on taking an idea to the next level," said Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO, NYSE Euronext. "As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, we want to encourage young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity in order to give birth to new products and services that fuel economic growth and well-being. We know that job creation coming out of a downturn will come from small businesses and entrepreneurs. On behalf of my colleagues, I personally want to thank our Mentoring Madness participants and congratulate the winners of the Movers & Changers competition."

“College students are always in the forefront, working to advance social change. mtvU is thrilled to give these social entrepreneurs a chance to spread their message to young people around the country,” said Chris McCarthy, Senior Vice President of Strategic Development and Digital TV Networks, MTV. “We are certain that we’ll see all of these young entrepreneurs go on to great success while making a positive impact on society.”

Mentoring Madness Panelist Comments on Entrepreneurship

Snoop Dogg:

“I feel like a lot of young people need to be inspired by my story as far as knowing that I come from nothing and I created something. I don’t have a college degree, but I’m very good at doing business from learning and studying and doing all the right things that come with business, and why not share my story and give someone some hope on becoming a great business-minded person -- you never know it might spawn the next Snoop Dogg.”

Blake Mycoskie, Founder, TOMS Shoes:

“I am very passionate about social entrepreneurship, and I feel that TOMS is hopefully inspiring young people to think differently about business and philanthropy, and that actually these two things can come together. Today I hope to inspire other young people that you can start a business and help people at the same time and that actually is even more sustainable sometimes than just the charity model."

Stephen Hanson, Founder and President of B.R. Guest Restaurants:

"I like to help the younger generation of entrepreneurs figure out how to do it and give some inspiration. I know there are a lot of people that helped me throughout the years that were mentors of mine, and I don't think I’d be here if they did not help me. If I can give a little back it's always great."

Barry Sternlicht, Chairman and CEO, Starwood Capital Group:

"I think Entrepreneurship is the heart and soul of the American economy and nothing can be more important today than encouraging young people to come up with great ideas and figure out how to pursue them in a way where they can succeed. Anything that I can do to help would just be great."

The “Mentoring Madness” event at the NYSE is available for replay at www.nyse.com/mentoringmadness.

NYSE Euronext Recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week

In addition to the “Mentoring Madness” program at the NYSE in New York, NYSE Euronext will recognize Global Entrepreneurship Week across its market and business centers in Europe and Ireland. Events included

• On Wednesday, Nov. 18, representatives of the Dutch arm of the Global Entrepreneurship Week organization will strike the traditional gong to open the Euronext Amsterdam market with the winner of a contest that accepted submissions of plans on how to motivate children for entrepreneurship.
• On Wednesday, Nov. 28, the Opening Bell at Euronext Paris will be rung by 30 French entrepreneurs who were selected among entries on the company’s website.
• NYSE Technologies staff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, have launched the “Make Your Mark Challenge,” which is a school business challenge targeting teens to submit new business ideas. Awards will be presented at the NYSE Technologies Belfast facility and winners will be flown to New York City for a visit to the NYSE.

About Global Entrepreneurship Week

With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, Global Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, turn their ideas into reality, and make their mark. From Nov. 16 - 22, 2009, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org, and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.

About NYSE Euronext's Global Entrepreneurship Sponsorship

A cornerstone of the NYSE Euronext brand is a commitment to innovative thinking and the ability to introduce new concepts and products. We are a proud sponsor of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity. The Week will connect young people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and many others will participate in a range of activities - online and face-to-face - to harness the energy of social networking, to connect people taking action in their local and global communities and to celebrate entrepreneurship across the globe.

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Media:
NYSE Euronext
Judy Shaw, 212-656-4290
Jshaw@nyx.com