Chelsea Hage - Birthday Candles for Kids

Chelsea Hage

Chelsea Hage

Student Entrepreneur
Major: Entrepreneurship and Marketing
Class of 2022
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida

Birthday PartyBirthday cake and presentsboy birthday party in kitchenBirthday Candles for Kids Logobirthday shipment box

I'm Chelsea Hage, and I am the founder of Birthday Candles for Kids. I started this company, because one day I was at a homeless shelter, and I met a family with a little boy named Michael, who was turning 11. Michael said he had never heard the words "happy birthday" directed to him. He also shared that he always wanted a party on a bounce house and wished that he could invite his friends, like his friends invited him. So, I gave him that!

Seeing his smiling face, from something as simple as jumping on a bounce house with a few friends for his birthday, brought tears to my eyes.

I organize personalized birthday parties for underprivileged children. These children didn't choose to be homeless, fostered or orphaned. I believe everyone deserves to celebrate their special day. So far, I have given this experience to 63 children. There are approximately 443,000 children in the foster care system whom I want to give a birthday party. Help me put the wishes back into their birthdays.

Get started with a business idea

Good for you! You have taken one of the most difficult steps in entrepreneurship - deciding to get started (most people never make it this far...)

Acting upon your business idea will require you go through a sequence of activities, which typically begin with finding out if there is a market for your product. Here's the good news: You don't have to go through these activities alone. We will help you!

Contact us at [email protected].

Join the entrepreneurship club

Stetson's entrepreneurship club is aimed at anyone who wants to be involved in creating, innovating and building. You don't need a business idea to join the club. We welcome everyone. So, regardless of your major, class standing and GPA, join us!

Participate in a business pitch competition

We are excited you are considering to join a business pitch competition! Participating in pitch competitions is a fun and valuable activity for entrepreneurs. Pitch competitions will give you the opportunity to get feedback about your ideas, practice selling skills, and sometimes, win prizes!

Nothing is stopping from participating in pitch competitions. If you are representing Stetson University, however, we ask you to contact us with anticipation. We want to help you do your best, and to do so, we will request your engagement in multiple Stetson-based activities prior to the competition.

Contact us at [email protected]  to get started.

Connect with other entrepreneurs

Connecting with other entrepreneurs is an extremely valuable experience for anyone developing a business idea or launching a startup. There are many opportunities to meet entrepreneurs locally:

Get funding

We can help you connect with funding sources for your business idea and startup, including:

  • Local investors
  • Stetson Entrepreneurship Program's Advisory Board
  • Stetson alumni network
  • Crowdfunding campaigns

We will work closely with you to get your business idea ready for investors.

Contact us at [email protected].

Protect my intellectual property

Whether you seek a patent, copyright, trademark or any other kind of legal protection, we will help you connect with local intellectual property attorneys.

Contact us at [email protected]  to get started.

Switch my major/minor to entrepreneurship

Excellent! We are excited you are joining our program. The process to change your major or minor is very simple. Simply go to the Registrar's Forms webpage and go own to "Other" and complete the form to change either your major or minor.

I don't know what my next step is

We are here to help you achieve your academic, career and startup goals. Don't hesitate to contact us for any questions about entrepreneurship - especially if you are unsure what to ask.

Contact us at [email protected].

The students involved in the Prince Entrepreneurship Leaders program are actively developing their business ideas. These ideas invariably require funding for many small, but critical things, including:

  • Graphic design: like logo development
  • Legal documents: such as NDAs, contractual agreements, filing an LLC, filing for provisional patent status
  • Web development: like Wix and Shopify accounts, domain names, web hosting
  • Market testing and validation through digital ads
  • Collateral material: such as brochures, flyers, posters
  • Commercial-grade prototyping
  • Cloud-based storage: like Dropbox, Google Drive
  • Training courses
  • Books

Help the next generation of entrepreneurs get their business ideas started. And who knows, you may be part of getting the next "Facebook" off the ground!

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