April 15, 2011 - Remarks to Student Finalists Young Enterprise National Competition

Thank you Christian Vintergaard and Jørgen Mads Clausen for inviting me to join you in recognizing these talented student finalists in the Young Enterprise Competition.  It is inspiring to speak with and learn from the students in the competition.

Last year several of my personal favorite projects were among the winners - and a creative toy for pigs took the top prize.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are cornerstones of the American dream - and are first among the pillars that President Obama laid out in his State of the Union message calling on the American people to "win the future together."

Jørgen Mads Clausen and I have had many talks and meetings about entrepreneurship - and how to foster the entrepreneurial spirit among young people - because, like in American, innovation and entrepreneurship are key to Denmark's future as well.

Entrepreneurship is an important part of my family history.  100 years ago, my grandfather - morfar --Jens Jensen immigrated to the United States.  I have recently learned that my relatives who remained in Denmark considered him to be the rich American uncle!  He did well over his lifetime - mostly through the small businesses he started.  His automobile dealership and farm implement dealership were key businesses in his home town in Middle America.

My parents were also small business owners, and through their experiences, I first learned the value of marketing - and advertising. It's not enough to make a product or provide a service.  You have to let people know it is there - and why they need it and want it.

An important part of becoming a successful entrepreneur is developing the idea -- but it is also developing a business plan, raising capital, marketing the product, and managing all of the responsibilities that go into running a business.

This is an impressive aspect of Young Enterprise.  You experience the realities of what it means to run a business and to be responsible for all aspects of its operation.

Businessweek, one of our US business magazines, has a special online section on innovation.  A recent article highlighted four principles necessary for innovation in the context of an existing product brand.  The principles also seem applicable to establishing a new product or brand - and so I want to share them with you.

1)      Define what you are bringing to market.  What is the product purpose?  What role will it play in people's lives?
2)      Once you have identified the idea, then how do you build consensus, rally believers and drive momentum?
3)      How do you balance your intuition about the product with certainty - about how the product will be received and what it will mean in people's lives?
4)      Think about the entire engagement with consumers - not only the product, but the packaging, for example, which is the first touch the consumer will have with your product.

As you learned through the exercise of this competition, innovation means more than the "light bulb" moment - when you have the idea for a new product.  Successful innovation and entrepreneurship demands critical thinking, listening, and deliberate planning.  Collaboration also is important - not just collaboration with those on your business team, but also with other stakeholders, like potential customers and suppliers.

An online poll in the U.S. in 2010 revealed that over 40% of the young people between ages 8 and 24 dream of becoming entrepreneurs - of starting a business or a non-profit organization.  The numbers are even higher for those young people who know business owners.

There are many reasons for wanting to start your own business.  Many think it would be more satisfying to work on your own business than to work for someone else.

Today we appreciate that many of the issues we face global.  Diminishing resources, global warming, and the need for sustainable economies are global problems.  Global problems require global solutions - and finding those solutions will require new energy, enthusiasm, and entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship is a special focus in my country as it is in Denmark.  President Obama has called on the U.S. to again increase its entrepreneurial spirit.

In his State of the Union Address last January, President Obama called Americans to work together to "win" a prosperous, stable and sustainable future as a world leader.  He identified five pillars on which we will "Win the Future."

The first pillar is innovation.  Calling this our "Sputnik" moment -- Sputnik was the name of the first satellite successfully launched into space -- President Obama called on America to devote the level of research and development we did after the Russians put Sputnik -- the first satellite -- into space.

When we were confronted with the reality that the Soviets beat us into space in late 1957, the US was in catch-up mode.  We responded by launching our own satellite a couple of months later and creating NASA - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. President John Kennedy made landing a man on the moon a priority.  NASA and space research unleashed three generations of top-notch scientists, dominated space and created new industries and technologies no one had imagined in the 1950s.  For example, NASA technology helped sustain the Chilean miners who were trapped underground last year, and now features prominently in development of sustainable cities.

The second pillar identified by President Obama is education - and the importance of continuing to increase the number of young people who obtain advanced degrees.

The President's messages on innovation and education speak as importantly to you here today as to American youth.

Your generation's challenge today is not putting a man on the moon, but in finding ways to provide affordable clean, renewable and sustainable energy to people not just in Denmark, but to people around the globe.  Affordably feeding all people around the world - and providing clean drinking water - are challenges that you will be called upon to help solve.  These issues are especially important in developing economies.  We must help the people living in developing countries attain a level of health and prosperity without devastating our planet.

The challenges and opportunities facing young people today are in many ways dramatically different from those that my generation faced.  People of my generation in the US and in Denmark benefitted from living in societies that were leaders in the industrial age.  Automobiles, airplanes, telegraphs, telephones, computers improved communication and trade among countries.

I visited Denmark for the first time in 1970.  Before traveling, we communicated with Danish relatives by letters sent air mail - which each still took at least a week.  When was the last time anyone here wrote a letter and sent it abroad via post?  Today, we send emails, or text messages, or post on Facebook to communicate with hundreds of friends at once.

The generation of young people today is instantaneously globally connected.  Social media and the digital age bring dramatic changes from what my generation is used to - and present tremendous opportunities and challenges to you.

I wish I had a crystal ball to see where the digital age takes us in ten years.  I don't have that crystal ball.  But I am confident that those of you who are here today as student entrepreneurs will be leaders.

You will be involved in ways that will not only make our countries nicer places to live, but will create the jobs for the future and lead us on towards sustainable energy-based economies.

It is a privilege for me to be here with you today, focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation, with the leaders of tomorrow.

Both the U.S. and Denmark have a proud history of entrepreneurship.  In both our countries, we rely on new businesses to create new jobs and prosperity for the entire society.

Within the first two weeks of being US Ambassador to Denmark, I met Jørgen Mads Clausen.  In August 2009, Danfoss Universe hosted a group of 500 young people from 50 countries around the world who had gathered to showcase their innovative ideas to combat climate change in their own communities.  The brilliance of these young people and their entrepreneurial spirit inspired me and gave me hope for the future.  I see that same thing here today.

You, as entrepreneurs, are agents of change, finding new ways to combine resources in new products or services.  When entrepreneurs are successful, the size of the economic pie expands for everyone.

To achieve success, an entrepreneur must identify a need in the marketplace that is currently unaddressed and produce a competitive product or service that answers that need.  Not all entrepreneurial efforts become an economic success.  Some ideas will end up being more commercially viable than others.  But even those that don't succeed are important to advancing research and technological development.  Without these innovative ideas and efforts, we would not find the solutions the world needs.   Without entrepreneurship, our societies would not continue to move forward.

There is no country that has a monopoly on entrepreneurship.  There is no "right age" for entrepreneurs.  There is no "right gender" for entrepreneurs.  I am encouraged to see so many young women participants here today.   As I look out among you and visit with you, I am increasing confidence that you will introduce new products and services that will make our world a better place.

Congratulations to all of you for reaching the national finals!  I enjoyed the opportunity to visit your booths and discuss your products.  I'm excited to see who the judges select as the winner.

But regardless of who is chosen by the judges, I want you to know that each and every one of you is a winner in my book.  Thank you for taking this competition seriously and for heading down the path of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Tak for idag.