Ready, set, launch! The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) hosted Project Beauty, a day of entrepreneurship and leadership activities, for over 70 students at The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of Manhattan. Under the guidance of over 20 ELC volunteers, groups of students conceived a product pitch for a final competition. From refining slide decks to finding social media ambassadors and exploring consumer insights, the pitches reflected TYWLS students’ creativity while injecting fun and brand relevance into their products.
ELC volunteers created a supportive environment for students to explore ideas bravely and boldly as students brainstormed ideas for a snack product based on a central consumer insight and ways to market it. In the process, they leveraged teamwork, received and applied feedback from volunteers, and practiced their presentation and public speaking skills. They incorporated knowledge of social media and influencers they felt were relevant to their peers into their pitches.
One of the groups pitched their product in partnership with AMC Theatres in their marketing plan. The winning team, “Bright Bunch,” came up with an accessible snack for study sessions. “Since we are about to go to college, we want our product to be accessible and healthy for fellow students because college is expensive,” shared one of the participants.
Student Leadership Network and The Estée Lauder Companies
Initiatives like Project Beauty are part of ELC’s commitment to girls’ education while engaging employees in Student Leadership Network’s mission for educational equity. “For nearly 20 years, we’ve been proud to partner with Student Leadership Network,” said Phebe Farrow Port, Senior Vice President, GMS & Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of ELC. “Our CEO Fabrizio Freda is a huge champion of the work we do together to elevate leadership opportunities for the students. There are many ways, beyond Project Beauty, that ELC is involved as a result of his commitment to girls’ education. And we see time after time the 360-degree impact of this partnership and how much ELC volunteers learn from these incredible young women and vice versa.”
In addition to employee-led learning opportunities, ELC also encourages their employees to volunteer at Cool Careers, Potential Paths – a signature career exposure program across all six TYWLS schools.
“We are proud to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies because we share a longstanding commitment to advancing educational equity,” said Yolonda Marshall, CEO of Student Leadership Network. “Creating fun and hands-on opportunities to ignite curiosity, to envision a range of career paths, and to demonstrate leadership skills—all of these initiatives support how girls and gender-expansive youth learn and thrive.”
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