Mr. Douglass' knack for organization and collaboration emerged early. As an Abington Heights student he pushed the effort to create the Abington Youth Center and his success continued after enrolling in The College of William & Mary in 2001. That's when his work came to the attention of Jostens, the class ring/yearbook company, which enlisted him as an inspirational speaker for youth entrepreneurs.
After graduation, Mr. Douglass worked in the dynamic world of finance for Washington, D.C., firms specializing in telecommunication turnarounds and emerging markets.
Last year, he quit his job.
"I decided I was done jockeying other people's deals," he said. "To work for someone else, I had to shut off a piece of myself. What I really wanted to do was work with people."
He found that few young people in Northeast Pennsylvania understand the language of entrepreneurship. He admitted when someone called him an "entrepreneur" during his youth center efforts, he had to look the word up on the Internet.
In other cities where he has done the StartUp Scramble, there's plenty of interested young people but a lack of corporate sponsorship. In Northeast Pennsylvania, he found the opposite: less interest from young people, but great support from local sponsors such as Benco Dental and Cornell Iron Works.
Mr. Douglass also described a common perception - what he would consider a misperception - that only someone over 40 can run an enterprise. Economic developers, he said, are trying to bring risk capital into the region, but should be focusing on creating an entrepreneurial culture first.
This fall, he'll start pursuing a master's degree at Babson College, but wants to continue his work with his company, Young Impact.
"Adults took a risk with me, and I think I have an obligation to help people do cool things and start businesses that will pay dividends in the community," he said.
Mr. Jones, who sold Pepperjam in 2009 and is working on other start-up companies from an office in Wilkes-Barre, said he and Mr. Douglass share the same hopes of cultivating entrepreneurship across business sectors.
"NEPA has a strong e-commerce cluster and it doesn't happen by chance, it happens because people support entrepreneurism and business development," he said. "Young people want to create, and Stephen is a bit rebellious and disruptive, in a good way."
Start Up Scramble costs $75 for young professionals and $40 for full-time students. For more information or to register, visit www.nepa.startupscramble.com.
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamock.com
