GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute with Annette Gray, Founder/President

Summary

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Podcast Summary: GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute with Annette Gray

Podcast: Culturally Speaking: The South Florida Sunday Podcast
Host: Hubbard Radio
Guest: Annette Gray, Founder/President, GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute
Date: May 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode highlights the impactful work of the GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute in Boynton Beach, Florida, featuring a conversation with its founder and president, Annette Gray. The discussion centers on the institute’s innovative programs designed to empower youth and young adults—particularly those from underserved backgrounds—through hands-on entrepreneurship education and mentorship. The episode explores how the institute is addressing educational gaps exacerbated by COVID-19, fostering real-world business skills, and supporting the next generation of community leaders.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Mission & History of GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute

• Established Roots and Community Pivot:

  • Founded in 2008, formalized as a 501(c)(3) in 2014.
  • Post-COVID, the institute pivoted to better address new community needs.
  • “We did definitely reposition and pivot as so many other people did, to be more aligned with the needs of the community after Covid.” — Annette Gray [00:31]

• Addressing the Post-COVID Learning Slide:

  • Focus on helping youth recover from COVID-related disruptions, especially in math and reading.
  • Emphasis on tactile, hands-on learning for better engagement and retention.
  • “The learning slide was tremendous for students, especially in mathematics and reading. And our concept focused on kids that are also tactile learners...” — Annette Gray [01:01]

Overview of Key Programs

Kidpreneur Town

• What It Is:

  • A mini-city run by youth ages 9-15, set inside the Boynton Beach Mall.
  • Model inspired by the once-popular Wannado City, allowing kids to role-play adult jobs and run businesses.
  • Immersive, practical experience: children pretend to run everyday businesses (veterinary offices, stores, eateries).
  • Open on weekends, holidays, and daily in the summer by appointment/groups.

• Community Engagement:

  • Space is rentable for birthdays/parties, complete with costumes and decorations.
  • “Kids love the costume. Adults love the costume.” — Annette Gray [03:08]

Young Entrepreneurs Club (Ages 16-22)

• Development and Exposure:

  • Guides teens and young adults through business plan development, pitch competitions, and real-world business operation via pop-up shops.
  • Annual gala in November connects participants with local and international leaders.

• Support Structure:

  • Offers infrastructure such as a business address, phone number, and retail space.
  • Participants are paired with mentors relevant to their entrepreneurial interests.
  • “You get a personal entrepreneurship coach […] we definitely incubate anyone who is looking to start their own business as a young adult.” — Annette Gray [04:53-05:36]

• Entrepreneurial Mindset:

  • Program values the cultivation of entrepreneurial skills—relationship-building, leadership, communication, negotiation—even for those not starting their own business immediately.
  • “We're not necessarily focused on you starting the business. We prefer that you do. But entrepreneurship minded means you know how to build relationships with people...” — Annette Gray [06:28]

• Young Entrepreneurs Grant:

  • Recently launched, the grant provides funds to young entrepreneurs under 25 in Florida who can show at least one product sale.
  • “It is money that we do not have to pay back... you just have to be under 25, live in the state of Florida and [have] at least one sale for a product.” — Annette Gray [04:26]

Specialized Programs

• Future Leaders & Business Incubator:

  • Deep support for those actively launching businesses, including communication infrastructure, meeting spaces, and continuous mentorship.

• STEAM Capacity Building & College Prep:

  • Additional focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math, plus guidance for college-bound students.

• Sports and Business Program:

  • Educates young athletes (particularly those from Palm Beach County) about trademarking, copyright, financial literacy, and protecting their brand.
  • “They don't understand how to protect their name and copyright and trademark and put together the right team to protect their financial future...” — Annette Gray [07:24]

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Community Involvement & Call for Support

• Opportunities for Volunteers & Sponsors:

  • Open invitation to career professionals and current business owners to mentor or support youth.
  • Corporate sponsorships are available—businesses can gain naming rights within Kidpreneur Town (e.g., a real-world dentist’s office, restaurant, etc.).
  • “It is a difficult time now for small nonprofits. And, you know, we have an opportunity to highlight our sponsors...” — Annette Gray [07:54]

• How to Get Involved and Learn More:

  • Location: Boynton Beach Mall
  • Phone: [phone]
  • Website: www.gbdcei.org

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Hands-On Learning:
  • “It's pretty much real world learning in a safe space.” — Host [01:23]
• On Program Inspiration:
  • “It kind of sounds to me like Wannado City back in the day...” — Host [02:11]
  • “Absolutely. The inspiration.” — Annette Gray [02:21]
• On Skill-Building:
  • “A lot of the skills that you learn in an entrepreneurship-oriented program can be leveraged across their entire life.” — Annette Gray [06:28]

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Important Timestamps

• Institute background & COVID impact — [00:23–01:23]
• Kidpreneur Town and real-world learning — [01:37–03:19]
• Young Entrepreneurs Club and annual gala — [03:33–04:46]
• Business incubator & mentorship — [04:53–06:13]
• Entrepreneurial mindset & transferrable skills — [06:13–07:11]
• Special programs for athletes & STEAM — [07:11–07:36]
• Volunteer & sponsorship information — [07:53–End]

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Conclusion

This episode provides a compelling look at how the GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute is fostering youth empowerment and entrepreneurial thinking in South Florida. With programs ranging from hands-on business simulations to real-world startup support and focus areas including STEAM and sports business education, the institute is tackling economic and educational inequities head-on. The call to action is clear—community members, business leaders, and sponsors are needed to help build a brighter future for Palm Beach County’s young residents.

For more information or to get involved, visit www.gbdcei.org or call 561-894-4510.

Transcript

[A]

Have you heard of the GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute? Because I'm about to put you onto something. The things that they offer to the youth in our community is literally ensuring that they, for one, can break any cycle of poverty that they may be experiencing in their lives. And two, they'll be the future leaders of our community. And joining me right now is Annette Gray, the founder and president. Thank you so much for joining the show today.

[B]

Thank you for having me. Yeah.

[A]

So tell us about yourself because I know you've been around for a while, but then I read somewhere that you really ramped up after the COVID pandemic.

[B]

We were actually around since 2008. We formalized as a 501 in 2014, but we did definitely reposition and pivot as so many other people did, to be more aligned with the needs of the community after Covid.

[A]

Right, and we're so glad you did because even though it was just like a couple of months of COVID when they were out of school and everything, it really derailed a lot of kids in their education. So this is kind of helping them get back on their feet.

[B]

Absolutely. The program and the research shows that the learning slide was tremendous for students, especially in mathematics and reading. And our concept focused on kids that are also tactile learners, which means they have to kind of interact and do and touch and feel. And so this is where this concept developed.

[A]

Yeah, but what a great learning tool, especially for those hands on learners. I mean, it's pretty much real world learning in a safe space.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

Yeah. So tell us more about the learning center. Where are you located, who you are and you know, who are you serving? What's your main base?

[B]

So we're GBDC Entrepreneurship Institute. We are located in Boynton beach, currently, specifically in the Boynton Beach Mall. We have amazing space there. And we have our Kidpreneur Town, which is a city that's run by youth 9 to 15. And then our other program is 16 to 22 and that is our young entrepreneurs club where they learn how to start their own business and they have a pop up shop that they can run out of the mall as well. Yeah.

[A]

So let's talk about that a little bit because I didn't want to age myself. But the Kidpreneurship program, the town, it kind of sounds to me like Wannady city back in the day, if you don't remember that. But absolutely.

[B]

The inspiration.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

Program. Absolutely.

[A]

That is amazing.

[B]

You can picture exactly what's happening. Yes.

[A]

And this is opened pretty much on the Week, weekends and holidays when school's in section. And then in the summer you are pretty much open all week.

[B]

We are fairly new in the mall, so we are offering programs by appointments, by groups, by field trips until, you know, more people learn about where we are and what we're doing. And then we do have a full summer program that's coming up as well.

[A]

That is amazing. And people can also rent out this space. So, like maybe you're having a birthday and you want it to be a little bit unique. You can actually rent out kids from New York town and they can pretend to like run a McDonald's or run a store or something like that. That's awesome.

[B]

Yes, absolutely. So birthday parties, private party, your child and their friends. We give the costumes. Kids love the costume. Adults love the costume.

[A]

Right. I'm like, I want to do this right?

[B]

The police officer, the fireman, the doctor. And we do actually provide pizza and cupcakes and some decorations and soda as part of the rental fee.

[A]

That is amazing. And this is right inside the Boynton Beach Mall to like everybody goes there. So this is amazing. Right in the center of everything. And another thing that you do is the Young Entrepreneurship Club. We definitely need more leaders, so I love this. Can you tell us about that?

[B]

Sure. So our Young entrepreneurship club really focuses on developing future entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial minded leaders. Right. So we have taken groups through developing an entire business plan through pitch competitions and they are celebrated every year in November at our young entrepreneurs gala where they meet great industry leaders, mayors, commissioners, politicians and other leaders from around the world. As part of that experience, I'm just going to segue into the fact that we've just launched our first young Entrepreneurs grant.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It is money that we do not have to pay back. You just have to be under 25, live in the state of Florida and is able to show at least one sale for a product. So if you're a young entrepreneur, you're out there, you've done an event or you have an Instagram store, anything like that, you can apply.

[A]

You also have your future leaders and entrepreneurship business incubator. Is that the same thing?

[B]

It is part of the club. So those young participants who want to actually start, start the business, you know, it's difficult enough to start a business as an adult. Right. So we definitely incubate anyone who is looking to start their own business as a young adult. And what that means is we give them a phone number as part of our communication channel. They also can use our address. They can have space in the Pop up store if they're selling a tangible item, a place to meet. So we really give them the back end and the infrastructure to support. I am a business consultant for the sba. So they have their own personal entrepreneurship coach as well.

[A]

They're able to sit with mentors and people who are in our community, business leaders and you know, really share their ideas and those people kind of help them solidify that idea and just make it a reality.

[B]

Yeah. The best way to learn if this is something you truly want to do is to be partnered with the current business that's doing it. Right. And so we definitely try to. We've partnered future lawyers with law firms, you know, that type of thing. And so depending on what type of business you like to start, we try to match you with the industry appropriate mentor and it's great way for you to get working knowledge on the type of business you want to do.

[A]

Absolutely. And you know what, you also said something that I want to really touch on earlier in the interview. You're saying that entrepreneurship minded people, so you don't even have to to really have an idea right now, but you just want to be going in that direction and you can also help them out with that too.

[B]

Absolutely. We've had a number, numbers of students that have gone through our program and went on to college. So we're not necessarily focused on you starting the business. We prefer that you do. But entrepreneurship minded means you know how to build relationships with people. You, you perform better as a leader. Your communication skills are improved, your negotiation skills are proof. So a lot of the skills that you learn in an entrepreneurship oriented program can be leveraged across their entire life. And absolutely, we go as far as to actually show you how to structure the business so that when you are ready, you have the knowledge to do so.

[A]

That is so amazing. And you do more than that. You like. There's the STEAM capacity building and college prep. There's the let's Talk sports and business program. Because, you know, a lot of our athletes are actually coming out of Palm beach county. Just saying.

[B]

Yeah. So they don't understand how to protect their name and copyright and trademark and put together the right team to protect their financial future. So yeah, we are there for those athletes as well.

[A]

This is amazing. Annette, thank you so much for helping us build up our future in Palm Beach County. How do we find out more about your programs, your services also? Do you need help? Do you need volunteers? What about sponsorships? Let us know all of the things and where we can find you online.

[B]

Absolutely. All of that.

[A]

Right.

[B]

We absolutely do need volunteers, career oriented and non career oriented, current business owners who want to share the real world logistics with our participants. We absolutely do need sponsors. It is a difficult time now for small nonprofits. And, you know, we have an opportunity to highlight our sponsors. So, for example, if you're a restaurant and you want the naming rights to the restaurant in our Kidpreneur town, we're happy to do that same thing for the dentist, local doctor, engineer. So many small businesses have the opportunity to support us by just getting the naming rights to their establishment in our Kidpreneur town. So volunteers. Absolutely. Sponsorships? Absolutely. And we are again in the Boynton Beach Mall. Our phone number is 561-8944-510-5618, 944510. And all of the information is also at our website, which is gbdcei.org www.gbdcei.org. and we would love the collaboration and the support.