Mentoring young minds: CEO helps young adults get a taste of entrepreneurship

Clearwater, FL, 8 May 2006 – Typical day in Corporate America, phones ringing, sales being closed, meetings held, except maybe for a tour of four to six year-olds who want to see what working in an office is all about. Joy Gendusa, CEO and Founder of PostcardMania, one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies in America, opened her doors for thirteen little people to learn first-hand what it was like to be an entrepreneur.

Clearwater Academy International (CAI), a local private school, brought their Kindergarten class to PostcardMania for a practical look at what they learning about on a course called Places People Work.

After her guest speech at the University of Tampa, Joy Gendusa opened her doors to their entrepreneur students to tour the facilities of PostcardMania. That tour was the first in a new line of tours being offered to local universities, colleges and schools for young adults of all ages to learn different aspects of business and how a multi-million dollar business operates.

I believe in a hands-on approach. Applicants come here straight out of school a lot of the time missing the practical part of their education so there’s no balance; said Joy Gendusa, Our tours are informative, but also a lot of fun – and these students bring a lot of life to the workplace.

We believe in a hands-on approach too – even with Kindergarteners, said Stacy Carlson, CAI’s Public Relations VP, Our SAT scores are hundreds above the Florida state average – in 2005 our average SAT score was 1343 while Florida’s average was 1028 per the College Board’s published data.

About PostcardMania: PostcardMania, started by Joy Gendusa in 1998, is a full service postcard direct mail marketing company which includes graphic design, printing, mailing list acquisition and mailing services with free marketing advice. By 2005 the company did $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and was recognized as the one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation by Inc Magazine and one of the 50 fastest growing corporations in Tampa Bay by the Tampa Bay Business Journal in 2006. Visit www.postcardmania.com

About Clearwater Academy International: Clearwater Academy is one of the most unique and effective private schools in Florida. CAI offers a fresh perspective on education by harnessing the power of the students’ goals and directing their education to align with their interests making it more effective and valuable. All students have individual academic programs enriched by a variety of activities and experiences. Visit www.clearwateracademy.org