Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" Announces Grand Prize Winners!!!

OMAHA, Neb., May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Warren Buffett and the Fairholme Foundation proudly announce the Grand Prize Winners of the Secret Millionaires Club "Grow Your Own Business Challenge!" Congratulations to Jake Johnson from Charlotte, NC and Team WiseGuide: Krystal and Allyson Graylin, and Kei Chua from Seattle, WA.  Over 4,000 kids ages 7-14 from all over the country entered the competition for a chance to win $5,000 and to present their ideas to Warren Buffett. The two winning ideas showed creativity, entrepreneurship and inventiveness which were the main criteria of the judging.

Five individuals and three team finalists flew to Omaha, Neb. on May 19 for the opportunity to present their business ideas to Mr. Buffett and a panel of VIP judges. This year judges include Otha Thornton, President of the National PTA and Jennifer Sirangelo, President of 4-H.  All entries were evaluated based on key criteria that included: uniqueness of idea, depth and description of idea and feasibility of execution. The grand prize winning team members and winning individual each received $5,000. The runners up received $500.  All finalists nominated a teacher or mentor who was inspirational to them in the process to join them in Omaha. The teachers of the grand prize winners also received $1,000. A new addition to the final event was the University of Miami's Launch Pad Entrepreneur Team. Launch Pad hosted a workshop to offer advice and guidance to the finalists. Warren also gave all the finalists 10 shares of Berkshire Hathaway B Stock.

Jake's winning idea is Beaux Up.  Beaux Up is a new twist on the classic self-tie bow tie allowing a completely customizable experience for the wearer – a patent pending clip that separates the bow tie into two halves. The independent halves can then be clipped onto any other bow tie half in the collection.

"Participating in the contest and working through the process has helped me to work through the logistics of Beaux Up," said Jake Johnson, "It has been a life changing experience for me.'

Krystal, Allyson and Kei's winning idea is WiseGuide. WiseGuide is an online community that connects people of all ages. They created the community to connect the grandparents and elderly no matter what the distance. WiseGuide users can post stories, how-to's quotes, video's, advice and more. Our goal is to help the young and the elderly to find a way to connect.

 "This has been such a positive experience for both of our whole families from beginning to end," said Team WiseGuide. "It has created memories for our family that we are never going to forget."

"Seeing the business ideas from all of the finalists prove that programs like Secret Millionaires Club are fundamental in helping today's youth learn about financial literacy," said Warren Buffett, CEO Berkshire Hathaway. "The ingenuity that these kids have is truly inspiring and makes me feel confident about our future with kids like this paving the way."

"The Fairholme Foundation is delighted to see continued enthusiasm for the "Grow Your Own Business Challenge", said Bruce Berkowitz, trustee of the Fairholme Foundation. "The contest fosters creativity and encourages collaboration between children and their educators."

The "Grow Your Own Business Challenge" is a national online competition that ran from October 22, 2013 to January 31, 2014. GYOB is a part of the Secret Millionaires Club Learn and Earn financial literacy promotion which is sponsored by the Fairholme Foundation and reaches over 100,000 classrooms with tools and lessons for teaching good financial habits to youth.

The Secret Millionaires Club is an animated series created by Genius Brands International airing on The HUB Network and with online webisodes, featuring the voice of Warren Buffett as a mentor to a group of kids as they learn important financial and entrepreneurial lessons.

For more information, visit www.smckids.com

Secret Millionaires Club Copyright © 2011 A Squared Entertainment

About Genius Brands International:

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Genius Brands International (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded multimedia content and brand management company.  Led by industry veterans, Andy Heyward and Amy Moynihan Heyward, Genius Brands International includes award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Gisele Bundchen's Gisele & the Green Team, Martha Stewart's Martha & Friends, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab and Stan Lee Comics, featuring its first movie, Stan Lee's Mighty 7. The Company provides "content with a purpose" for kids of all ages, meaning interactive content that is as entertaining as it is enriching.

About Fairholme Foundation

The Fairholme Foundation invests in under-valued paths to improving education. Our key: Ignore the crowd by circumventing long-standing roadblocks to progress. The Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization solely funded by Fairholme Capital Management and its affiliates. 

About By Kids For Kids

By Kids for Kids ® (BKFK ® ) is a platform that empowers youth invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. BKFK promotes youth social innovation and partners with leading corporations to inspire product development, crucial technology skills, invention, and innovation in young people from 8 to 22. BKFK provides a unique platform for young people to develop, showcase, and commercialize their products, inventions and entrepreneurship. BKFK's "cycle of innovation" develops critical 21st Century skills in our nation's youth. The company provides educational resources — curriculum and challenges that promote social change, product development and entrepreneurial endeavors. Learn more: www.bkfk.com.

Media Contact:

Judy Klym
By Kids For Kids
203-921-9039

B-roll link of event is included in release

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