May 12, 2008

Grand Prix drives youth education fundraising

By Adria Murray / Society Columnist

CEOs, vice presidents and board members made their way through rush hour traffic to strap themselves into go-karts for an evening of racing and fundraising at the eighth annual BizWorld Grand Prix on May 1. These titans of industry came to Go Kart Racer in Burlingame with a dual purpose: to raise money for children's financial literacy education and to cream their fellow charitable opponents.

"This is the most competitive race this track sees all year," said BizWorld executive director Catherine Hutton. Go Kart Racer might often be home to team building business events and casual racing, but for the 150 guests gathered for the Grand Prix, the night was about bragging rights for an entire year, and they take it very seriously.

BizWorld Foundation board member Harry Gould, senior vice president of Informatica, and his team members wore shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Be Informed," and informed they were; Gould had his team come to the track and practice in preparation for the event.

"This is a unique way to race," said guest Matt Ellis, of Infineon Raceway, "Anytime you can tap into that competitive spirit for a good cause, you really have something."

The 10 race teams were made up of members from corporate sponsors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Informatica, Palo Alto Investors, Mosaic Capital, Silver Lake, Wells Fargo, Manatt Phelps & Phillips, Full Circle Fund, Oracle and Radio Alice.

But businessmen weren't the only ones enjoying some playtime. American Le Mans Series Porsche driver Johannes van Overbeek, from Flying Lizard Motorsports, came to take on the drivers in a first time "Race the Pro" competition, and ex-hip-hop artist Stanley Kirk Burrell (aka Mc Hammer) came to show his support as a friend of the organization.

BizWorld founder and chairman of the board Tim Draper eagerly cheered on his nephew Coulter Mulligan during his win against pro racer van Overbeek. It was an exciting win for Mulligan, who also won the 30-mintue final race of the evening with his teammate Draper. Both men returned to the party, slightly sweaty in their race suits, but beaming from their win.

Draper is no stranger to competition, as testament to his success as an entrepreneur. In 1997, Draper turned his tenacity for venture capital into a worldwide foundation committed to teaching children about business and finance fundamentals. Begun in his garage in Redwood City, and sprung from a lesson in entrepreneurship he gave to his 8-year-old daughter, Draper's BizWorld Foundation has grown to reach more than 195,000 children in 84 countries.

BizWorld, a nonprofit organization, provides curriculum to third through eighth-grade classrooms and teaches children real world applications for academic principals, fostering an awareness of the global economy and championing a spirit entrepreneurship.

"People look to the Silicon Valley for innovation," Hutton said. "But it's not just about industry, it needs to be about education, too." Hutton said that when you get kids started early thinking industriously, "You never know what they'll create."

Redwood City North Star Academy teacher Mike Harris has employed the BizWorld curriculum in his sixth-grade math classes for the past four years. He believes the lessons help identify the leaders in the classroom, and are his standard lesson plan for the first two weeks of school. "They go ape," said Harris, about the business oriented classroom activities. "The kids absolutely love it."

Harris, one of the BizWorld staff's favorite instructors and member of the advisory board, was seen chatting with Hutton and new BizWorld curriculum teacher Paul Eveloff, a venture capitalist from Marin. "They teach things I didn't learn in my MBA program," Eveloff said.

Event organizer Ashley Parsons said the event raised a grand total of $83,000, helping to put thousands of kids across the globe one step closer to that MBA.


Adria Murray's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. Send event information to 255 Constitution Dr., Menlo Park, CA 94025 or e-mail amurray@dailynews group.com.