Hall of Fame Profile: Steve Mariotti Demonstrates the Power of a Personal Narrative

Two decades ago, Steve Mariotti was on top of the world. He'd received his M.B.A. from the University of Michigan School of Business, had completed a successful stint at the Ford Motor Company, and, yearning to be an entrepreneur, moved to New York City, where he was soon running a successful import-export business.

Then, in 1981, he was mugged by three teenagers in New York's Lower East Side. The event dramatically altered his life.

"The mugging caught me emotionally off guard," remembers Mariotti. "In the months that followed I suffered painful flashbacks. And, being an entrepreneur, I thought, 'Why would these kids rob me for a few dollars when they could make much more money running a business together?'"

He decided to directly confront the worst of inner city life; he became a teacher. While, at first, his students directed their energies to challenging his authority, their attitudes changed when he taught them how to start their own businesses. Suddenly they had an incentive to learn. Their skills and behavior improved, and their grades went up.

Mariotti left the classroom in 1987 to found The National Foundation For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE, pronounced "nifty"). He used his personal experiences as a tool to help him promote NFTE and to recruit others to the cause of teaching entrepreneurship to at-risk youths. NTFE's product is a business-literate young entrepreneur who has experienced buying and selling in the marketplace, and knows how to keep accurate financial records.

NFTE programs are now established throughout the country, and the program to date has worked with over 40,000 low-income young people. Mariotti's inspiring story has played a hand in getting NFTE a lot of media coverage; both he and NFTE have been featured in dozens of major newspaper stories and television programs that have advanced his organization's agenda.

Mariotti has always used NFTE as a banner that can be carried by all who are concerned with the issues facing today's youth. He uses his own personal narrative to inspire others to join the NFTE cause, and made it a centerpiece for his book, The Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running a Business.

"My personal narrative serves as an example and brand identity for the entire program," says Mariotti. "I came out of corporate America to do some good, and hope my story inspires others like me to do the same. If I can convince enough people to mentor kids through a NFTE-sponsored program, I'm sure we could experience an economic renaissance of amazing proportions-and possibly fix a few of society's problems at the same time."