High School teens majoring in business world savvy. Competition today at Berkeley’s Haas School

The idea came to Antonio Lopez after baseball practice one day, when he took off his dirty cap and regarded it with disgust.

"I just looked at it and said, ‘I can’t wear this in front of people,’" he said.

Then he had an epiphany: He needed a removable, washable "sweat-soaker" strip.

Lopez, a freshman at Oakland High School, might seem like a typical 14-year-old. But in the last few months he has acquired a new set of skills and a sense of business savvy, not to mention a flashy title: vice president of manufacturing for his company, Beat the Heat.

This afternoon, Lopez and about 75 other Oakland teenagers will talk profit margins, marketing schemes and capital outlay at a business plan competition at the University of California, Berkeley’s, Haas School of Business.

By Katy Murphy, STAFF WRITER

Full Story: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_5936477