Ice Venkatesh

Change agent, Entrepreneur, Startup, Student

Ice Venkatesh is a student entrepreneur, author, and youth advocate who believes that age should never determine the size of an idea—or the difference someone can make. At just six years old, Ice started a neighborhood lemonade stand to raise money to help girls access education. That simple idea grew into Lemonade with Ice, a youth-founded nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people through education, leadership, entrepreneurship, STEM, financial literacy, scholarships, and opportunities to grow. Through Lemonade with Ice, Ice has spent much of her childhood turning ideas into action—from raising funds for education and supporting students to creating programs that give young people opportunities to learn, lead, innovate, and find their voice. Ice is also the founder of Vibba LLC and an author of mathematics and mental-math books designed to help students strengthen their analytical skills and confidence. Her interests in finance, economics, investing, and entrepreneurship have led her to explore a question that increasingly shapes her work: What could young people accomplish if we invested in their potential before they had to prove it? As a student at The Village School, Ice continues to explore the intersection of education, finance, entrepreneurship, and youth opportunity. As the organizer of TEDxTheVillageSchool, she hopes to create a stage where different perspectives can be heard, unexpected ideas can emerge, and young people can recognize that their voices and ideas matter. Ice believes meaningful change does not always begin with enormous resources or years of experience. Sometimes, it begins with one young person, one idea, and someone willing to believe in its potential.

I am passionate about education, entrepreneurship, finance, and creating opportunities for young people to discover what they are capable of. Starting Lemonade with Ice at a young age taught me that meaningful ideas do not have to begin big. Sometimes they simply need someone willing to listen, encourage, and believe in them. I am especially interested in how early access to education, mentorship, financial knowledge, and entrepreneurial opportunities can shape a young person's future. I believe young people should have the chance to experiment, build, fail, learn, and try again before they are expected to have everything figured out. My passion for finance and entrepreneurship comes from the same belief: investment is not only about money; it is about recognizing potential.

Invest in Potential Before Proof We often wait for young people to prove themselves before giving them opportunities, mentorship, or resources. I believe we should invest in their potential earlier. Starting Lemonade with Ice at age six showed me what can happen when someone believes in an idea before there is evidence it will succeed. Just as financial investments are made based on future potential, we can invest in young people through education, encouragement, mentorship, and opportunity. When we invest only after success is visible, we reward proven potential. When we invest before the proof exists, we help create it.

Author & Educational Content Creator, Community Impact, Education Advocacy, Figure Skating, Financial Literacy, Mathematics & Mental Math, Nonprofit Leadership, Public Speaking, Youth Entrepreneurship, Youth Leadership

My TED story begins with a simple belief: "young people have ideas worth hearing." Over the years, my interests in education, entrepreneurship, finance, and youth empowerment have strengthened my belief that age should never limit someone's ability to contribute an idea or create change. That belief inspired me to bring TEDx to The Village School. Our community is filled with students from different cultures, backgrounds, interests, and experiences, each with a unique perspective to share. Through TEDxTheVillageSchool and our theme, “Many Voices, One Village,” I hope to create a stage where those perspectives come together, ideas spark conversations, and young people recognize the power of their own voices. For me, TEDx is not just about standing on a red circle. It is about giving an idea the opportunity to travel far beyond it.

People don’t always know that I’m really good at math and figure skating, two things that have been a big part of my life for years. I love math because I enjoy finding patterns, breaking complicated problems into smaller pieces, and discovering different ways to reach an answer. Math isn’t just a subject I study; it’s something I genuinely enjoy. That passion eventually inspired me to write my own math books to help other students see math as something approachable, useful, and even fun. Figure skating has shaped me in a completely different way. I’ve been skating for more than a decade, and the ice has taught me some of my most important lessons about discipline, patience, and resilience. You can practice a skill hundreds of times and still fall but you get back up, understand what went wrong, make an adjustment, and try again. Interestingly, math and figure skating have more in common than people might think. Both require precision, practice, problem-solving, and the willingness to keep working when something doesn’t come easily. Whether I’m solving an equation or learning a difficult skating element, I’ve learned to enjoy the challenge. For me, getting something wrong isn’t the end, it’s usually where learning begins.