Are you a young, ambitious and energetic young person who believes that starting or owning a business opportunity, franchise or other small business is your destiny? If so, this Labor Day weekend marked the launch of a great resource for you, and it’s free.

Spearheaded by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) and international financial conglomerate Citi, #StartupLab is a virtual mentoring program that connects young aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking for advice with some of the nation’s most successful young start-up founders. And anyone who is interested in what the organization has to offer can participate.

According to a recent Gallup poll, access to a mentor greatly enhances the likelihood that someone will start a business and ultimately be successful, especially young people. In fact, mentorship has a greater impact on the start-up intentions of prospective entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 29 than it does any other age cohort.

“Our goal is to help mentor, retrain and retool the workforce into a more entrepreneurial one,” said Scott Gerber, YEC’s Founder. “We believe that giving aspiring business owners access to the minds behind many of the most successful start-ups in the world will help them to build successful ventures.”

Program participants will have access to four interactive live video chats per month, weekly email lessons, an eBook club and YEC’s complete library of how-to articles and videos. #StartupLab is a particularly attractive option for individuals who find there is little possibility of their working with a business incubator.

For more information, visit #StartupLab today!