Uploaded December 4, 2017
‘Our why’ is a letter series written by members of our team, it illustrates our journey at Generation Entrepreneur, and our hopes for the future.
We hope it provides insights into why we do what we do, and why we care.
Generation Entrepreneur is truly a one-of-a-kind organisation. It is a community that has the dream of empowering young people across the world.
Having gone through a syllabus-based educational system, it became painfully apparent that education was fundamentally failing to teach. Being forced to memorise and regurgitate content to meet a checkbox is not how education should be taught. Being told that there is no point in learning certain content because it is ‘outside of the scope of the course and is not examinable’ should not be a limitation that exists.
Instead, our education should be fuelling our very own insatiable desires to learn.
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” — Mark Twain.
To deliver entrepreneurial education is difficult. When you break down what Generation Entrepreneur is doing, it’s greater than a weekend business workshop. Generation Entrepreneur is reinventing the way we approach entrepreneurship — starting with our youth.
To me, Generation Entrepreneur has deleted any age bias that exists towards our youth following their passions. No longer is it a crime to learn about Photoshop or want to create your own global apparel brand. Instead, with just the right exposure and mentoring, we can create a generation of do-ers, no longer limited by the mentality that we should ‘raise our hand’ before asking a question.
In an ideal world, those who have an idea should be able to execute and create something tangible out of it. And along the way, those brave enough to embark on creating a reality for their idea would ultimately learn so much more than the ‘shelf life’ cycle of preparing for the next standardised exam.
—
Andrew Snow, 20,
Ex- Marketing Director.
Andrew looks extremely comfortable in that position!!
Dear reader,
There were many times when I struggled to bounce back from a fall after taking a leap of faith. But those are the moments I won’t ever regret because it has brought me to where I am today and they all started with saying ‘yes’ to something new.
About six months ago I decided to participate in Initiate 48, a program held by Generation Entrepreneur. I was completely unaware that after those two days I would want to become a part of this team of people who I absolutely love and am extremely privileged to work with.
Initiate 48 had placed me into an environment outside of my comfort zones to fully immerse myself in entrepreneurship with my team. I was given the resources and an overwhelming opportunity to develop skills to do with a concept that meant so much more than business, a seemingly distant world from school. Initiate 48 gave me the courage and made me believe that my unique qualities are able to contribute to a team.
When it all ended, I was extremely grateful, inspired and had a bubbly feeling with the people that I had met as well as of my i48 experience. These people had given their time to mentor others and myself and with nervous excitement, I decided to join the amazing Generation Entrepreneur team.
Fast forward to two months ago, I was working behind the scenes at the next i48 event and was learning just as much as the people participating. The accomplishments that I observed from the students has further made me passionate about the powerful impact of entrepreneurship.
Gen E has given me endless opportunities to learn in ways I couldn’t imagine at school. The times that I spend with Gen E are extremely worth it and I hope to continue spreading these opportunities and sharing my experiences with others.
I hope that you, too, can make a choice to say ‘yes’ to something new to you.
Thank you!
—
Casey Tsang, 16,
Marketing Officer.
The team at our last i48 event!
Dear reader,
Many people ask me why I spend so much time volunteering at Generation Entrepreneur. My answer? Entrepreneurship is the answer to igniting your passion.
It’s about more than just starting a business — it’s about developing a mindset.
In school, my teachers often encouraged me to forget the real world and just remember facts, statistics and formulas without taking into account all real-world factors. Once, a teacher of mine said, “Don’t think about the real world. Just memorise the syllabus.” This hit me hard. What was the point of studying all of this if it wasn’t useful in real life?
Now, after having graduated high school, the skills I have learnt from my time at Generation Entrepreneur have been unquestionably more useful in my day to day life compared to anything school has ever taught me. This is why I have remained a passionate member of the team and why I am willing to make sacrifices for Generation Entrepreneur’s mission.
The impact that the organisation has made on me and the impact that I continue to see it have on youth in Australia is truly breathtaking. Not all students who come through our programs will be interested in business, but most will come to realise that age is no barrier. We all have what it takes to turn our dreams into a reality. And Generation Entrepreneur is just the first step in that journey.
—
Karen Cho, 18,
Operations Director.
The wonderful Operations team!
