Uploaded Oct 29, 2017
Dear friend,
My journey with Generation Entrepreneur began the moment I realised that we live in a system where young Australians grow up believing that to become anybody special, we must take some rigid academic path, prescribed to us the moment we enter school. The problem is, our current education system doesn’t accommodate for the creativity, uniqueness and diversity of young people today. Despite being an ‘official adult’, I often find myself floundering, unable to grasp who I am, let alone which career path I want to take, or who I want to become. So when I came across Generation Entrepreneur, I saw my vision embodied in their vision statement of “empowering young people to pursue their passions through entrepreneurship”.
This isn’t just some waffle-y statement made to sound pretty. Neither is it something that applies only in a business setting. What we are about, is equipping young people (particularly high schoolers) with an entrepreneurial mindset that they can apply in their daily lives. An entrepreneur is someone who takes the risk to find and live out their passion. Someone who can bounce back after failure, and who can really make a difference in an unconventional way. Everyone has an entrepreneur within them, and what we’re really doing is bringing that out. And you can help us do it.
—
Bethany Tay, 18,
Partnerships Officer.
Dear reader,
Generation Entrepreneur has taught me as much as I’ll get into. The people that make up this organisation are truly amazing in the way that they’ve formed support systems for all things ranging from career development, academics and life. It has formed a bridge between high school and university and now university and career opportunities. I am grateful for the opportunities it has given me and has immense respect and gratitude for this organisation.
I’ve had the incredible opportunity to learn immediately applicable professional hard skills such as social media marketing, event design and management, and pitching for partnerships and grants, and extremely rewarding soft skills such as how to manage a team, public speaking, develop organisation culture, creating presentations and how to efficiently work and study. Yes, these skills have most definitely proven to be useful even as just a second-year student but what transformed me the most was the mindset that I’ve come to adopt as a result of the organisation’s culture. One of the greatest things about Generation Entrepreneur is that it not only facilitates your professional development but also your personal development. The organisation as a whole really inspires you to be the best you can be. It taught me how to be more confident, leadership and even areas of psychology that were directly applicable to where I was in my life. The internal team has a wonderful library of resources that has led me to read books such as “Six Pillars of Self-Esteem”, “4 Hour work week” and be inspired by people like Simon Sinek and Steve Jobs.
Generation Entrepreneur’s mission to empower the youth of Australia resonates from inside and out. It has truly been, what I can only describe, an amazing experience. My message for anyone that is looking to do the same is to empower yourself, the next generation of Australia and the world, Generation Entrepreneur is the organisation to cross paths with.
I’ll leave you with a recommendation to read Steve Job’s speech “Here’s to the crazy ones”. This was used extensively during the early days of the organisation and has really shaped who we’ve become. It’s a speech I think really embodies what Generation Entrepreneur does because, ultimately, the change-makers we promote, push the human race forward. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
I hope this means something to you.
—
David Chen, 20,
Ex-Director of Operations.
Dear friend,
For me school was different, I was one of the only people in my school who achieved a good ATAR, but despite this, I was not happy. Throughout high school, I had many ideas built in my mind that I wanted to chase but due to my limitations and lack of knowledge, I couldn’t.
Then I thought, Hmmm…. What if there are many more kids like me? Kids who can’t chase their ideas because they are scared, lack guidance or are financially incapable.
The world is changing and is developing extremely fast, and these ideas that we are afraid to chase are the ones that will help change this world. That’s why I joined Generation Entrepreneur. Generation Entrepreneur allows me to help kids who were in my position, to be able to provide them with the knowledge and experience of an entrepreneur so that they can believe in themselves and pursue their passions to help change the world.
—
Steven Tran, 19,
Human Resources Officer.
