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Entrepikit: Empowering young generations to embrace change through play
Cycle 3 of the SINGA Factory program has officially started! In an interview with journalist Rossana A. Ammann, SINGApreneurs Clelia Calabrò and Daniela Victorino, the team behind Entrepikit, talk about how they are supporting teenagers to look for ways to change the future and make a positive impact in the world.
Entrepikit are launching a 3-day Summer Innovation Camp called “Hack your Future!” that will take place 7th – 9th of August 2019 in Zurich. It is designed to help young people develop Entrepreneurial Thinking and “the mindset needed to adapt to a very unpredictable future.” Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to “turn their ideas into solutions.”
Clelia and Daniela want to show young people in Switzerland that, by becoming risk takers, team builders, and game changers, they too can shape the future.
Rossana: How would you describe Entrepikit in few words?
Clelia: We play for ideas.
Daniela: We empower younger generations to make a positive impact in the world and shape the future.
Tell us more about the business and what led you to the idea.
Clelia: While doing research for my Master’s degree in “Culture Policy and Management” in London, I observed that individuals are struggling to keep up with changes on the job market. One of them is the demand for life-long learning. Driven by my work experience and studies, I came up with an online game where you could train yourself to learn entrepreneurial skills. This initial idea has then gone through different iterations, that’s why we are now testing workshops with the same content.
Daniela: I am a user researcher with experience working with multidisciplinary teams in-house and at agencies. I joined Clelia last year because with my background in Innovation and User Research I found it really interesting how understanding people’s needs and walking in their shoes has a positive impact on how you solve problems and face challenges. Since last year, we have been working on refining the concept, the product, what we want to offer and who the target customer is.
Daniela comes from Colombia and Clelia from Italy. They met in Zurich in 2018 after moving to Switzerland for new job opportunities for them and their families. They are in the process of exploring the Swiss environment and developing the product to know more about what and where there is a need.
Clelia is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® facilitator with experience in Market Research and Project Coordination in tech companies, while Daniela has a Master’s in Innovation and Design Management and a background in Retail Design and Architecture.
They will be the ones leading the workshops at the “Hack your Future!” event in August, which is for teenagers between 16 and 19 years old. The event is all about the participants getting to know themselves, exploring with others and unlocking their creative and entrepreneurial potential.
What is Hack your Future! about?
Clelia: During the three days participants will work on understanding themselves through LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, because if you want to bring skills to the table you have to understand what you are capable of. Then they will work on the creation of an idea through design thinking. Afterwards, they will develop a prototype and pitch their ideas. It’s a competition and there is a winner and a prize. Along with the Entrepikit team, some other mentors will be part of the jury who will support us with selecting the winning team.
What role does “gamification” play in your business idea?
Clelia: At Entrepikit, the whole point is that the learning experience is not only project or content based but also game based – this is where gamification and playfulness comes in. Participants are immersed in a completely different learning experience, which is not vertical, frontal or just pouring information into your brain, but is interactive, playful. When people play they put all their best skills on the table, so the drive is much higher, collaboration has a meaning, and that is why we have this element embedded in the personality of the business. We use the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology, and we are aiming at gamifying the experience even further.
Where do you see the business going in the next 5 years?
Clelia: I guess the ultimate goal would be to build the final product so as to provide support in diverse markets: retail, sales, education etc. Now we are focusing on providing a service for teenagers, which is about learning and sharing content, but eventually we would like to switch this into a product. Geographically speaking, this way of teaching entrepreneurial skills could be implemented worldwide!
We want teenagers to understand that entrepreneurial skills are not only useful for building a company but are also what we call “skills for life.”
Who is your target group?
Clelia: Mainly young people from 15 to 19 years old. However, our first event will be focused on a narrower age group: from 16 to 19. These teenagers will be at the point where they are on the brink of making a very big life decision: whether or not to go to university.
Do participants need experience in entrepreneurship to participate?
Clelia: We would actually like to encourage people that have no clue about entrepreneurship, but would like to do something positive for the world. It is not about starting your own company. That’s the whole point. It’s about embracing an entrepreneurial mindset and thinking.
Daniela: What we have also learned while developing this project is that the future of work is also changing because companies are looking for skills that were previously not valued or known about as much. Entrepreneurial skills will help you face personal and business challenges, improve the way you do your job, or the way you find a job. Companies today value these kinds of skills and attitudes more and more.
Do you currently need any support?
Clelia: Support is always needed! We will need financial support especially after this first event because we will decide if and how to scale. We don’t want to prototype forever. We want to start selling the product so we need to figure out what’s the best fit for the business.
Daniela: Networking is really important for us because we don’t have a huge network in Switzerland and we need to connect with local schools to reach our target audience. It has been difficult for us to get in touch with them. It would be important for us to start conversations with schools about the need for and value of encouraging entrepreneurial thinking amongst students.
Playing is a very “serious” thing. People find a lot of motivation in doing what they do when they play.
What advice would you give other people who want to start a business in Switzerland?
Clelia: To never give up! For me it has been a learning journey. There are always challenges and road bumps you cannot predict at the beginning, then they happen but you have to keep pushing yourself. It is not about not giving up on your idea, if it’s not a good idea, just give up on the idea, you know? But don’t give up on the entrepreneurial journey.
Daniela: For me I think it’s about having an opportunity. Building our business here has been an opportunity to do something more. There are organizations here supporting you on that journey, like SINGA, the Impact Hub and others. In this regard, Switzerland is a good place to start your business. It is important that you know what opportunities are there for you and that you can find support and really use it.
What drives you and motivates you every day to keep going?
Clelia: Witnessing the project evolving. Every step pushes me to go further.
Daniela: As a team I always feel motivated by Clelia. Her passion for doing this really inspires me. I was not thinking about being an entrepreneur myself last year, not at all. I was fighting to find a job, like most people would do. Then I met her and it’s very motivating to see there is a way for us to do this.
Good to know:
Registrations for the 3-Day Summer InnovationCamp ‘Hack your future!’ are already open.
When? 7th – 9th of August 2019; 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Where? Dynamo Jugendkulturhaus, right above the Limmat.
Who can attend? Participants between 16 to 19 years old.
To know more about the 3-day Summer-Camp, here is a short video.
You can contact Clelia Calabrò and Daniela Victorino via LinkedIn or by writing them at entrepikit@gmail.com, or join their Workshop for Wannabe Entrepreneurs MeetUp events.
Follow Entrepikit on Facebook Instagram Twitter
This interview was held in English by Venezuelan journalist, storyteller and volunteer Rossana A. Ammann, who is passionate about multiculturalism, people’s stories and organizational talent development. You can find her work and more about her via LinkedIn
