A plan to match digital nomads to unoccupied office spaces secured a group of Mexican students first place in the final of the World ORT Taub Young Entrepreneurship (YEP) Program for northern hemisphere schools.
Created by a group of students from Colegio Olamí ORT in Mexico City, the project aims to connect remote workers, young entrepreneurs, small and mid-size businesses, freelancers and digital nomads to unused spaces in hotels, business centers and meeting rooms.
The team’s business solution will offer a professional working environment without the obligation of a long-term commitment as a better alternative than the standard options of coffee shops, restaurants or working from home.
The project was pitched to be available in major cities across Britain, the United States and Mexico. Customers would be able to choose the nearest locations to them and rent per hour or through a membership with the company.
The Taub YEP competition is an opportunity for ORT students to live the experience of designing a product or service that solves a social problem, with milestone presentations and pitches to judges throughout the course. During this year’s program, nine teams of students from seven countries received a thorough introduction to the world of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship.
The year-long Taub YEP course simulates the real-world process of developing an initial idea through market research, analyzing risks and opportunities, defining product specifications, selecting the optimum business model, designing a marketing strategy, manufacturing a product prototype, and finally presenting a business plan and sales pitch.
During the virtual live final in May, teams of high school students gave five-minute presentations of their projects before answering questions from judges.
Opening the event, Robert Taub – an experienced entrepreneur who is the lead program sponsor – welcomed the students via a pre-recorded video and encouraged them to continue developing their thinking skills.
Ari, one of the winning students, said: “This program was very fun, inspiring and creative. Thanks to that I was able to achieve many goals and enjoyed the teamwork and more. I am very grateful to have participated in this program and proud of my teammates for achieving this victory.”
The final was an opportunity for the students to receive advice from experienced entrepreneurs. The judging panel included Jeff Moness, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Canadian Paper Connection and member of the ORT Canada Board; Anna Propp Riesenberg, an active board member for several not-for-profits, including the Jewish Education Project; and Sarah Weitz, founder of The Fat Shallot food truck and a member of the ORT Chicago Advisory Council.
Second place went to the team from ORT Liceo Renzo Levi, from Rome, Italy. They created a posture corrector band connected to an app that notifies the user to straighten their posture throughout the day.
Kfar Silver Students presenting their project
Due to disruption caused by rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza, the team from the Kfar Silver Youth Village could not take part in the live final but presented their project to the judges a few days later. The team created a Smart Refrigerator, which shows in an app what the person has in their refrigerator, helping the customer to avoid wasting food and money.
The winning team members will all receive iPads as prizes.
