The future is in safe hands. Here's why!

Twice a year at 'Initiate 48' - Generation Entrepreneur's bi-annual, 48-hour high school hackathon, I experience an atmosphere which I try to articulate to people each and every day, but fall short on time and time again.

I fall short because no words can describe (with justice) what it means to ride the highs and lows, the ebbs and flows, and the good and bad alongside young people who want to make a change in this world. Young people who raise their hand to combat issues from food wastage to social discrimination. Young people who are not ashamed of failing, but who get up and try again. And young people who will undoubtedly go on to leave truly unconditional impact in this world.

I fall short because until you immerse yourself into this space of entrepreneurship and social impact, it's hard to understand why genuine altruism, compassion and support exists within this eco-system. It's companies like Canva, acting as forces for good, that allow us to inspire students around Australia. It's experienced industry professionals, acting as open-minded mentors, that allow us to bridge existing knowledge gaps. And it's parents, acting as unconditional supporters, that allow our youth to engage with the future in the present.

But even harder still is the task of expressing the immense amount of pride and gratitude which I have for a team who serves tirelessly, a team who goes above and beyond, and a team who looks out for the people to their left and the people to their right. On behalf of our students and wider Gen E community, I say thank you - the Generation Entrepreneur team, the people I trust and back with all my heart. Thank you, for all that you do.

Our next Initiate 48 will take place in July, 2021. My inbox is open, so message through or comment down below your email if you'd like to participate in, mentor, judge or host the next Initiate 48 - Australia's leading 48-hour high school hackathon!

Here's to co-designing a brighter and better future, together.

With love,

Es

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CONGRATULATIONS & THANK YOU (Kudos to you all)

A tremendous thank you to Canva for hosting the first Initiate 48 of 2021! The impact that these young entrepreneurs go on to make will be thanks to a global team that truly acts as a force for good. On behalf of the Generation Entrepreneur team and the attendees, I thank you for inspiring and empowering generations of entrepreneurs.

1st Place: Qvault - Tackling underused and outdated storage facilities at major venues by repurposing them with state of the art locks and access codes.

2nd Place: Fruqco - Tackling food waste by repurposing aesthetically displeasing fruit thrown away by supermarkets into easy to digest supplements.

3rd Place: Honeycomb - Tackling procrastination through a personalised study schedule app, linking like-minded students together.

Final Pitches

Our brilliant judging panel

Left to right: Esmond Ye, Victor Zhang, Jacqui McAleer & Jack Leung

Our incredible mentors

Rebecca Mitrevski - Product Manager @ Canva

Andrew Thorn - Founder & CEO @DigitalMaas

Demetria Chelepy - Senior Manager, Customer Complaints Governance (Frameworks) @ Westpac Group

Gabi Byrnes - Program Manager @ Finder

Hannah Ahn - Co-Founder @ Next Chapter

Michael Burnie - Founding Advisory Board Member @ Sales Community

Natalie Salamat - Co-Founder @ Industry Events

Roland T. - Investor & Director at Talent 100 & Ausasia Capital

Steven Solomon - Enterprise Partner Senior Associate, ANZ @ Uber

Part of the amazing Generation Entrepreneur team

Georgia Rudder

Casey Tsang

Mehak Bokhari

Nelson Long

Melissa Qiu & Edward Kwag

Allen Lee & Emily Lee

Ronaldo Keng & Mehak Bokhari

Nathan Hu

Vaibhav Suri

Ivy Cheung

Esmond Ye

US & YOU