What I've Learnt Running This Startup Summit for Teens

"Thanks to you, we are able to reach out to resources we could only dream of in the past. Without your guidance, we would not be able to even make a plan, but now we have completed something...having taken part in such a competition was a big step forward in my life. We greatly appreciate the energy and time you have invested in us, and it is our honor to have you as our mentor. Thank you."

The above was an email sent by a Young Founders Summit Semi-Finalist a few days ago. Not to me, but to the (stellar) mentor his team was paired with, Annie Luu.

I had not taught or reminded students to thank their mentors (and many did not). Also, this boy had faced technical errors during his pitch (his old outdated slides loaded) and was pretty upset about it. The fact that he was appreciative of the experience and sent this email to his mentor touched me on so many levels.

And before I forget all that, I thought I'd pen down a couple of key learning points for me, in running this program.

1. Partnerships are valuable, but be clear on what your program's USP is, and don't lose control over that

When I agreed to hold this year's YFS in Beijing, with Peking University as my partner, I was probably clouded by the allure of branding and location, without thinking it through. Whom was I kidding! I don't think I have written and spoken as much Mandarin in the past 9 years, as I have in the past 9 months.

I knew I had to find partners, especially local ones, so I did.

Don't get me wrong, YFS wouldn't have been a success without these partners who contributed time and resources. PKU, StartupGrind Beijing University, EdgeX...

However, I also came to the realization that in finding partners, I optimized for efficiency and was not necessarily strategic.

What is the success of YFS dependent upon, and what would make the biggest difference to students? Was it the online lessons, the mentors, the on-site experience in Beijing, or something else?

For YFS, it was the mentors. All the mentors recruited by our partner were highly-qualified, impressive individuals who had a ton of startup knowledge. However, because I had not spoken to and engaged with them myself, some hiccups occurred (1) in the matching process, and (2) in ongoing expectations management (mentoring a 12-year-old is WAY different from mentoring a 21-year-old!).

Bottom line is, identify your program's key USP, and ensure that that's one workstream that you handle in-house and maintain full control and oversight of it.

2. "The little things matter". In a world where tangible outcomes matter, overcompensate with intangible experiences

When I first ran YFS in 2018, I didn't give much thought to the "little things". I had thrown away one too many lanyards and name badges; I cared little for awkward networking events; Ice breakers were tacky. It didn't cross my mind to create events for them to socialize with one another. Essentially, I forgot that 10 years ago, I used to keep all the name badges from conferences.

But these things do matter in creating the overall experience. Based on last year's feedback from students, we incorporated talks, tour, a dinner, customized lanyards, etc. to this year's YFS.

It's still not enough, and next year, I'd really love to co-create with the students and add on more social events - because at the end of the day, even if they don't win, I hope they leave feeling inspired and connected.

Which brings me to my third point.

3. We have a long way to go to make failure OK, and comparison not OK

And this starts with the parents.

I see both types when the summit ends.

The Let's-Improve-On-This Type: "I would like to seek your specific inputs and feedback on Team X's pitch... Thanks a lot for the feedback. It will be very helpful to them as they develop the idea. If you're ok with it, I will ask them to reach out to you for advice and feedback as they work forward."*

The Let's-Diss-Others Type: "How did that kind of team A/B/C/D even make it to the Finals? We didn't expect to see other teams with the same idea. Our idea was the same as Team X, why did they get into the Finals and not us?"*

*Real examples

Moving forward, I want to find ways to remove the thought that this is a zero sum game with a clear winner (and the rest are losers), and instill instead the understanding that we are all on our own entrepreneurship journey, and this should really be viewed as a learning experience.

Perhaps I'll adopt the 500 way - where there are no judges and no crowning of a single winner on Demo Days? Let me know if you have any other suggestions!

But to sum it all up, as long as YFS has managed to inspire 1-2 students every batch, that's enough to fuel my drive and my belief in youth entrepreneurship.

"YFS made me realize that I am not a kid anymore; Things I say and do have an impact – negative or positive. Realizing this by itself is a very large gain for me. Thank you for organizing YFS - I will never forget my time in it... And please keep inspiring young adults like myself."

-- A student from the American School of Japan (This one's addressed to me :))

CTA: If any of you want to join me on this mission of inspiring and enabling teen founders, here are the 3 potential ways:

1. Be a mentor - We only ask for 1 hour a week for 6 weeks (mentorship can be in person or via video conference), in Sept - Oct.
2. Help us spread the word - Share about YFS with your network - someone may have a kid / student who might benefit from this.
3. Sponsor YFS, or Sponsor a Team - YFS is run separately as a not-for-profit and with sponsors (however big or small), the more we can empower more students across different income groups.

DM me / leave a comment!

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Young Founders Summit Asia is a global startup competition for kids ages 10 to 18. Organized by Smarter Me and Founders Bootcamp, students undergo a series of entrepreneurship lessons and are mentored by a stellar panel of startup founders, as well as industry and product experts. Top teams take home equity-free cash grants as well as the chance to be mentored by a LA-based VC to really kickstart their venture and join Founders Bootcamp, the world's largest startup program for teenagers.

Disclaimer: This program is run by Smarter Me, and is not a 500 Startups program. The views above are not a representation of 500's views.