Congratulations to Grade 11 students Jaewon P. (‘24), Hyunjoo K. (‘24), Jimin S. (‘24), Ryan K. (‘24), Pulkit C. (‘24), and Megan T. (‘24), who represent two ISKL teams, Panthers and MC = MR, by winning first and third place at the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (GYEC) Malaysia 2023 in their first time taking part last February.
GYEC Malaysia 2023 is a 12-hour online business idea competition for high school students from 14-19 years old in Malaysia and is approved by Kementerian Pendidikan (the Ministry of Education in Malaysia). It aims to encourage young people’s entrepreneurship and develop their knowledge and experience of enterprise. It allows teams of high school students from around the world to solve a significant global problem through an innovative and sustainable enterprise idea where they learn to practically apply their knowledge of science and technology.
Due to the global rules that prevent more than one team per school from winning, the Panthers Team (Jaewon, Jimin & Hyunjoo), who won first place, will represent ISKL and Malaysia at the Global Challenge on May 27, 2023.
Here are their stories:
Team Panthers: Jaewon, Jimin & Hyunjoo
Tell us more about your team.
We named our team Panthers for this competition as we wanted to represent ISKL with pride. Our shared passion and interest in business studies are what brought us together.
Can you tell us more about your business idea?
The GYEC challenge for this year required us to create a new business idea that can improve customers’ mental or physical well-being. The moment we encountered the challenge prompt, our team began brainstorming mental and physical well-being issues that have emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After some discussion, we decided to focus on eating disorders as a critical area of concern. Through our collaborative efforts, we developed the concept for a mobile application called MealMates, which aims to promote healthy eating habits among low-income households in Malaysia with eating disorders.
MealMates creates affordable and nutritious meal plans for users based on their dietary requirements and budget. In addition, the app provides a platform for users to share pictures of their meals and communicate with other users. Users can earn points by receiving likes and comments on their points, which can be redeemed as vouchers or transferred to e-wallets such as Touch ‘n Go and Grab. To further enhance user experience, MealMates allows users to maintain meal diaries and rate their daily meals. This feature enables users to track their progress toward their nutrition goals and stay motivated to maintain healthy eating habits.
What was the most challenging part of the competition?
The most challenging aspect of this competition was the tight timeframe we were given. We had only 12 hours to conceptualize a business idea, create a detailed business plan, and produce a presentation video. The compressed schedule was quite demanding, but it pushed us to remain focused and work efficiently. Despite our difficulties, the experience taught us invaluable time management, workload management, and effective communication skills. Looking back, it’s clear that the challenge wasn’t easy, but we’re proud of what we achieved!
As a team, what were you most proud of?
As a team, we engaged our interests and enthusiasm in business studies and showed our individual abilities in this competition. Above all, we felt proud of ourselves not just because we won the competition but also because we successfully collaborated on each of our skills and knowledge (economics, business, and video editing).
What is one piece of advice for students who plan to participate in GYEC next year?
Critically analyze and comprehend the challenge prompt.
→ While creating an organized business document is undoubtedly an essential aspect of this competition, we believe that generating innovative and impactful ideas is the key to success. Hence, we recommend carefully examining the given question and striving to grasp the “concept” being sought by the examiners. Doing so can lay a strong foundation for your business plan.
Use your academic knowledge to the fullest extent possible.
→ In constructing and writing the business planning document, the IB business textbook is particularly beneficial.
Maintain open and effective communication with team members.
→ It is important to remember that ideas can constantly be refined and expanded upon. We recommend all team members provide and solicit feedback from each other as frequently as possible.
Overall, we highly recommend participating in GYEC next year as it provides a valuable opportunity to discover your hidden potential and develop skills that will benefit you in the future.
How will you plan to prepare for the final competition?
As the challenge statement will only be revealed on the day of the competition, we understand that brainstorming business ideas or doing specific planning beforehand is not possible. Therefore, we plan to conduct research on contemporary articles and news sources to gain an understanding of existing businesses in our current society, as well as identify potential gaps and niches in the markets. Additionally, we will review what we learned from our business course to expand on our business knowledge.
Team MC = MR: Ryan, Megan & Pulkit
Tell us more about your team.
Our team came together through our shared interests in entrepreneurship and economics. We named our team MC = MR after an economic concept of profit maximization where each of us brought unique skills and strengths like marketing, finance, and product development.
By combining our talents, we developed a winning business idea that met the needs of our target customers and generated revenue. We remained committed to innovation, teamwork, and hard work throughout the competition and are proud of our achievements.
Can you tell us more about your business idea?
Our business idea, Hobe TM, would be a free application that connects people interested in high-quality, healthy, and convenient food with businesses that offer such food. The idea was to create a marketplace where customers can easily find and purchase healthy food options from various providers. The platform would also allow customers to leave reviews and feedback on restaurants and food providers, which will help to refine the selection and enforce customer choice.
We were motivated by a desire to make healthy food more accessible and affordable for everyone. Creating a platform that connects customers with various healthy food options will make it easier for people to make healthier choices and improve overall well-being.
What was the most challenging part of the competition?
As a team, we recognized that one of the biggest challenges of the competition was managing our time and resources effectively. With only one day to develop a business idea, create a detailed plan, and prepare a video presentation, we knew that time management would be critical to our success.
To overcome this challenge, we adopted a collaborative and streamlined approach to our work. We divided the tasks among team members according to our strengths and expertise and set clear deadlines for each process stage. We also communicated regularly and effectively, using tools like video conferencing and instant messaging to stay in touch throughout the day.
As a team, what were you most proud of?
As a team, we were most proud of our ability to collaborate effectively and create a winning business concept under tight time constraints. We knew that by competing we would face numerous challenges, but we remained committed to developing a high-quality product that would meet the needs of our target customers.
Throughout the day, we worked tirelessly to refine our business plan, incorporating feedback from each other and our supervisor. We leveraged our collective strengths to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy, financial plan, and product design that we were confident would impress the judges.
When it came time to present our product, we felt a sense of excitement and pride in what we had accomplished as a team and were thrilled to showcase our hard work and creativity! We felt confident that our product would stand out in the competition.
What is one piece of advice for a student or team who plans to participate in GYEC next year?
Given the time constraints, it’s important to quickly identify the key components of your business plan, such as your value proposition, target market, revenue model, and marketing strategy, and focus on developing these clearly and concisely.
Be sure to use your time efficiently by dividing tasks among team members, setting clear goals and deadlines, staying focused on the problem, and avoiding getting sidetracked by non-essential details.
Finally, don’t be afraid to take calculated risks and think outside the box. The judges will be looking for innovative and creative solutions, so be willing to take bold steps and present a unique and impactful plan.
Do you know of any student, teacher, parent, or staff who always have an anecdote to tell, love to share some insights into their passions and interest, or simply is a Panther through and through? Nominate them to be featured in our Panthers of ISKL stories by sending in your submissions here.
