Here’s the startup concept that gained these Sixth Form college students RM50K from 1337 Ventures

[This is a sponsored article with HELP International School.]

Picture this: You’re a secondary faculty pupil tasked with a volunteer undertaking. You and your group should work with a good NGO or social enterprise as a part of your course’s syllabus.

You choose an organisation and message their socials, drop them a professionally written electronic mail, and name the cellphone numbers offered on their web site.

But you’re left ghosted. So, you attain out to dozens extra, solely to obtain one reply ultimately, simply barely in time earlier than the undertaking deadline.

There must be a better option to go about this, and that’s precisely what BRIDGE CONNECT goals to resolve.

The platform bridges the hole between the youth and NGOs to find and securing significant volunteer alternatives.

Founded by a gaggle of Sixth Form A-Level college students from HELP International School in 2023, the staff went on to bag RM50,000 from a enterprise capital agency and startup accelerator, 1337 Ventures, to pursue their undertaking as an precise enterprise. 

Meet the staff: The BRIDGE CONNECT staff was based by eight Year 12 college students who had been between 16 and 18 years outdated on the time. They are Lee Ka Dong, Mia Lee Ying Ying, Skye Teh Xin Yee, Samitinjay De, Julianne Yap, Chong Mae Jian, Germaine Soo Jen Ning, and Katrina Ong Kai Qing.

Bridging the hole

Speaking to Vulcan Post, the scholars shared that the above drawback was one thing they’ve confronted themselves, which impressed their conception of BRIDGE CONNECT.

While constructing their platform, the HELP International School college students linked with the Malaysian Foundation for the Blind (MFB) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

The organisations wanted assist creating Malay-to-English braille dictionaries that might profit round 70,000 blind and visually impaired individuals within the nation.

“They granted us a massive opportunity to assist with the data entry stage for the first braille dictionary in Malaysia,” shared Mae Jian. 

Needing extra arms on deck for the tedious activity, the staff utilised their BRIDGE CONNECT platform to collect pupil volunteers.

Through this expertise, the BRIDGE CONNECT staff offered their resolution at their faculty’s Project Purpose Demo Day, which invited numerous companions from business, together with 1337 Ventures, represented by its founder, Bikesh Lakhmichand.

It’s the ultimate check of Project Purpose, a programme developed by HELP International School to coach its younger skills to assume innovatively and foster an entrepreneurial mindset.

In an interview with BFM, Bikesh said that he was compelled to fund BRIDGE CONNECT after witnessing the staff’s tenacity and enterprise acumen in constructing their platform.

“They proved to me that it wasn’t just an idea for their school project. They showed me that this was an actual problem, conducted surveys to show that people wanted their solution, and then built a website on their own without spending a single dime,” recalled Bikesh. 

He added that this course of was akin to how startups are created in the actual world, and believed that the undertaking may make an affect in society ought to it pan out as supposed.

“After receiving the funding, we’re working with Mr Bikesh to register us as an SDN BHD company,” mentioned Germaine Soo. “Now, we are in the process of making the official website for BRIDGE CONNECT.”

The staff shared that they’ve since utilised the funds to arrange BRIDGE CONNECT as an official enterprise. This contains the backend processes like hiring an organization secretary, registering the enterprise, and establishing a enterprise checking account. 

They’ve additionally utilised the funds for on-ground advertising and marketing initiatives to drive consciousness about their resolution.

Furthermore, BRIDGE CONNECT is connecting pupil volunteers with different types of on-line volunteering similar to managing social media channels for NGOs, writing articles, analysis, and extra. “This is to achieve our goal of making volunteering more accessible to students,” Katrina Ong mentioned.

While the eight college students behind will probably be transferring on to universities world wide, they continue to be dedicated to constructing their platform, and may nonetheless achieve this because it’s operated completely on-line.

“We also hope to pass this project on to our juniors in HELP International School by hiring them as interns to help manage physical events like workshops and booths,” added Katrina. “By doing so, we can foster this student volunteering community in Malaysia.”

Meanwhile, the braille dictionary is at the moment in improvement and has accomplished its prototype stage as of Q1 2023, in accordance with The Star.

Building social entrepreneurs

The success of the BRIDGE CONNECT staff may need been more durable to attain if not for Project Purpose.

Part of the varsity’s Sixth Form (A-Levels) programme since 2021, it’s a course at HELP International School the place college students be taught by means of the hands-on expertise of beginning a social enterprise. It goals to find college students’ untapped potential that goes past conventional coursework. 

For context, conventional A-Levels contain college students finding out as much as 4 topics. At HELP International School, college students get the choice to go the normal route, or pursue three topics alongside Project Purpose.

At Project Purpose, college students are guided by means of startup fundamentals like ideation, analysis, budgeting, product improvement, enterprise planning, advertising and marketing, and affect evaluation. 

The programme works with specialists within the Malaysian startup scene, specifically 1337 Ventures’ Bikesh, NEXEA’s Justin Lim and Ben Lim, and ScaleUp’s Aaron Sarma. 

Students even have the chance to collaborate with native entrepreneurs, giving them entry to first-hand insights and constructing their community.

The Project Purpose journey concludes with Demo Day, throughout which college students will pitch their options and show how they’ll transition into real-world ventures.

Continuing the success

BRIDGE CONNECT has impacted greater than its beneficiaries, as they’re additionally difficult societal beliefs that children who grew up in our digital world are overly pampered.

“Being from the current generation of instant gratification, as these students witness their projects making an impact and as their seniors gain recognition for their work, students become intrinsically motivated to make their projects a success,” shared Manmeet Kaur, Project Purpose Coordinator. 

She elaborated, “Once they’re placed in a safe environment, [and are] explicitly told that it’s okay to fail, all students are willing to try something new and step outside their comfort zone.”

Now in its fourth cohort, HELP International School’s Sixth Form will likely be accepting enrolments for his or her August 2024 cohort from now until July. 

Students who’ve accomplished their GCSE, SPM, or equal are welcome to hitch the programme and embark on the Project Purpose journey, which you’ll be able to join right here. 

• Learn extra about BRIDGE CONNECT right here, and HELP International School’s Sixth Form right here.
• Read different education-related articles right here.

Featured Image Credit: HELP International School