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Entrepreneurs Role Models for Youth

Entrepreneurs as role models: Teaching the skills youth need to succeed in the future

Entrepreneurs Role Models for Youth brings real entrepreneurs into schools to inspire and equip students with the mindset and skills to build their own future. This project offers access to role models, real-world stories, and practical tools. Students design their own career or business plans, identifying key competencies they need for the future, milestones, and strategies to reach their goals.

Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Updated April 2025
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Countries
Students upper
Target group
We hope to inspire students to start career planning early, focusing on developing key competencies that will help them navigate their futures with confidence rather than fear. By hearing stories from adults who have already faced the challenges of building a career, we aim to create a dialogue that helps students see the world not as an uncertain place, but as one they can shape.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

We created this innovation to help young people develop the critical entrepreneurial skills (adaptability, creativity, resilience, problem-solving) needed to thrive in todays fast-changing world. By learning from role models, reflecting on the past, and planning their future, students can build career plans with confidence, while their school stay relevant.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Students engage in a 7-lesson learning journey rooted in design thinking, exploring disappearing jobs, future trends, and entrepreneurial competencies. Guided by their teachers, they identify key skills for the future and reflect on their passions and strengths. They then meet entrepreneurs/role models in online sessions where they hear real-life stories, ask questions, and learn how these role models adapted to change. These encounters help students connect classroom learning to real-world pathways, boosting confidence and clarity. After the meeting, students refine their career or business ideas and present their plans at an online Future Festival. The project blends future literacy, career exploration, and personal development in a structured yet flexible format. It creates a space where students are inspired to dream boldly and take actionable steps toward their future.

How has it been spreading?

We began with a pilot in 8 schools in 2022, connecting corporate professionals with students aged 10–18 to inspire future career thinking. Along the way, we realized that the most relevant skills for today's world are entrepreneurial—adaptability, creativity, and resilience. This insight led us to focus on entrepreneurs as role models. With support from the U.S. Embassy, in 2023 we expanded to 10 schools and 200 students in the next phase, inviting Romanian-American entrepreneurs to share their journeys. Their real-world experiences helped students imagine future careers and business ideas. In the current edition, we've reached 25 schools and over 400 students across Romania.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Reach out to the AllGrow to access the ready-to-use toolkit and role models guide. Teachers will receive lesson plans, role model coordination support, and digital resources. Interested school will need a group of students, internet access, and openness to explore the future.

Implementation steps

Empathize
The first step is to investigate why some jobs disappear while others emerge, discussing the factors behind technological evolution and the role of entrepreneurs and inventors and learn about important trends in technology and their impact on daily life. In the second lesson students become familiar with the critical competencies for the 21st century, such as analytical thinking, innovation, and complex problem-solving.
Imagine
Students envision their future and imagine how they could prepare for it by drawing their career journey. They create a visual representation of their career path, including goals and the necessary skills and steps to achieve them. At the end they present their imagined future to peers, gather feedback, and refine their plans.
Act
Students will be able to have honest conversations with real role models entrepreneurs. In the first lesson they get ready for an online meeting by researching their background. In the second lesson they actually meet the entrepreneur, ask questions, and engage in discussions to learn from their experiences.  
Reflect
In the next session students reflect on the meeting, think about what was learned from the entrepreneur and discuss key takeaways with peers. All the findings will be used to revise and improve their career or business plan.
Communicate
At the end they prepare and present their refined career or business plans, incorporating future trends. At the end of the project a nation wide Future Festival takes place where all participating students share their plans during the online festival. They connect with other participants, and learn more about future trends from guest entrepreneurs.

Spread of the innovation

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