Preschool-12 Dual Language Education in
Two Locations in the Bay Area

Startup Grind Global Conference

Startup Grind Global Conference

GISSV 10th and 11th graders immersed themselves in the world of entrepreneurship and business at the recent "Startup Grind" conference in Redwood City.

 

 

 

 

Written by Ole L., Lars H. and Roline A., Grade 11

Startup Grind was a fantastic experience for us high school students. We were thrown into the world of entrepreneurship and business; something we do not learn much about in our school life. There were a variety of different activities at the event itself, ranging from talks highly successful and knowledgeable entrepreneurs to Q&As to some very enthusiastic presentations by promising start-up companies.

We saw many different ideas and concepts which facilitate or assist us in numerous fields including but not limited to our career life, social life and health as well as an abundance of other technological innovations. A few of the interesting start-ups were an app that allows internships over the phone, a website supporting socially disabled people on their search for jobs and lamps that could store valuables.

Our experiences with the individual start-ups varied. Many start-ups were very straightforward about presenting their products, while others went above and beyond conversing with us about business, school and offering us advice for our future careers. Once we were done exploring the start-ups, we listened to some highly inspiring speeches given by successful experts in their fields. One that particularly stood out to us was an outstanding speech on the value of leadership and the influence of a good leader on his team. But our personal favorite was a talk on the importance of considering consumer habits when designing a new product. It made us very self-conscious about how successful companies create products people can't put down out of sheer habit. This sparked a highly interesting discussion in class the next day whether social networking apps really improve our lives with our Economics teacher Mr Lentzen who accompanied us to the conference.

The biggest disappointment must have been the free food they provided us with but luckily there were many good alternatives right around the corner. In the end, it wasn't only a learning experience, but also gave us the opportunity to establish connections for possible internships in the future. We definitely recommend this event to students, teacher and even parents. It is very worth it!