The Businesscool
A Unique Online Business Program For Teens
Summer 2021
The Businesscool offers a two-week online immersion into basic business concepts for talented and curious teens from 12 to 16 years of age. We will interactively cover all important business areas while we apply everything immediately in a real life business project.
Our two hour long morning and afternoon sessions include: case studies, social activities, business games, live interviews and Q&A's with business leaders and developing a business project in teams.
We carefully select and invite to our live interviews business people who can be a role model for us. They come and share their insights and experience with us live, answer our questions and give advice.
The program ran from the 29th of June until the 10th of July. We are planning to start more sessions - please fill out the contact form and we will notify you when new sessions are open for registration.
Contact us!To ensure the quality of the Businesscool program we set up a simple application process: To apply, you must be between 12 and 16 years of age and currently studying in middle or high school.
Step 1. Please complete the application form (your basic data, your parent’s or guardian’s data, a paragraph about yourself)
Step 2. We evaluate the application on a rolling basis: we let you know as soon as possible if you are accepted.
As you know, business is a major element of our life. Despite of that there is surprisingly low attention given to it in most of the middle and high schools. As a result young people arrive to “Life” unprepared.
Because you will receive:
Day One is about orientation: introduction to the program, getting to know each other, setting up teams, and getting into the Businesscool mood.
On Day Two we look into the essential skills to be able to succeed in business: from personal effectiveness through communication to project management.
Day Three is devoted to business planning: the why, how and when.
Day Four is about business intelligence: both formal and informal market research are good starting points of any business endeavor.
On Day Five we dig deeper into marketing: Branding and advertising examples and applications
Weekend: We prepared a challenge for the weekend where the teams can showcase their skills.
Day Six is about the money: How to set the price and how to account for the cost and income so we will know what our profit is.
On Day Seven we look into the everyday working of companies: Human resources and operations
For Day Eight the teams will have their product ready so they have to find ways to sell it: we create a sales plan.
Day Nine is about implementation: we have the product, we have plans, and now the teams will work on their sales.
On Day Ten we will exchange experiences; the teams will show the results of their two weeks of learning and work: they will have the opportunity to pitch their brand to “investors” (a panel of experts). In the afternoon we hand out the certificates and prizes before we say goodbye.
10:00-12:00 Main session of the day including: a guest interview and Q&A, introduction and discussion through activities and/or simulations of the topic (eg. pricing principles)
12:00-13:00 Lunch break
13:00-15:00 Applying learnings from the morning session: Working on the water project with your team.
(Central European Time or Eastern Daylight Time depending on the session, actual times depend on your time zone)
Andras Szakonyi
Senior Vice President - Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Iron Mountain
A UN report on the state of the world’s water reports that more than 5 billion people could suffer water shortages by 2050 due to climate change, increased demand and polluted supplies.
As water becomes a scarce resource, it will be better than ever to be in the water business. The task of the teams is to develop their own brand of water. Look, message, feel, packaging, pricing strategy, and all the rest.
Using what they learn in the sessions every day the teams will have to implement what they learned throughout the rest of the day to their own brand of water. In the final session, they will get to pitch their brand of water to a panel of successful business men and women, who will act as investors.
The question is: which team will be able to secure the best deal with the investors?
Who can join the Businesscool program?
Check if you meet the program requirements:
How can you join?
If you answered yes to all the above, then
Contact us!
We limit the number of participants to 24 to maximize interaction among peers, guests, and facilitators. According to our market research no other program offers live interactions with accomplished business professionals with a similar curriculum.
The program is led by the founder of the Businesscool, Daniel Gerlei, a teenager himself. He has extensive experience in leading business related activities and has interviewed a number of business leaders. He would like to make quality basic business education available for teens like himself.