We must have the most creative young people in the world

On Young Enterprise's regional fair in Stockholm 2,000 young people showcased their JA businesses with incredible energy, skills and confidence. It was great! IT&Telekomföretagen hosted the Best Service award, where 17 companies competed in tough competition. There were, for example, companies that supply babysitters, companies that sort and transport your garbage, a company with an advanced solution for GPS tracking of mopeds and bicycles, companies that make iphone apps, a team that produces web broadcasts and much more. The jury, mostly made up of people who are entrepreneurs themselves, decided, after a very difficult task, to award Plugga Online as the winner. They offered a digital online service, designing and posting educational math and physics lessons online. Designed by young people themselves for a peer group. Brilliant. 

An interesting observation about service companies is that they find it difficult to charge. Young people do not yet fully appreciate the value of their own time and find it difficult to see it as a cost. Companies selling products easily realize that this is a matter of setting the right price, so that they can make a good profit on the raw material. Service companies, on the other hand, find it hard to realize that time is often the raw material itself... 

Many young people say that this has been the highlight of their entire school career and it is proven that former JA entrepreneurs start more businesses than others. And let's not forget that behind all these enthusiastic young people are teachers, who support and guide. I hope that these teachers themselves will receive a great deal of appreciation now that new curricula stipulate that entrepreneurship should permeate the entire education system.  

Thank you to all the young people, teachers, the JA team and the jury for the energy kick!