A little creativity in assigning chores for digital natives can double as entrepreneurial skills training.

Kids do chores, growing up. However, shouldn’t the chores change with the times? Modern-day kids may be able to learn skills that can be entrepreneurial, by doing higher-level chores once they have mastered making their beds.

In a new series of blog-posts, we are going to start documenting and sharing lessons observed by parents and teachers about children, with a focus on development of an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial leadership skills in them while still letting them be kids. These will be shared in short bursts of inspiration through blog posts that any parent or guardian can use in the normal course of raising a child or a grandchild.

I will refrain from trying to define an entrepreneurial mindset, or entrepreneurial skills because there may be several definitions. Many buzzwords are used to describe someone who is entrepreneurial. They could be labeled pathfinders, they could be problem-solvers, they could be adept at research, independent thinkers, and self-starters. Whatever those skills and characteristics are, we will discover them with parents and educators who are on the same journey as us through AlligatorZone — to prepare our kids for careers that do not yet exist.

Besides chores such as making their own beds, modern kids can handle higher level chores if they have access to computers. Since it is summer, the season when families may go on road-trips, a chore that comes to mind is the one that used to be handled by the friendly folks who used to create TripTiks by hand and probably still do.

What if we entrust kids with the chore of planning a road trip. Here’s how one might assign such a chore. Start with having the kids research the road trip with the following broad guidelines.

a) Research directions using the Internet, and make notes on road hazards and closures, drive-times, areas to avoid, traffic peak-times, free and legal parking near sites to visit, and safe stops along the way.

b) Research things to do at each stop along the way, including, free things to do such as national parks along the route, self-guided tours you can do using apps, and must-do items that you do not want to miss in a city.

c) Research accommodations and routing, including identifying places to stay that provide the best value (provide a spending limit), and finding the safest parts of the city, mapping out the route and the sequence of the various stops, noting down estimated times of arrival and planned departure times, and taking notes or print-outs of directions, in case of unreliable GPS in mountainous areas.

What are three entrepreneurial skills that kids might pick up by doing this 21st Century chore?

1. Distilling Actionable Information From Research:

a. Research on the web using tools such as Google Maps, Division of Traffic websites, specific websites of tourist attractions, and travel-review websites to learn of hidden gems that one could visit, among others.

b. Filling gaps in online research through phone calls.

c. Research through talking to friends who know you best (old-school personalization).

2. Budgetary Discipline

a. Learning how to get the best experiences within a budget limit.

b. Understanding trade-offs, on putting safety above savings, so that the kids learn not to cut corners on personal well-being

c. Understanding that price does not always reflect the quality of service provided

3. Understanding Marketing Spins

a. Kids will learn how tourist towns must promote themselves to hold on to passing tourists and make them part with their dollars.

b. Kids will learn how to read between the lines of marketing copy on the websites of various tourist destinations

c. Kids will understand how pricing packages are built to maximize spending by tourists.

By assigning this chore, kids might feel ownership of the road trip and be more engaged as learners during the trip. You might hear less questions such as “Are we there yet?” because they are equipped to know.

As a bonus, the grown-ups will get to see the world through the refreshing eyes of the children. That can be rejuvenating for the grown-ups.

Such suggestions, of course, are easier made than followed because they require spending time with children and giving them undivided attention. Yet, anyone with access to the Internet or to a nearby public library and some spare time can do it. It’s the best investment of time by parents of kids from ages 7 to 17. By seventeen, kids will have learned to think and act independently as entrepreneurial problem-solvers.

The author Ramesh Sambasivan is the designer of the social-impact program AlligatorZone®, where kids meet cool startups (https://AlligatorZone.org). AlligatorZone aims to empower parents and teachers to help their kids prepare for careers that don’t yet exist.

March 14, 2018

A shout-out to all the startup founders who make the time to present their work to kids. And a shout-out to the families who make the time to take their kids to meet these innovators, and participate with their kids in this uplifting and enlightening shared experience.

We have had the privilege of meeting in person, or via the web over a hundred very special startup founders from across the nation. What makes them special is the humility with which they come to a local public library to present their work to a young audience. This has been happening in the form of community events held in public libraries across several cities on both coasts, and in the mid-Atlantic, through a carefully curated citizen-led program where kids meet cool startups.

These events give us an insight into how easily parents in various localities are willing or able to embrace a unique way of getting their kids to learn about a future that these innovators are building.

In some localities these kids’ events have a packed room all the time. The events in some areas have followers who make it to as many events as possible when held with a short drive. It helps that we have been able to avoid repeating a startup founder who has already presented in a region, making each event a unique and exciting learning opportunity.

In some cities, we have parents who contact us and ask us when we will bring AlligatorZone to their city.

In some cities, we have mixed results. Some events are very well attended, filling rooms to capacity, and others are sparsely attended. In some cities they have been very poorly attended. The reasons for this vary from place to place and from time to time.

An innovative event program that is hard to describe because of its many layers of value derived by kids, their family members and the presenting startup founders, has to still compete for family-time and mindshare with the traditional leisure-time pursuits of families such as baseball, soccer, and ballet. That does not stop parents from showing up when they can. Perhaps we can cross out ballet.

In some cities, we have seen only women bring their kids to these innovation events. In some locations people do not come because they did not find transportation.

Despite these variations, the one constant we have is that the startup founders who agree to present to the youth always show up and they present their creations to the kids with great patience.

They present their work with the same enthusiasm and dedication, whether to a room packed with parents and kids or a room with just a few families who have taken the pains to drive their kids to meet the innovators.

The startup founders give selflessly of themselves. They give their time on a weekday evening or a weekend. They share their wisdom. They stay approachable. Often, they are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the questions coming from the digital natives in the events. Many a time, they leave with fresh insights. However, they always leave the events feeling uplifted.

It’s a labor of love for the startup founders, and for us.

Therefore, we salute all the startup founders who consider it worthwhile to spend a couple of hours inspiring our kids and the accompanying family members at AlligatorZone’s event programs.

Because, all it takes is for just one kid to get inspired to create something that transforms the world for the better, to make this massive collective effort from each community completely worth it. Or for thousands of inspired kids to make small incremental innovations. Perhaps we may even see thousands of revolutionary innovations by the kids, each of which transform the world in some uniquely positive way.

Having stated the above, one must admit that many of the startup founders enjoy takeaways too. They answer questions and have honest conversations when they are presenting to the kids; kids who happen to be digital natives merely seeking to understand the world they will inherit. The startup founders learn new lessons from looking at their own worlds through the eyes of the kids — enough lessons to fill a book. Stay tuned.

The writer of this article, Ramesh Sambasivan is the co-founder of AlligatorZone®, where kids meet cool startups, a nationwide face-to-face community platform that brings together startup founders and school-age children to help the kids get a peek into the minds of innovators who are creating the future. What began as a passion project is now touring several cities and serving communities through free inspirational gatherings in public libraries for families. He is also the principal at SiliconGlades, a business innovation and design firm helping organizations transform themselves into formidable sales-machines through operational excellence and a story-telling system for not just the entire organization, but also for the communities it serves.

March 4, 2018

AlligatorZone® is where kids meet cool startups. We put out a (usually) monthly newsletter, viz., the AlligatorZone Almanac. We are going to try housing the content of the newsletter at Medium to make it easier for people to read and share it. The newsletter will point to this blog, allowing for shorter newsletters. Each segment of the Almanac (such as ‘As Seen At AlligatorZone’) will be a separate post which will allow us to attempt a weekly newsletter pointing to this blog. Hope you like this paced approach.

What our youngsters can learn from the startups featured in Tampa this month, viz., Global Safety Management and WeCraftBox.

Here’s what kids can learn from observing AlligatorZone’s product show-and-tell by the founders of startups being featured this month.

On Saturday, March 24, 2018 in Tampa Bay, Florida (parents sign up here):

Julia MacGregor, MS MBA, President and CEO, Global Safety Management will be presenting her startup to youngsters first.

Kids will have an opportunity to have a conversation, in very simple terms to understand how software helps process manufacturing, the industrial use of chemicals, and how being methodical can not only be a habit keeps people safe in everyday use of chemicals — but also a life-skill.

We also believe that seeing woman leaders making the world better sends a positive message to our daughters.

Betsy Wild, Founder and CEO, We Craft Box will also be presenting her startup in Tampa Bay on March 24, 2018.

From Betsy, the youngsters will learn that if they are facing a problem, it is very likely that there are others who are facing the same problem, and if they they can come up with a solution, it may serve a lot of other people. They will also learn that humans are creatures of habit, and one way to sell a product that spreads happiness is to make its use a habit and include an element of surprise — because we seem to love the anticipation of opening a box.

July 17, 2017

Articles in this blog post are written by 11 and 12 year olds who attended an AlligatorZone Academy workshop in Tampa Florida, in June 2017.

I had a great time at AlligatorZone. Being an Alligator Zone Ambassador, I got there early and helped set up the room for the presenters and audience. The presenters were Rob Povlony of Eat Fresco, Dr. Oren Milstein of Stemrad, and Ron and Jeff Rudderman of Vidpic AR.

Rob Povlony started Eat Fresco because he wanted to give people quick, restaurant-quality food at home. Dr. Oren Milstein started Stemrad to protect first responders from gamma radiation. Ron and Jeff Rudderman started VidPic AR because they believe that there is a story behind every picture. The startup entrepreneurs were friendly and enthusiastic during their AlligatorZone presentations. They talked about where they got their product ideas, the technology behind their products, how they funded their startups, how they are selling their products, how they started and continue to grow their business. They also showed prototypes and examples of their products.

The audience asked good questions. For example, one person asked Dr. Millstein if head protection against Gamma Radiation was needed (The answer was no, but still…).

After the presentations were over, I interviewed two of the three startup founders. (Dr. Milstein had to leave early.) During their interviews, the startup founders said that they enjoyed presenting at Alligator Zone. It was a great time.

This guest-blog post is by Anisha G., a 6th grader in California. Anisha likes to play basketball and music. Anisha stepped up to serve her community as an AlligatorZone Ambassador at The King Library in San Jose, California during the AlligatorZone session held on August 27, 2016. The featured startups and founders were (a) Oliver Deighton, Founder and the CEO of Nickel, a way for parents to pay an allowance to kids in their own MasterCard, and (b) Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, Co-founders of BioCellection, who use bacteria to turn plastic garbage into useful things.

Who doesn’t want to earn and keep the track of the allowance that they earn for doing small and simple things.

Nickel is a cool app, that kids and teens can use to track their allowance. This app is easily available to download from appstore. Not only does it motivate kids to work hard and earn their allowance, but also teaches them how to handle their money with care.

Oliver was the first guest of the day invited by AlligatorZone in Martin Luther’s King Library, in San Jose .

Keshav, one of the AlligatorZone Ambassadors arrived and introduced the first presenter, Oliver to the listeners.

Oliver began talking about his app and how Nickel can be very helpful for kids and teens to learn how to handle money and allowance. He also told parents that it’s a very good way to access kids’ account to add money as a good way of earning interest every month (or subtract money).

Nickel app comes with a nickel card, which is divided, into 2 sections, nickel pocket and allowance, the nickel pocket resembles trading of stocks where money can grow.

Before Oliver started Nickel, he was working as a product Marketing manager at Google, and also worked as Vice President of Marketing at VigLink.

We can try Nickel app free for first 2 months. For more information about his new venture we can read from his website :http://nickel.co/

Saying “No More” to Plastic Pollution

Cleaning up plastic pollution is a major problem affecting us globally, killing millions of marine animals throughout the world. A simple walk on any beach, anywhere, and the spectacle of plastic waste is visible. Tons of plastic debris get discarded every year, everywhere, polluting land, rivers, coasts, beaches, and oceans.

Next, host Keshav introduced the presenters Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, where they talked about their plastic-eating bacterial research, which started as a Science Fair project in high school and later they came up with the idea of BioCellection. They also told audience about their high-school field trip, where they saw landfills filled with plastic pollutants and other harmful materials like styrofoam (one of the major plastic pollutants) .

Later on they came up with the idea of starting their company called BioCellection.

BioCellection is a genetically engineered bacteria that will be able to breakdown plastic faster than naturally occurring bacteria.

Miranda is a synthetic biologist, an environmental advocate and a 2016 UPenn college graduate. She used novel chemistry and genetic engineering to create useful things out of these Styrofoam structures.

Miranda’s objective is to remove the most dangerous plastic from landfills and convert it to bacterial food, which can be found in powdered form and valuable liquid, so our landfill does not get populated.

I think, American cities are taking the steps to save environment from plastic pollution, by encouraging people to use reusable grocery bags. It is hard to believe, but a small change could bring a huge impact on protecting our environment.

Schools are also teaching youth to follow 3R’s of environment that is REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. If you think, you are interested in this super Biology work please checkout their wesite http://www.biocellection.com/

August 28, 2016