At the peak of the summer vacation, amid an ongoing war that creates various challenges, thousands of teenagers from across the country have been working all year within the "Youth Unistream" nonprofit on developing advanced start-ups in diverse fields. Approximately 100 teenage ventures from around 80 communities across the country and from all sectors in Israel competed for the title "Venture of the Year," as part of the annual competition named after Ted and Hedy Ordan (of blessed memory) and their family. Among the ventures presented in the competition are: A helmet with sensors that summons help in case of a motorcycle accident, an app that assists women at risk in real-time, a venture performing remote physical rehabilitation, a swimsuit designed for people with disabilities, and dozens more.
Mika Ben Said, 17, from Beersheba, a mentee at the Youth Unistream nonprofit, along with 13 other teenagers from the city— which suffered significantly in the war with Iran— are continuing advanced development of IDEAL, an app designed to make entrepreneurship accessible to teenagers with no background in the field. "From the very first stage, where you just write your idea, the app builds a personal path for you, including a glossary of terms, an AI-based personal assistant, a mentor who will guide you at the right time, and also small tasks that move you forward step by step. The idea is to give every boy and girl, no matter where they come from or what their background is, the opportunity to develop a real venture at their own pace and in a way that is accessible to them, and to turn the idea they have into reality," she explains.
"The idea was born from our personal experience in Youth Unistream. We felt a real change in the way we think, in our ability, and especially in our outlook on the world. Then we looked at our friends who had not gone through the same process, who had no exposure to this field at all, and we realized that the gap is huge. We decided to build an app that would make the path accessible and give young people the chance to start," she adds and recounts: "During the war, studies were halted, matriculation exams were looming, and it was hard to concentrate. Yet, despite all the chaos, we chose to continue working on our venture and prepare for the competition. It was the one thing that managed to disconnect me a bit from the situation."
The CEO of Youth Unistream, Yifat Bechor, says: "We see this now more than ever— entrepreneurship enables teenagers to rebuild their resilience and restore a sense of control and hope in their lives. Our youths’ continued work on their ventures throughout the year despite the war and great difficulties helps them create a positive vision for the future. The competition was uncertain due to the Iranian attack, yet we did not give up on holding it for our youth, to preserve their resilience and security. Investing in the entrepreneurial leadership generation will continue to strengthen Israeli society and yield our next pioneering generation in the State of Israel."