Under the leadership of Mr. Adam Smith, the Entrepreneurship class embarked on its very first real-life entrepreneurial journey. Drawing from his prior teaching experiences, Mr. Smith believed that incorporating the Virtual Enterprise International program at Springbrook would greatly benefit our students. As this is the inaugural Virtual Enterprise International (VEI) Program in Maryland, the program was gifted to Springbrook free of charge. As students delve into the VEI program, they have the opportunity to grasp concepts of career readiness, engage in immersive learning, and develop a global perspective.  Mr. Smith wants to have his company compete at a national level and he hopes his course can gain popularity among the student body.

Mr. Smith’s periods 3 and 4 classes have already initiated the process of establishing their own virtual companies, conducting interviews, and recruiting staff for their respective companies. 

In period 3, Reggie Mesidor created a ride-sharing app to address the community’s transportation issues named Commute-Nex Ride Along/LLC. 

Reggie took a moment to share his inspiration for this newly founded company and advice for future entrepreneurs:

What inspired you to create this company?

“I wanted to make a company whose environment is more like a family.  We are creating an app similar to Uber but cheaper since it’s more like carpooling. The target audience would be 16-24.”

What type of employees are you looking for?

“I am looking for hard workers, people who can put their best effort. Commute-Nex Ride Along would hire experienced drivers who are older and conduct background checks. People our age are working behind the scenes.”

What are the goals of your new business?

“We aim to make it an affordable global company, accessible to everybody.”

What advice would you give to any student interested in starting a new business?

“Find a group of people you can start it with. It is not a one person job. On a team, they cooperate by giving out ideas and talking about which ideas are better or worse. Be ready for the app, it should be really great.”

Reggie is still in the process of hiring employees for his company and establishing his role as CEO.

In period 4, Leah Tedla developed a project aimed at decreasing suicide and self-harm through gaming platforms and related initiatives named LifeEssentials. 

What inspired you to create this website?

“It started based on world problems that they could prevent. One of them was suicide prevention. They decided to keep the focus on suicide prevention.”

What type of employees are you looking for?

“From HR to design, sales/marketing. Plan to hire professional therapists. It’s like a gaming platform where they can game and talk their problems out. More males kill themselves than females. They thought as a group that it would be beneficial to males since they tend to play more games. If they could play games and relieve stress while talking to professional therapists. Something entertaining and creates a safe place. Patient therapists confidentiality.”

What are the goals of your new business?

“The main overall goal is to make sure that there are less people harming themselves by talking through their problems and finding newer ways to prevent suicide. With the target audience being male, but not their only target. But they want everyone to be alive. Making sure everyone has their ability to come– it’s not only gaming. There is a website but their main platform is gaming. Along with gaming, there is a website where they can have live chats with professional therapists, making sure that they are safe.”

What advice would you give to any student interested in starting a new business?

“Be confident. Find someone who believes in you and makes sure that you are able to deliver things that you want to give out to the world. Nothing is a bad idea, innovating something could be something new. It is global. Everything is virtual, they might think about branching in VR (personal idea). She wants to make sure that they have a safe space in virtual enterprises.” 

We are eagerly anticipating the positive impact these companies will have on the school community.

For more information, you may visit the Virtual Enterprise International website.