IVAN: "BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR FEELS REALLY DIFFERENT THAN BEING AN ORDINARY KID"

SEEDS students are more than entrepreneurs - they are innovators, problem-solvers and leaders of the future. Thus, when tasked with starting a business venture, they are constantly thinking of ways to improve opportunities for not only themselves and their families, but the world around them. For SEEDS student Ivan, it was important to come up with a product that would use the resources around him. 

The goal of his small business, Tiestos Perzonalizados, is to recycle materials into pots and other household items so that they can be reused, rather than wasted. The idea came to him in the classroom, when he and his friends were brainstorming more effective ways to recycle. What was once an idea shared among friends, is now a thriving business, thanks to the skills learned in the SEEDS classroom.

But Iván learned more than entrepreneurship in the SEEDS classroom. He learned how to express himself, and now he can speak in front of a camera without being so nervous!

According to Iván himself:

“I love the opportunity to belong to SEEDS. They gave me the opportunity to be an entrepreneur, and now I love being an entrepreneur. Being an entrepreneur feels really different than being an ordinary kid - you have more responsibilities and you have people to count on like my classmate.”

Iván is one of the most recent SEEDS program graduates from Barranquitas, Puerto Rico. SEEDS is a STEAM-based entrepreneurship education program for youth in Puerto Rico. SEEDS allows students to tackle real-world business problems and engage in a mentorship program with leaders in business from on and off the island.