Building a Platform for Short-form Audio Content that Appeals to the … – University of Pennsylvania
Lily Stambouli, a junior at Harvard Westlake School in Los Angeles, California, has a big goal for the future: to become CEO of her own company that in some way helps others. Many high school students embrace social entrepreneurship, and it can be interesting to discover the different building materials they are using to pave that pathway in high school and beyond. Lily’s provisions include …….
Lily Stambouli, a junior at Harvard Westlake School in L. a., California, has An monumental objective for The Prolonged time period: To Wind up to be CEO of her personal agency That obliquely assists completely differents. Many Highschool college students embrace social entrepreneurship, And that it Might be fascinating To discover the completely different constructing supplies They’re using to pave that pathway in Highschool and past. Lily’s provisions embrace A school incubator, her personal enterprise ideation and enchancment, alumni mentors, school summer time packages and key guiding guidelines. On this month’s podcast, she shares All of the biggest methods she is gasolineing her revolutionary assumeing and nurturing her ardours – even Inside The sector hockey objective.
Enassembleive to click on on the arrow above to Take heed to our dialog with Lily. An edited transcript seems under.
Wharton Worldwide Youth Program: Howdy and welcome to Method forward for the Enterprise World, the podcast about revolutionary assumeers who in all probability nonethemuch less stay with Mom And pop and aren’t pretty Previous enough to vote. That’s proper. Our visitors are Highschool college students Who’re teaching to be superb change makers and global leaders. And, They Appear to be a lot of nice To converse to.
I’m Diana Drake, managing editor of the Wharton Worldwide Youth Program On the Wharton School, College of Pennsylvania. Right now’s episode Is not any. 29, Which suggests In case You are simply tuning in for The primary time, You’ve tons of good innovation-impressed interviews to Make amfinishs for. Find Method forward for the Enterprise World on Spotify, Apple podcasts or on the Wharton Worldwide Youth internet website Collectively with a written transcript at globalyouth.wharton.upenn.edu.
I’m excited to welcome Lily Stambouli, a Highschool junior from L. a., California, to the current. Lily likes To assist aspiring entrepreneurs study and do good factors, clearly a nice match for Method forward for the Enterprise World, And she or he Is notably dedicated to unfolding consciousness about neurodiversity, or the differ of variations in how people assume.
Lily, thanks for becoming a member of us on FBW.
Let’s get to know you greater, starting with Definitely one of my favourite primeics, innovation and entrepreneurship. I’m On A daily basis To Take heed to Regarding the biggest way college students are In a place to discover Industry education in Highschool. Your Highschool, Harvard-Westlake School in L.A. has an exact enterprise program. Are you able to inform us extra about it and The way it has impressed your revolutionary assumeing?
Lily Stambouli: Yeah, utterly. Final yr, I used to ben’t exactly An factor of the Venture Chiefs at my school as a Outcome of I used to be nonethemuch less Getting into Highschool and studying extra about it. So, I halficipated Inside their incubator program, which embraced pitch decks and steerage from T.A.s, teachers and alumni who principally assisted me launch my first enterprise and Industry. And it was exactly inspiring To have The power to work with so Many people who had expertise. Presently, I’m on the Venture Chief group and it’s so good To have The power to work with completely different Individuals Who’ve That very similar entrepreneurial spirit and exactly do Want to be entrepreneurs.
With Venture, we host workshops and events like using our in depth alumni internetwork simply to unfold that spirit all throughout the campus and exactly assist people In the event that they’ve ardour tasks or have ideas on factors They Want to found to encourage and assist them Be succesful of create one factor.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Are A lot Of college students Considering about entrepreneurship and being half of the Venture Lab?
Lily: Yeah, tright here’s A great portion of the campus Who’ve Their very personal companies and have Their very personal ideas that They need To unravel. So, it’s simply exactly inspiring to be in that group with like-minded people.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Wright hereas we’re chatting about school life, I hear you’re a fierce area hockey objectiveie. Are you able to share a second from rivals that stays with you?
Lily: Oh, utterly. I used to not be a objectiveie. I used to play area hockey, And that i used to be Solely a forward, however I used to be exactly dangerous. It was demotivating to see my friends Obtain this Lots greater than me as a forward. And Finally I used to be in Tenth grade. I’d been having fun with for 4 yrs. I get a name from my frifinish, And she or he’s like, pay attention, We’d Similar to you to be objectiveie for this recreation. And I used to be like, okay, assembleive! And so, I acquired to The sport. It was versus The hardest school Inside the league The primary time. Tright here’s Lots gear. You’ve acquired a helmet, you’ve acquired arm pads, leg pads, a jock strap, eachfactor. And so, I Positioned on the gear for The primary time, And that i used to be simply making an try to work eachfactor out and exactly get in that place. We did Find your self dropping 7-0, however general, I might say it was A great studying expertise for me, And that i accomplished up primarytaining with It isset off I had nice, and it was one factor that I used to be Enthusiastic about. Now I’m undoubtedly greater. And we haven’t misplaced 7-0 since.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Okay, again to entrepreneurship. You’ve been Engaged on a social media startup referred to as Audistory, which Continues to be A bit in progress. Are you able to inform us about your app and extra primarily, The way it addresses A very particular personal curiosity of yours, studying disabilities?
Lily: So, As quickly as I used to be in Ninth grade, we had simply acquiredten again from the COVID yr wright here eachbody was all ahalf, and we have been doing a unit in English class wright here We’d pay attention To these 10-minute snippets Of people’s tales. It was like TEDx Ted Talk in The biggest way That people shared tales about their stays and the morals that acquired here from it. And I used to be assumeing to myself, That is such a cool factor. I want I could Do this. I imply, I’m not Educated. I’m not going [to do a] TED converse. But nonethemuch less, I’ve A lot of tales that I Would want to share with people. And so, I simply sat on That idea of With The power to share my tales with people, however by way of an app or one factor That would contain my frifinishs, And that i simply having nice. So, I let The thought simmer.
That’s As quickly as I joined my school’s incubator And that i noticed that if I needed To Do this, I needed To Search out A drawback tright here And lookay at out and unravel it with This idea. And so, A lot Of people in my quick household have factors like autism or ADHD. I’ve On A daily basis grpersonal up being very acutely Aware of how these Kinds of studying disabilities have an effect on people. And I noticed that It could typinamey be very troublesome, particularly even for me, To have The power To Think about one factor Almethods as a Outcome of A lot Of people typinamey need that fixed stimulation of leisure. And so, I noticed tright here was nofactor On the market that addressed A necessity of fixed stimulation, while nonethemuch less With The power to multitask and do completely different factors. Sure, You’ve TikTokay, YouTube, Netflix, however then Once again, You proceed to Want to be watching one factor while pay attentioning to it After which you undoubtedly’ve podcasts, however these can go on for 20 minutes or Half-hour and it’s not that brief-type audio content material that I used to be Lookaying for. So from that discovery, I used to be In a place to create Auditory, which is A quick-type audio content material app By which You will be In a place To inform tales about your life, your expertises, simply even niceny tales. I went by way of A lot of prototyping on Spotify wright here I used to be In a place to get my frifinishs to sfinish me a ton of two-minute audio clips sharing random tales from their stays. It accomplished up exactly taking off within my frifinishs and group And a lot of Of people exactly appreciated it. That was exactly inspiring to see such A particular personal idea And eagerness of mine come to life.
Lily Stambouli.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: How does Your liked ones truly enrich your entrepreneurial assumeing aspherical this?
Lily: Yeah, so my dad has On A daily basis had an entrepreneurial spirit. He started his personal agency, Immigrating from The center East. And in addition, my mom has On A daily basis made assembleive to encourage me and push me To at least one of the biggest that I could probably be. And so, I really feel their assist and the environment I grew up in gave me The prospect to have the mindset of needing To start out one factor and needing to create one factor That would assist people. And then that little further push of being sursphericaled in an environment Of Individuals with studying disabilities gave me that expoassembleive very early on.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Your father and your brcompletely different are neurodiverse, right? Have they assisted you Alongside with your prototype and assisted you to develop Audistory?
Lily: Yeah, undoubtedly. All by way of The complete course of I might ask them: Is that this one factor That you merely can see your self using? And by way ofout The tactic, They might inform me a ton of kinks thOn they noticed and [say], I don’t know if this half Can be exactly useful to me, and then right here’s one factor Which might assist. And so, I might take their suggestion in and Be succesful of apply that to no matter I used to be doing.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: It’s fascinating as a Outcome of not all that Method again, autism was a situation that few people had heard about, till mightbe they watched the film Rain Man. But diagnostic standards have modified and now extra Individuals are beneath that umbrella of autism. It’s A good time To assemble consciousness about neurodiversity, and that leads me To A particular enterprise that I heard you Talk about, which is Learn D. This is one factor that You probably did at Babson College last summer time. Are you able to Talk about Which have and what your key takeamethods have been?
Lily: Absolutely. So, I used to be in A gaggle with 5 people, and Commencing, we had The obligation Of making one factor Which might assist clear up One of many UN (United Nations) global goals. And clearly, I used to be very Enthusiastic about serving to college students with studying, particularally People who had studying disabilities that put them at An impediment. And as I used to be talking with my group, with people from China and Texas and All by way of the globe, half of my group didn’t even exactly know what studying disabilities have been. Since I stay in L.A., eachbody Might be very Aware of factors like this. Neverthemuch less it exactly hit me To know That people my age didn’t exactly know a lot about that. And so, that’s As quickly as I noticed I needed to create LearnD with my group. It accomplished up being An interinternet website wright here college students with studying disabilities could chat and join with Every completely different and share their strategies or their favourite fidget toys thOn they like using, and simply join A Quantity of drawbackd college students. In A lot of places, particularly Everytime you’ve a studying incapacity and go To a faculty, mightbe [Tright here’sn’t] A particular program or A particular alternative To have The power Which will Help you to. I really feel It Might be good To join with people outdoors of your hometpersonal And even All of the world over.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: What do you assume you’re taking away most from LearnD and from Audistory and this interpart of entrepreneurship and neurodiversity? What are you taking from the expertises of creating these ideas?
Lily: I really feel it exactly made me understand how important entrepreneurship Might be To serving to clear up factors or not even clear up, however simply serving to these factors and enhancing them For people who mightbe don’t have a voice. It was exactly important to me To have The power To assist encourage Individuals with studying disabilities and say: Hey, it’s okay That you’ve acquired this. So many completely different people do. Here’s How one can join with these people and join with anyone You should join with.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: You have been pretty busy last summer time, Lily. You furtherly Hung out on the Wharton School campus studying Necessities of Entrepreneurship. How, if In any respect, did that gasoline your essential assumeing and innovation aspherical neurodiversity? Were you In a place To Search outing a group and like-minded people To debate A pair of Of these primeics with?
Lily: What’s so good about going To at least one of manyse [summer time] packages, which is particular personally, my favourite half, is That each single particular person Tright here’s Considering about entrepreneurship and is making an try to gasoline Their very personal ardours. Regardmuch less of The very Incontrovertible actuality that I didn’t discover somebody who was super eager on serving to clear up factors That Individuals with studying disabilities have, their assist and their suggestion given in the direction of me was In a place To assemble me up and assist me gasoline this ardour that I had. And I noticed that I could use entrepreneurship To assist people, which was such An limitless realization for me.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: You’re containd in all types of actions and tasks. Lily, we’re dwelling in such an accomplishment-focused world, starting as youthful college students. When is it An extreme quantity of?
Lily: I really feel that undoubtedly when you lose the sight And expertise to sprime and take a second and assume to your self, is what I’m doing exactly making me joyful? Or mightbe, am I simply doing it for my mother and father or For school? I really feel why I’m so Enthusiastic about what I do is as a Outcome of I’m having nice doing it And that i’m really feeling enriched while doing it. And I really feel what occurs with A lot Of people these days is we get so misplaced in making an try to have that good GPA and making an try to do eachfactor, that you lose sight of what’s exactly making You cheerful and wright here your ardours lie.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: So The purpose of an incubator — which you converseed about that your enterprise program is an incubator at your Highschool — is to incubate, proper? You develop to a sure level After which you undoubtedly’ll Have The power to Exit By your self. Similar to Barely chick in an incubator. And I’m questioning wright here you stand with Audistory Inside The tactic of incubation. Are you going to pursue it further?
Lily: Sure. After the incubator accomplished On The prime of last yr, we have been In a place to pitch our idea to a ton of alumni They typinamey gave their suggestion and gave us assets that we could Bear. I truly tookay that To Take heed tot And that i made A selection I needed to proceed Audistory. As of proper now, I particular personally can’t code. So, I’m Lookaying for somebody who can code The thought as a Outcome of it’s been prototype mapped out. I’ve a Consumer Interface (UI), a design and eachfactor. So I’m Wanting for that proper now, like a coder who I can notion with constructing the App. Venture furtherly has this program referred to as Fobeneath Support, which is wright here, even at any stage in your enterprise previous incubation, even Do you have to’re super worthwhile and made hundreds of dollars, You will have The power To return to Fobeneath Support and have A spot to work In your idea, which I really feel is so, so useful for people simply starting All of the biggest Method to excelling On their Industry.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Wright here Is that this all main for you? Do you hope to pursue Industry Finally?
Lily: My objective is to Finally be the CEO of My very personal agency that I’m In a place to create relating to one factor that I’m exactly Enthusiastic about And might assist change the world.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: I need to know what this phrase implys to you: “What’s the why?” Is the phrase. How can completely differents use this to nurture the entrepreneur within? What’s the why?
Lily: I’ve heard this phrase dozens of events. The entrepreneurship head of Venture utters this Daily to us As quickly as we’re making an try to create stuff. He [says], what’s the why? What’s the why? The why is your objective, it’s your ardour, it’s your driving strain, The rationale why you’re doing what you’re doing and The rationale why you’re In a place to be so Enthusiastic about factors. I really feel discovering your why, whether or not It is appearing or creating one factor or truthfully, somefactor, I really feel if You will discover that, you’re In a place to stay a happier life and be extra environment nice and embrace your creativity and do what You’d like to have The power to do.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: We’ll all be Lookaying for our why. One question I Wish to ask eachbody on Method forward for the Enterprise World is Ought to You can change one factor On the earth, what Wouldn’t It is?
Lily: Okay, so for this question, I used to be exactly, exactly Keen about it — diving deep. Worldwide warming, housing. I Thought-about one factor [and then felt] like eachfactor has a assembleive and adverse. For event, Do you have to give eachbody A million dollars, that’s simply going To Increase inflation and set off extra factors. And I really feel like what I might do is remedy most cancers, as a Outcome of at A very youthful age, my grandmcompletely different died of most cancers, sadly. And in addition I’ve acknowledged Lots Of mother and father that have most cancers and factors like Sarcoma at A very youthful age. It’s On A daily basis been A very excellent facet of my life. I really feel like tright here’s utterly no adverse To Search outing a remedy for most cancers. That’s what I might undoubtedly Want to do.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: All proper, let’s wrap up with our lightning spherical. Reply these questions as shortly as You will have The power to.
What was the last story you edited for JGirl Journal?
Lily: I edited A narrative about An adolescent going to Israel for the summer time and their expertise with that.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Outline management in 5 phrases or much less.
Lily: Taking cost To assist completely differents
Wharton Worldwide Youth: The subsequent factor that you’re excited to study that you don’t already know?
Lily: I’m excited to Research economics and statistics subsequent yr.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Somefactor about You which of them might shock us?
Lily: I’ve an behavior and obsession with Crocs. The footwear, the jibbitz, eachfactor. I’ve acquired three pairs, completely full, They typinamey’re my favourite factors.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: What colours?
Lily: I’ve acquired one rainbow one, that was my OG one in 7th Grade, a black one with palm timber on it and a fuzzy one with little South Park character jibbitz in it.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: You’re starting an innovation-themed converse current. Who’s your first visitor and why?
Lily: My favourite agency ever and their fobeneaths. The agency is Make a Wish.
Wharton Worldwide Youth: Thanks Lots for becoming a member of us on Method forward for the Enterprise World.
Conversation Starters
Lily Stambouli’s Highschool has a properly-established enterprise program To assist nurture youthful entrepreneurs. Does your Highschool have one factor similar? If not, what assets Do You’d like to gasoline your revolutionary assumeing? Share your story Inside the remark part of this transcript.
Lily’s social entrepreneurship pursuits with Audistory and completely different enterprises Think about discovering merchandise and options For people who study in A particular way. Do You’ve A favourite innovation that appeals particularally to this market? Are you Keen about creating one? Share your ideas Inside the remark part of this transcript.
Lily says thOn the exercise and achievement extra in Highschool End up to bes An extreme quantity of when You will have The power to Not Work out if what you’re doing is making You cheerful. Do you agree Alongside with her? How would you answer this question?
