SYU Brochure- final

SPEED-You-Up: Entrepreneurship hubs for young people in vulnerable communities

January 2022

www.speed-you-up.org

The SPEED-You-Up community entrepreneurship hub model

The SPEED-You-UP model

SPEED-You-UP is based on the following central principles and values:. • Positivity. The emphasis is on who young people are, what they want to do and can do. They get the opportunity to explore their talents and skills and to come up with their own ideas. • Autonomy. Young people are supported to put goals into action and to try out new things, step by step. When they work together on a business, they are encouraged to make their own decisions and create their own rules. • Competence. SPEED-You-Up aims to give young people back self-confidence and the experience of self-efficacy and competence. • Connection. SPEED-You-UP promotes connection between young people, amongst young people and coaches and young people and the community. • Holistic view. SPEED-You-UP looks at the person as a whole. If a young person has challenges in different life domains, these are acknowledged and addressed.

An entrepreneurship hub is a central place where young people can come together and work on an entrepreneurial idea and are rooted in the local community. Young people are encouraged to set up a pop-up business that answers to local needs. NEET young people are at the centre and are supported in developing entrepreneurial competences and receive coaching.

This brochure is part of the Interreg 2-Seas social innovation project SPEED You UP. It describes the project’s approach to setting up community entrepreneurship hubs for and with NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) young people. The goal is to increase NEET young people’s entrepreneurial thinking as well as their self-esteem, social network and soft skills through a hands-on entrepreneurship approach.

Four prototypes of working with NEET young people on entrepreneurship:

4 - The cooperative prototype

3 - The franchise prototype

2 - The growth prototype

1 - The business support prototype

1 - Business support prototype:

In this prototype, a group of young people is supported in developing a business prototype. They come together on a regular basis. The emphasis in the workshops and trainings given by coaches on providing a foundation of entrepreneurial knowledge and creating a prototype for a business. Training is organised in collaboration with existing (employment support/business support) organisations and can be spread out over time or delivered in a compact version. The extent to which the prototype leads to actual business pop-ups varies. In contrast to other prototypes, this model does not provide an overarching structure for young people to actually test out their business idea but will signpost young people who want to start to other supporting organisations.

Emphasis on theory

Emphasis on doing

Organic approach

Systemic approach

Group approach

Tailored to the individual

Financial risk l ow

Financial risk high

Network app roach

Solo key person

2 - Growth prototype:

This model is characterised by a very low threshold for young people. They are coached while they try out different activities, workshops, and ateliers. They can contribute to an existing business (e.g. helping in the kitchen or garden) or start their own business in a safe environment. The coaching and activities for young people are organised from a central place or hub that is central to the neighbourhood. Thanks to a network of engaged stakeholders that are tied to the hub, there is a rich menu of activities from which young people can pick and choose, according to their needs and ambitions. The combination of activities and individual coaching makes this model particularly useful in working with young people who are far from education and work and are not ready yet to launch their own business.

Emphasis on theory

Emphasis on doing

Organic approach

Systemic approach

Group approach

Tailored to the individual

Financial risk l ow

Financial risk high

Network app roach

Solo key person

Franchise prototype:

Emphasis on theory

Emphasis on doing

In the franchise model, young people are offered a forum and framework to try out their own business through events or online. From within that framework, they can run their own pop-up. The framework, or ‘mother organisation’ can offer the ‘business children’ or pop-ups different things, such as a frame, a brand, services or sales, marketing, a legal structure etc. The system offers participants more safety and structure (also legal/financial structure). On the other hand, it gives them more freedom than the cooperative model, where young people cannot start their own private business but depend on a group concept for a cooperative business.

Organic approach

Systemic approach

Group approach

Tailored to the individual

Financial risk l ow

Financial risk high

Network app roach

Solo key person

Within this model, it is key to have a franchise that supports young people as a group, for instance by taking on part of the branding and the marketing, or by facilitating the organisation of a sales event. One of the main advantages of this model is that it allows young people to network and learn from each other while at the same time allowing a lot of individual freedom.

Cooperative prototype:

In this model, a group of young adults develops a pop-up business according to a pre-structured model. They are guided by two coaches at the minimum: an entrepreneurial expert, and a coach with expertise in working with (vulnerable) youth. Community involvement is an important component of this prototype. In this model, young people learn mainly by doing. They experience what it means to create and run a business in every aspect. They will work together as a team, develop a business charter with agreements), divide the work and appoint a ‘business president’. During a period of several weeks or months, they will set up an actual business for which they do the marketing, provide services or products, and manage the finances. They can keep their own profit. This model leaves less room for developing individual business ideas as the group is required to work together in one pop-up business that will expire once the project is over.

Emphasis on theory

Emphasis on doing

Organic approach

Systemic approach

Group approach

Tailored to the individual

Financial risk l ow

Financial risk high

Network app roach

Solo key person

For more information on the full SPEED-You-UP model, press the button below.

or this link: https://view.genial.ly/61c1ef2fa212690de287e40f/dossier-reporting-speed-you-up-full

www.speed-you-up.org