The second batch of the VIVITA Vista from-prototype-to-idea program finished
The next batch of bright-eyed young people finished the 10 weeks from-idea-to-prototype program. 14 young inventors finished their prototypes.
The 2nd batch of VIVITA Vista started on November 6, 2021, when 14 youngsters started their journey with 13 ideas. During those ten weeks, the kids were able to take part in various workshops and challenges that helped to develop and improve their prototype. Throughout the journey, the participants were inspired by different experienced and valued entrepreneurs, engineers, designers and experts from many walks of life. Among other things, the program involved experts in the field based on the kids’ ideas, who met and guided young people individually.
The aim of the program was to give the Vista kids the knowledge and skills on how to reach a solution to their idea / problem, ie the first prototype, step by step. These steps were supported by a 5-step model:
- PLAN (Week 1): What is my idea? How did I get there? What am I going to build? What do I want to achieve in 10 weeks?
- DISCOVER (Week 2): What makes my idea strong? Who benefits from my idea? What makes this idea special? Is there something similar in the world already?
- INVENT (Weeks 3–6): What is a prototype? What do I need in order to prototype? How does the prototyping process look like?
- TEST (Weeks 7-8): What is a brand? How to choose a name and other visuals for your product/service? What kind of a feedback my prototype receives from my clients / from the market?
- FLY (Weeks 9-10): How to present your idea and prototype? What to keep in mind when pitching your idea?
The activities planned in the program, ie presentations and workshops, took place on Saturdays, except for the closing event of the program — Vista Demo Day, which took place on Friday. In addition to the activities, there were individual meetings with VIVITA mentors, which took place two times a week. On average, the participants spent 8 to 10 hours a week on Vista activities. Very few homework assignments were given during the program, mostly on a voluntary basis.
All VIVITA members aka Vivinauts could apply for the Vista program. The prerequisite for applying was to submit a video pitch about your idea. A total of 16 vivinauts applied, 14 of whom were enrolled in the program. 4 of the participants were boys and 10 were girls. The age distribution of participants was as follows:
- 9 years old, 6
- 10 years old, 5
- 11 years old, 2
- 13 years old, 1
Overview of the activities week by week
Let’s take a closer look at what the participants learned and experienced during those 10 weeks.
Week 1 — PLAN
In the first week, we focused a lot on planning, setting an action plan and the goal we all want to reach in the final 10th week. On the first contact Saturday, the participants were listening an inspirational talk by Martin Villig — co-founder of the technology company Bolt and the launcher of other initiatives of the Good Deed Education Fond, Jõhvi School of Technology and many others. Martin shared his experience about entrepreneurship and the fact that no one is ever too young to be entrepreneurial. You just have to find a way to improve your living environment. Don’t let anyone tell you that your idea doesn’t fit or can’t be done — you have to dream big, because sky is the limit.
After the inspiration speech, Gleb Maltsev — a pitching expert, met the kids and taught them the skills of storytelling and pitching their ideas. This workshop helped the vivinauts to think through their raw idea and it gave them the courage to talk about their idea to their family, friends, schoolmates etc. Participants received good tips on how to spice up their presentation with tips and tricks. Gleb encouraged vistas to talk about their idea without using memorized and prescribed sentences. If the idea goes awry and you don’t remember what you wanted to say, the best solution is to take a small break, breathe in and out, and then just move on.
Week 2 — DISCOVER
Now that every kids’ journey had been planned, it was time to look at the wider world and discover all sorts of aspects that helped define the scope of Vista’s ideas.
On the second contact day, all participants had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to experts who gave good advice and recommendations regarding their ideas. Marek Kiisa (engineer, entrepreneur and technology investor), Kersti Ojala (impact fund portfolio manager at the Good Deed Foundation), Taavi Tamkivi (founder of Salv company), Kristi Tiivas (strategy manager of Fiizy company), Mari-Liis Lind (co-founder of VIVITA), Rainer Sternfeld (technology investor and entrepreneur), Triin Mahlakõiv (product manager at Reconeyez) and Hedi Mardisoo (co-founder and CEO of Cachet).
The kids were then inspired by Rainer Sternfeld — a technology investor and entrepreneur who shared his thoughts on prototyping and user involvement. Rainer gave vistas a juicy boost for the up-coming weeks, where the main focus was on construction. His confident message was, “Don’t give up!”
The day ended with a workshop led by VIVITA designer Teele Kumm. In the workshop, young people mapped out different users of their product and thereafter visualized and invented a character or personality for one specific user.
Week 3 — INVENT
For the next four weeks, the youngsters focused on building their prototype, and in order to support it, we offered skill-based workshops, inspiring presentations, and plenty of exciting team challenges.
On the third contact day, two workshops took place — a physical product and a digital product prototype. The physical product prototyping workshop was conducted by Joonas Riisalu — VIVITA product designer and wood workshop master. Under his guidance, vistas got an idea of what a fast first prototype looks like. Inspired by Star Wars films, the workshop produced musical instruments for aliens, which were blown up with VIVITA VIVIWARE Cell electronics prototyping modules.
The digital product prototyping workshop was conducted by Halina Mugame, who is the product design team leader at Pipedrive. The participants found out that the very first prototype of a digital product consists of different screen views of the application, which are actually sketched on paper.
In the second half of the day, we visited the company of Comodule, more precisely the factory , where Tuul and Äike scooters are being built and storaged. We were welcomed by Kevin Reisenbuk — Product Manager of Tuule äpp, who gave a tour of the factory and told them how they have developed scooters and also scooter Tuule äpp. At the end of the day, a competition was being held. All participants were able to ride a scooter, where the slowest road user was identified as a winner.
Week 4 — INVENT
On the fourth meeting, Anna-Liisa Palatu — co-founder and manager of Woola, visited us and shared her journey. Anna-Liisa told the story of her becoming an entrepreneur and how she had failed with 10 companies before the first one succeeded. Anna-Liisa believes in the “fail fast” principle, ie quickly go out to the market with your prototype, test it with your client and see then whether it works or not.
When developing a product, you should also think about the footprint of building your product and bringing it to the customer. Therefore, we invited Kerli Kehman-Vaariku — the program manager of the circular economy and design of the Estonian Design Center, to talk to young people about consumption, reuse, circular design and economy. Vistas learned that circular design focuses on the design of environmentally friendly products, ie how much is already thought during the process of manufacturing the product.
We ended the day with an exciting cooking challenge, where the vistas, together with our one and only VIVITA star chef Carlo Vanzan, cooked cauliflower sandwiches and apple star pies.
Week 5 — INVENT
On the fifth meeting, vistas were able to try out the profession of being a digital product tester. Björn Lapakko — Product Manager at Pazzing from Norway, is developing a platform for creating educational games. Vistas were able to create various reality games themselves and play them then on the Telliskivi Creative City, and later share their observations and give feedback to Björn. In the second half of the day, vistas, in cooperation with VIVITA instructors, looked for different solutions to their ideas and made first actual prototypes.
Nädal 6 — LEIUTAMINE
On the sixth day of the meeting, the young people were inspired by engineer, entrepreneur and investor Hardi Meybaum. Young people remembered two ideas most clearly from Hardi’s recommendations. First, it’s not always worth the shot to listen to friends and acquaintances. If you are doing something that no one has done before, it is worth trusting yourself and trying, even if your friends do not support your idea. Second, constructing is cool! During construction, you often discover ideas that you may never have come up before. It is an opportunity to learn new areas and technologies. In the process, you will also find new friends and acquaintances with whom it is even better to build and invent together.
After the inspiration talk, we conducted a Rakett69 balloon challenge together with the youngsters. The team challenge tested teamwork skills, intelligence and speed.
The young people then continued to work on their prototypes.
After week 6, we all went on a well-deserved three-week holiday to celebrate Christmas and celebrate the new year.
Week 7 — LET’S TEST
After a refreshing break, we met again with the Vistas on January 8, 2022 to complete and improve our prototype and hone our presentation skills.
On the seventh day of the meeting, pitching expert Gleb Maltsev shared some very good tips&tricks on how to pitch your idea. Now that the young people’s ideas were well developed and the prototypes were being completed, it was time to rethink the pitch of their product idea and how to present it convincingly. During the process, Vistas could also dream big and write down their vision of where they would like to be with their product in 3–5 years.
The Vistas who finished Vista’s first batch, Joonas Salmisto and Karolin Kägi, also introduced their products to the participants of 2nd Vista batch. Joonas talked about Taibutops which is his pencil case and Karolin presented her research kit coming out of her Mastermind brand. All this with the aim of encouraging the vistas of the 2nd flight to speak boldly about their idea. At the same time, young people were challenged to become the mascot of their product.
Week 8 — LET’S TEST
At the eighth meeting, the young people searched for a name for their product and came up with a logo. Gunnar Hunt from the design agency Velvet was there to help the young entrepreneurs out. His daily job is to think of product names. Gunnar gave a brief overview of what a brand is and shared tips to keep in mind when choosing a name. VIVITA junior product designer Liisa Lepik from VIVITA introduced useful tips on how to visualize your product logo. By the end of the meeting, all the young people had a name chosen and some versions of the logo were sketched.
Week 9 — FLY
The ninth contact day was the last Saturday we met before the program ended. The young people made the final effort to be ready for Vista Demo Day — they finished the prototypes, designed the poster and thought about the presentation of their product. The young people could also try to create a one-page website, for which we used the Voog platform, Joonas Karl Kuusik, a specialist in Voog support, helped us with this. The creation of the website helped young people to think about how to talk about their product outside and how to make it clear to the customer what the product is.
Week 10 ja Vista Demo Day — FLY
The highlight of our program, which the young people had been preparing for for a long time and worked for 10 weeks, took place on 11 February 2022 in VIVISTOP Telliskivi. The event was also broadcast live, which can be viewed on our Youtube channel. The young people were accompanied by parents, siblings and experts who helped them along the way. In total, more than 50 people took part in the demo day, and in addition, 30 people watched us live.
The demo day was opened by VIVITA co-founder Mari-Liis Lind and the video greeting of VIVITA founder Taizo Son was watched together. After that, the Vistas started to present their ideas and prototypes. Gunnar Hunt, the creative director of the design agency Velvet, led the whole demo day.
When the nerve-wracking presentations were made, VIVITA and a number of our partners recognized the young people with various special awards. The demo day ended with eating a cake, along with which Apple Drinks limps and Hello Milk tube yoghurt were enjoyed.
Awards
On the Demo Day, several special awards were presented, where different partners had selected an idea worthy of recognition, based on the field or topic on which the idea was based.
The special prizes were distributed by 20 partners and were distributed as follows:
Merko Ehitus AS, Eesti Disainikeskus, Babe Laboratorie, Telliskivi Loomelinnak, LHV, PetCity, Fotografiska restoran, Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu, Särgid-Värgid OÜ, Uuskasutuskeskus, Tallinn Music Week, Droon.ee, Mastermind, Õun Drinks, Tere, MTÜ Peeasi, Elisa UP, Lottemaa, Heategu SA, Disainiagentuur Velvet.
All Vistas received a VIVITA diploma and a gift bag, the content of which was filled by Merko Ehitus AS, LHV, Insplay, Elisa UP, Stella Soomlais Studio, Telliskivi Creative City and Babe Laboratorie.
Vista 2. batch participants and their ideas
Stella Mägi (10), brand Mucha
Stella developed a kickstarter platform for student companies where young entrepreneurs can grow their ideas and gather finances from the market.
Marta Eliise Källu (11), brand H-appi!
Marta compiled an anxiety-relieving booklet for those who are afraid to talk about their anxiety.
Lui Puik (10), brand Löökmik
Lui developed an app where you can quickly find the results of youth football matches, monitor your progress and compare your results with other players.
Lydia Maria Peets (13), brand Charlotte’s Monster
Lydia has developed a horror game designed to help those with ADHD.
Emili Mai Valdaru (9), brand Popats
Emili Mai created smart scrunchies that are reversible.
Aleksandra Oolu (11) andOliver Oskar Oolu(10), brand Glass Bee
Aleksandra and Oliver Oskar developed a glass beehive to monitor the hustle and bustle of the bee family.
Emma Linda Källu (9), brand QLA
Emma developed a voice memo that can be used to record and play back an audio message.
Sarah Randnurm (9), brand Notsu
Sarah built a talking trash can that makes it more fun for kids to take out the trash and teaches them how to sort the trash.
Jaagup Kern (10), brand KST (The secret cat cage)
Jaagub built a cage with a caress that can soothe a stressed cat when it is being transported.
Mona Meybaum (9), brand PetTime
Mona built a dog walkout meter / tracker that records who and when the dog went out.
Kirke Karita Säärits (9), brand Salazar
Kirke Karita built a floating pencil case.
Oskar Jaan Nüüd (8), brand Balloon Wolf
Oskar Jaan built a balloon machine that can easily inflate balloons.
Pihla Jaarman (10), brand Kitsuta
Pihla naturally built a moving animal tail that responds to your emotions.
VIVITA wishes to thank everybody, who helped Vista 2nd batch of the program to become a reality
Big-big thank you for sharing inspiration: Anna-Liisa Palatu (Woola), Björn Lapakko (Pazzing), Gleb Maltsev (Fundwise), Gunnar Hunt (Velvet), Halina Mugame (Pipedrive), Hardi Meybaum (Whatifi), Hedi Mardisoo(Cachet), Joonas Karl Kuusik (Voog), Kerli Kehman-Vaarik (Eesti Disainikeskus), Kersti Ojala (Heateo SA), Kevin Reisenbuk (Comodule), Kristi Tiivas (Fiizy), Marek Kiisa (Nordic Ninja), Martin Villig (Bolt), Rainer Sternfeld (Nordic Ninja), Taavi Tamkivi (Salv), Triin Mahlakõiv (Reconeyez)
Thank you that you helped a Vista kid with his/her idea: Anna Marin Mõttus (Elisa UP), Astrid Maldre (Elisa UP), Jakob Kangur (Smoked Sparrow), James Doyle (Goblin Mage Games), Kadri Tuisk (Clanbeat), Kadri Uljas (VIVITA, Uus-Meremaa), Liisianne Kruusmägi, Margus Hernits (Sportity), Markus Lukk (Extery), Merili Ginter (Huggy märkmik), Risto Pajust (mesinik), Shyamuel Singh Lairikyengbam, Taavi Tamkivi (Salv), Tiia Plamus (TalTech), Tiina Toomet (Tiina Toometi Loomakliinik), Tõnis Saag (Salv), Tuule Laansoo (Eesti Psühholoogiaüliõpilaste Liit)
Thank you for supporting and for believing in the children’s ideas: Droon.ee, Eesti Disainikeskus, Eesti Rahvusraamatukogu, Elisa Up/Elisa Eesti, Fotografiska Restoran, Heateo SA, Insplay, Laboratorios BABE Eesti / Magnum AS, LHV, Lottemaa, Mastermind, Merko Ehitus, Peaasi MTÜ, PetCity, Särgid-Värgid OÜ, Telliskivi Loomelinnak, Tere Piim, Tallinn Music Week, Uuskasutuskeskus, Velvet Disainiagnetuur, Öun Drinks
Thank you to all of our volunteers for all the help: Ane Laande, Helen Bender, Herkko Sõber, Katrin Selin, Kristen-Alex Kolk, Linda-Maria Varri, Mariann Lamp, Marianne Ääro, Mart Hint, Milica Rastovac, Sander Heinsalu, Shyamuel Singh Lairikyengbam, Sindija Vitola, Yvonne Bikejev
For the technical implementation we thank you: Mustafa Celik (Celik OÜ) ja Martin Grand (OM filmiStuudio OÜ)
Special thanks to our VIVITA team for mentoring and contributing to the Vista program: Anette Lind, Carlo Vanzani, Heikko Ellermaa, Joonas Riisalu, Liisa Lepik, Mari-Liis Lind, Mari-Liis Peets, Sigrid Kägi, Steveli Säde, Teele Kumm, Vera Naydenova
