Isometricks from JA Greece, Experimental Senior High School of the University of Macedonia, Wins 2024 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award
April 16, 2024
Founded in 2021 by tech-legend Ralph de la Vega, former President and CEO of AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions, the De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award is the highest global award for the JA Company Program. The winning JA Company of the Year student teams from JA’s six regions—JA Africa, JA Americas, JA Asia Pacific, JA Europe, INJAZ Al-Arab/JA MENA, and Junior Achievement USA—automatically become finalists.
The JA Company Program is the world’s oldest hands-on entrepreneurial experience, helping students develop real companies that create products or services to meet a specific need; build, market, and deliver products; and earn real profits. Student companies compete at the local level, and some move on to national and regional competitions. Until this award was established, the highest prize that a JA student company could earn was the coveted first place at one of JA’s six regional competitions.
The 2024 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award competition included teams from JA Ghana (AID Electronics), JA Argentina (MANIK), Prestasi Junior Indonesia (SIEVASCO), JA Greece (Isometricks), INJAZ Oman (Warif), and JA Southeastern Pennsylvania (Youthful Thinkers).
Today, award sponsor Ralph de la Vega announced the 2024 winner: Isometricks (JA Greece), students at Experimental Senior High School of the University of Macedonia and winners of the 2023 JA Europe Gen-E Company of the Year competition. Congratulations to Korina Malasidi, John Terpsiadis, Fay Katsanou, Marina Giakoumoglou, and Nikolas Sivvas! The student company won US$15,000 cash prize for its product Wizzle, a 3D-printed puzzle game with medical and educational applications. The five other JA student companies also won US$5,000 each, courtesy of the de la Vega Family Foundation.
Watch the 2024 De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award Ceremony
Congratulations to the 2024 winner, Isometricks from JA Greece!
To Isometricks, playing is a serious matter. The company’s product, Wizzle—a combination of the words “wizard” and “puzzle”—is an open-ended game of thought and creativity with hidden math and educational and medical applications. This pioneering collection of colorful tiles is designed according to mathematical rules (each puzzle is designed by members of the Experimental High School Math Club) and assembled with mosaic logic, providing endless possibilities for creativity. As a non-digital, hands-on learning experience, Wizzle is a valuable educational tool for teachers and students, enabling inclusive learning experiences for those with dyslexia and for refugee students who struggle with language. Additionally, Wizzle is a promising non-pharmaceutical intervention suitable for people of all ages with mild cognitive disabilities.
Mr. De La Vega commented on the contributions all six finalists are making to the world: “The power of entrepreneurship is that it enables you to achieve anything you want to achieve. There is strife in the world. There's hunger in the world. There's war in the world. But you bring messages of hope, of inspiration, of overcoming adversities, of partnering, of working with each other.”
JA Worldwide CEO Asheesh Advani agreed. “Being an entrepreneur in your teenage years is transformational, teaching essential skills early in life. And, as Team Isometricks and all the student finalists demonstrated, JA entrepreneurs can create value for society as well as turning a profit.”
JA Europe CEO Salvatore Nigro celebrated the JA Europe champion’s global win: “When Isometricks won Gen-E last year, all of Europe saw their potential. The De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award recognition is a testimony of the great work of JA Greece; the engaging community of businesses, educators, boards, and staff of JA across our continent; and the innovation of the youth who are shaping Europe and the world with their entrepreneurial journey.”
JA Greece CEO Argiris Tzikopoulos saluted Isometricks’ win: “We celebrate the accomplishments of the new generation as they develop essential skills and adapt to the ever-changing world. This award for JA Greece acknowledges our commitment to nurturing the youth across Greece, fostering their growth and potential. Congratulations to the talented students of Isometricks for their remarkable achievements and their significant role in promoting our nation on an international level. We also express our appreciation to the mentors and advisors who have supported the students throughout their learning journey. Last but not least, I want to thank everyone who consistently support JA Greece. Their contribution has been invaluable in helping us achieve our goals and make a positive impact on the lives of young people in Greece. Together, we continue to empower the new generation and shape a brighter future for all.”
More about Isometricks
Sixteen high school seniors founded Isometricks in October 2022. As participants in the JA Company Program through JA Greece, Isometricks went on to win the JA Europe Company of the Year award at the regional Gen-E festival in July 2023. (Read more about Gen-E.) Since winning at Gen-E, Isometricks has gained the attention of the World Health Organization and more. Their bestselling Wizzle art edition is even available in the Museum of Modern Art gift shop in Thesaloniki, Greece. Forbes Greece featured Isometricks on its “30 Under 30” list, and BBC News interviewed the company alongside JA Europe CEO Salvatore Nigro:
An Interview with Isometricks
We had a chance to catch up with the team right after the announcement that they had won. Here’s an edited transcript of our conversation:
JA Worldwide: How did you come up with the idea for Wizzle. What was that first meeting like where you thought, let's do some kind of a puzzle thing with pieces?
Isometricks: We wanted to make something that would create value for society, that would be a benefit to our society. As kids ourselves, we wanted to create something that would take us away from computer screens, that we would be able to use at school. We wanted something that could help our minds and enable others to work with their minds.
We also liked the idea of creating a therapeutic pharmaceutical intervention in order to help people with dementia and other mental disabilities. And as an educational tool in geometry.
JA Worldwide: So you had this idea, but it was mostly in your head. What came after that? Did you start drawing it out? Take us through what happened then.
Isometricks: Our idea was to use mathematical rules and design processes that we learned in mathematics classes at school. We took advantage of that knowledge, and we created these symmetries, then brought them to life with 3D printing.
We decided to use 3D printers because they are very affordable and easy to use in general compared to other methods. They also gave us a lot of flexibility, and we could print a lot of units in a short amount of time at a very low cost.
Early on, we faced problems with the production results. We couldn't meet the high demand for our product, which had gained popularity through our winning JA competitions. So we had so we had to find direct solutions, such as buying more 3D printers and, eventually, purchasing a laser cutter, so that we can make Wizzle out of wood.
JA Worldwide: How did you get the World Health Organization to endorse your product?
Isometricks: Well, actually, they found us! After we won the JA Europe Company of the Year award, we got a phone call from a member of the World Health Organization. They heard about our product and they wanted to research how Wizzle could help those suffering from long COVID symptoms, like brain fog.
JA Worldwide: And what about the Museum of Modern Art? How did you get connected?
Isometricks: They heard about us through our strong online presence. We created a brand-new art edition for the Museums of Modern Art here in Greece. They’re very unique. They feature many paintings that include symmetries. They sell it and they use it in programs in the museum.
JA Worldwide: And now, what's next for Isometricks? What are you going to do now that you have won this additional seed money?
Isometricks: I think we can all agree that we never wanted this to stop. So if we hadn’t won, we didn’t plan to shut down. Now, we're trying to work on our pricing, to get the pricing right. That was already all planned. We are also focused on meeting demand for our product. Now that we have won, we plan to invest most of our money in production. We are busy working with investors and we have blueprints ready. We are ready to kickstart this.
JA Worldwide: Wonderful! Last question: why did you want to do something that would give back to the world? We hear about entrepreneurs who just create a product that will make a lot of money.
Isometricks: Because that's we’re about and that's what entrepreneurship is about. It's about offering. It's about seeing a problem and trying to solve it. It's not about making only money or only making ourselves happy. It’s about helping others.
JA Worldwide: Thank you for putting so much into this company and for producing something so inspiring!
The Greek flag made out of Wizzle pieces.
Check out Wizzle’s feature, “The Math Behind the JA Logo”
Read more about math and the JA logo.