The Greek student “Virtual Business” “Isometricks” from the Experimental High School of the University of Macedonia, with wizzle, the exciting game of symmetries with hidden mathematics that has a beneficial effect on the brain, represented Europe and won the Junior Achievement Global Award for Student Entrepreneurship “JA Worldwide De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award 2024” along with the $15,000 prize. It is the first time in the 19-year history of Junior Achievement Greece that a Greek student start-up has won the global award.

The European Champion JAEurope/GEN-E 2023 “Isometricks”, faced off against the winning teams of the global program/competition “Virtual Business – JA Company Program”, from the USA. (Youthful Thinkers – JA USA), Latin America (MANIK – JA Americas), Asia (SIEVASCO – JA Asia Pacific), Africa (AID Electronics – JA Africa) and Arab countries (Warif – JA MENA).

“Isometricks” brought Greece and Europe the world first prize and is now the 2024 World Champion in student entrepreneurship.

The competition was broadcast live by JA Worldwide on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 16:00 Greek time. As soon as the award’s originator and sponsor, renowned businessman/investor Ralph De La Vega, announced the winning team, the team burst into tears of joy.

“We still can’t believe it, we’re over the moon,” Isometricks CEO Corina Malasidis said a little later: “All the team members are very excited. Despite the great load of responsibility and the high competition we were called to face, we managed to complete perhaps the most demanding test so far. We are grateful for the help of all our supporters from JA Greece and JA Europe as well as the mentors who stood by us at every moment with their valuable advice”.

The 2nd high school students who make up the Isometricks racing team are: Korina Malasidis, Ioannis Terpsiadis, Fai Katsanou, Marina Giakoumoglou, Nikolas Sivvas. The other members of the team are: Emilia Voukouresli, Christoforos Zirnas, Apostolos Kultoukis, Maria Mimidou, Andreas Omirou, Sokratis Ouzounis, Konstantina Sarafeidis, Thomas Stefanidis, Emmanuel Tsidaris, Panagiotis Tsidaris, Artemis Tsioundukidou, Styliani Tsouka.

During the 2022-2023 school year, more than one million teenagers in 120 countries participated in the JA Company Program. Founded in 1919, Junior Achievement is the world’s largest entrepreneurship education organization with 340 offices and 3,700 employees worldwide and educates more than 15 million children in entrepreneurship through hundreds of programs each year.

JA Greece Chairman of the Board Emilios Kyriakou, CEO of Citi Greece, Malta and Cyprus, expressed his warm congratulations, stating: “From the top of Greece and Europe, to the top of the world! My warmest congratulations to the children, their teachers and everyone who contributed to this top honor for Isometricks and JA Greece. They are a team with vision and perseverance, who worked hard and prepared an excellent, winning team. It made us proud and filled us with optimism for the future!” said Mr Kyriakou.

Very moved, the professors in charge, Nikos Terpsiadis, Anna Macioris and Kyriaki Vasilou, stated: “This important success was the culmination of a great effort. We feel proud that we have proved worthy of the trust shown in us by JA Greece and JA Europe and have succeeded in bringing Greece and Europe to the top of the world. We thank all those who supported and helped us in this project: Giorgos Baloglou, pr. Professor of the State University of New York, for the horizons he opened for us, our volunteer advisors Ioannis Papadopoulos, General Manager of IKEA Thessaloniki and Georgios Varelas, Business Navigator of IKEA Thessaloniki, for the apprenticeship and support, our Inspirational Mentor Alexis Papachelas , Director of the newspaper “I Kathimerini”, for his insightful perspective and the inspiration he gave to our students and to us, Peter Economides, Brand Strategist, for the magic, the fairy tale and the dream, JA Greece with the amazing people and especially Ioanna Kyprioti, Educational Programs Manager, Maria Giannetou, Communications Director, Argyris Tzikopoulos, CEO and Emilios Kyriakou, Chairman of the JA Greece Board of Directors, for their support, efficiency and positive energy, JA Europe for trust and support”.

“We are constantly supporting the new generation to develop skills and develop, aiming to empower them in an era of rapid multi-layered change. This award is the recognition of JA Greece’s effort to invest in the education and development of young people in all regions of Greece. Congratulations to the students of Isometricks for their excellent performance and their contribution to the promotion of our country at an international level. I could not but also congratulate the excellent teachers of the team, who played a catalytic role as real educators throughout the learning process of the Virtual Business program, as well as the mentors and advisors. I want to warmly thank everyone who systematically supports JA Greece, whose contribution is a catalyst for the achievement of our goals”, said Argyris Tzikopoulos, CEO of JA Greece.

The CEO of JA Worldwide Asheesh Advani warmly congratulated the Isometricks team and JA Greece and stated: “Being an entrepreneur in your teenage years shapes you because it teaches you the basic skills from an early age. And, as Isometricks and the other five student groups have proven, JA entrepreneurs can create something of value to society and make a profit from it.”

JA Europe CEO Salvatore Nigro celebrated the global victory of the champion team representing JA Europe stating: “When Isometricks won Gen-E last year, all of Europe saw its potential. The De La Vega Global Entrepreneurship Award he won is a testament to the great work of JA Greece, JA businesses, educators, boards and people across Europe, as well as the innovation of young people who shape not only Europe , but also the whole world through their business journey”.

Entrepreneur, sponsor of the award, Ralph De La Vega congratulated Isometricks, all 6 teams that participated in the global final and said: “The power of entrepreneurship is that it enables you to achieve anything you want to achieve. There are conflicts in the world. There is hunger in the world. There is a war in the world. And yet all of you fill us with hope, inspiration and help us overcome adversity and cooperate with each other.”

The team members who competed in the great Junior Achievement global final expressed their great joy and emotion, stressing how much student entrepreneurship and JA Greece changed their lives.

Ioannis Terpsiadis – Isometricks Production Manager: “Today was a unique experience. When we first went to the Thessaloniki Trade Fair, we had no idea how far we would go. Through the competitions we met interesting people and experienced important moments. I have personally gained more knowledge and skills than I ever could in other educational contexts. Thanks to the Virtual Business I dealt with topics that I am very interested in and experienced real working and business conditions. Despite all the difficulties I find JA’s programs worth more than anything else. I feel that this great success is not the end but a new beginning and I look forward to more wonderful journeys in the future.”

Marina Giakoumoglou – Isometricks Marketing Director: “This day will remain indelible in my memory forever. Winning the global youth entrepreneurship competition is much more than just success. It was a dream and a goal come true.

This victory is proof that our efforts and ideas can make a real difference in the world. Every member of our team feels proud and grateful for the opportunity we have been given to realize our vision and demonstrate the value of our work. This success reinforces our sense that we can face any challenge with determination and creativity. A big thank you to our professors, mentors and JA for giving us the opportunity to become part of this big family and supporting us all along the way.”

What is Wizzle by Isometricks that took the world by storm

The kids explain their business idea that brought them to the top of the world:

“Isometricks is a Learning Business that believes in the power of play and offers an exciting thinking and creating game with hidden maths, wizzle, that stimulates the imagination, fights stress and exercises the mind.

Man is made, surrounded, works and thinks with symmetries. wizzle harnesses symmetries and connects them to the way humans think and function. Isometricks offers open-ended play, away from computer screens, that focuses on logic, creativity, imagination, memory, patience and cultivates spatial and fine motor skills. Targeted at kids, millennials parents, busy adults and seniors.

Its products are collections of colorful mosaics designed with mathematical rules and assembled with mosaic logic, giving endless possibilities for creation. They are designed and produced in-house with 3D printing technology that gives unprecedented possibilities for custom editions and after sales service”.