The EO World Pupil Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is the premier world competitors for college students who personal and function a enterprise. Nominees compete in opposition to their friends from world wide in a sequence of native and nationwide competitions in hopes to qualify for the GSEA World Finals. GSEA delivers on its imaginative and prescient to empower pupil entrepreneurs to turn into the world’s most influential change-makers by supporting them with mentorship, recognition and connections to take their companies to the subsequent stage of success.
Within the 2022 GSEA World Finals competitors, Joe Knopp represented the US. He gained the GSEA Social Influence Prize for his work in serving to to unravel the worldwide water disaster together with his firm, Ripple.
At its core, Ripple is devoted to serving others by leveraging high-quality product strains to unravel real-world issues. The issue at hand: Entry to scrub water.
Joe began the corporate in November 2020 from his dorm room at Walsh College in Ohio. Impressed by the e-book Begin One thing That Issues by Toms founder Blake Mycoskie, Joe determined to sort out the world water disaster.
Investing each little bit of his financial savings from summer time internships —about US$14,000 — Joe bought 2,000 high-quality water bottles. He then bought them at a price that included $6.50 from every bottle to go towards constructing a contemporary freshwater effectively in Uganda. Promoting 2,000 bottles pays for one effectively. In essence, every bottle bought gives 2.5 folks with clear water for the remainder of their lives.
“It took six months to promote our first 2,000 bottles and make the US$13,000 to construct our first effectively. That journey included nights of packing bottles to the purpose of exhaustion in addition to cross-country journeys to ship bottles to companies,” he stated.
Quick-forward simply two years to right this moment, and Joe’s rising group has financed and constructed 21 fashionable, solar-powered water wells in Uganda. The enterprise is flourishing, however he isn’t stopping there.
Joe sees Ripple as an ongoing journey to bettering the world. If he took a pebble and tossed it into nonetheless water, ripples would seem. His first “ripple” is the corporate, Ripple.
The second ring of the ripple is already in progress. Joe is collaborating on an entrepreneurial enrichment program accessible to college entrepreneur facilities throughout the nation.
“I realized a lot about the way to run a enterprise from beginning Ripple,” Joe stated. “With this entrepreneurial enrichment program, we will add a lot extra worth to the world.”
We requested Joe about his GSEA expertise:
What challenges have you ever overcome throughout your entrepreneurial journey?
I misplaced my father at an early age. At one level, after graduating highschool, I used to be homeless. I moved out of an abusive family, had barely sufficient cash to purchase a used automotive, and slept in that automotive. I needed to determine it out; there was no security web. I bounced round from sofa to sofa. After I received to varsity, there was a deep exhale as a result of I lastly had a dorm room to reside in.
Inform us about your journey to Uganda to dig that first effectively.
After promoting our first 2,000 water bottles, Ripple had US$13,000—sufficient to dig the primary effectively. I related with a college alumnus, Michael Balumba, who was instructing Ugandans to uplift themselves from poverty. Utilizing Ripple’s funds, Michael and his group constructed the first-ever fashionable solar-powered water effectively in Uganda.
We selected photo voltaic as a result of conventional hand pump borehole wells usually solely final 20 years, which is why Africa as a continent is plagued with hundreds of lifeless wells. With a purpose to mitigate the wear and tear and tear on the effectively, we utilized clear photo voltaic power to deliver the water from the aquifer right into a water tower for distribution.
Photo voltaic has one other profit. We will use solar energy to pump water right into a water tower, and distribute it throughout the group. That manner, native elementary colleges can have entry to water for the primary time.
Through the peak of the pandemic in 2020, our first effectively was practically accomplished. I flew 26 hours to Uganda. I received off the aircraft, met Michael Balumba in particular person for the primary time, and frolicked with the folks within the village.
I’ll always remember our first launch day within the rural village of Katiiti. There was a little bit lady who simply stood in entrance of the effectively, gazing at it in surprise. I gave out water bottles, and she or he selected a pink one. Then we stuffed up our bottles with contemporary water from the effectively, and we clinked them collectively in celebration!
In two years, we’ve funded 22 clear water options of which 16 are accomplished and in use. The opposite 6 might be accomplished earlier than the tip of this calendar 12 months. Total, greater than 50,000 individuals are seeing a greater high quality of life from the influence of the wells.
How did you uncover the GSEA competitors? Inform us about your journey.
My fellow competitor, Blake Faulkner, from Miami College of Ohio, informed me I ought to enter—the week earlier than our native GSEA competitors! I scrambled to get my software carried out and labored on my pitch. It was sufficient to seize the hearts and a focus of the judges. After that spherical, EO members mentored and helped me hone my pitch earlier than competing within the US Nationals.
I had by no means been in a pitch competitors bigger than the one at my very own college! After US nationals, I gained the Social Influence Award and US$5,000 at GSEA World Finals.
I used a part of the money prize to go to Uganda in September and used US$1,000 to run a Menstrual Fairness Workshop at two colleges we’re supporting there. We distribute menstrual provides for many who can’t afford them. As a substitute of one-time use, we purchased reusable pads that may be washed time and again.
What are your plans for the longer term?
I’m engaged on the We Construct a Effectively Program in universities throughout the nation. This system will give entrepreneurial college students the instruments and assist they should ideate and construct their very own companies. Within the subsequent three years, we goal to be in 50 universities.
Members will promote 200 water bottles every. For each 10 members, we’ll have sufficient to construct yet another effectively. The highest pupil will go to Uganda for the expertise of launching that effectively.
What would you inform different pupil entrepreneurs in regards to the GSEA competitors?
Apply! Do it now! The worst you’ll get is a no. When you’re fortunate, the competitors will educate you to fail quicker. And when you do fail, construct out your thought some extra, and are available again. Don’t be afraid to share what you’re keen about.
If you actually love one thing, you’re excited to do it every day. That’s when life begins to get good, in my eyes. I get essentially the most pleasure in taking an thought from nothing to one thing.
Everybody creates their very own ripple on the earth. You get to decide on whether or not or not your ripple goes to be a optimistic ripple.
The 2022-23 GSEA competitors season is now open. In case you are a college pupil working a enterprise, apply right this moment!
For extra insights and inspiration from right this moment’s main entrepreneurs, try EO on Inc. and extra articles from the EO weblog.
