Thirteen-year-old Jordan Zietz is not your average Pine Crest School seventh grader. He recognized the hesitation among gamers regarding which gaming consoles to use, and like a true entrepreneur, he came up with a solution.
Zietz created the company GameReef to allow gamers to rent both games and consoles. The company also donates games and consoles to children’s hospitals worldwide.
GameReef earned Zietz the title of finalist of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Southeast Saunders Scholars Regional competition. YEA! is a revolutionary class for middle and high school students that provides them with valuable insight on entrepreneurship. The program began in 2004 and hit Boca Raton four years ago via the Boca Chamber’s Golden Bell Education Foundation.
It is no surprise that Zietz has exhibited the kind of entrepreneurial ambition YEA! looks for, considering the pioneering family he belongs to. His parents, Sam and Sheila, founded prominent financial technology company TouchSuite, and his older sister, Rachel, who also participated in the YEA! program, started Gladiator Lacrosse, a company that manufactures and sells quality lacrosse equipment, at the age of 13.
Along with Zietz, Palm Beach Gardens’ Kayla Abramowitz, 13, secured her spot as a YEA! finalist for her non-profit organization, Kayla Cares 4 Kids, which provides Ronald McDonald Houses and children’s hospitals across the globe with educational and entertainment equipment and materials.
These two entrepreneurs will attend the YEA! National Finals in D.C. on Monday, Jun. 8, to present their ideas in a “shark tank” for a chance to win business prize packages and college scholarships up to $50,000.
Their competitors will include four winners from the Northeastern and Western Regional Saunders Scholars competitions whose entrepreneurial efforts include: custom book covers, unique ties, a mobile application to motivate students to learn and an online platform for high school jobseekers to find employment.
For more information about YEA!, visit yeausa.org/.
