Ivan Ivanović is a digital artist and an owner of Heresy Design, a digital media studio involved in game development, digital graphic design, art, and animation. He is also a lecturer at a college university Algebra Zagreb, teaching conceptual and applied art for videogames. Ivan is a member of P.O.I.N.T. association (education, information, journalism, technology), Atelieri Koprivnica (Koprivnica Ateliers) art association and HU IZ VI (Croatian Association of Videogames Producers).

IVLP Impact Award Project: Future Crossroads: Youth Entrepreneurship Boot Camp

The project empowers high school students with new tools and digital skills to develop their ideas into sustainable business models and successful startups. Participants will be connected with veteran entrepreneurs, mentors, and business professionals from the local community. Teams of young people will engage in workshops conducted by experienced professionals from partner organizations and the local community centered around the topics of digital technologies, social entrepreneurship, and local community improvements.

The two-day intensive “Future Crossroads” bootcamp will take place on October 18 and 19 and include workshops, speaker sessions, and panel discussions, culminating with a pitching competition and a networking event. Ivan created a website for the project and is touring local high schools to raise awareness of the project and recruit participants.

Future Crossroads Wesbite

“I hope to raise awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship and small business development in smaller communities…. I wish to immerse young people into the creative process of turning an idea into a business opportunity by empowering them with new tools and techniques to achieve it.” – Ivan Ivanović

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Ivan participated in the IVLP Project Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development organized by the U.S. Department of State and Institute for International Education, in partnership with Global Ties Sacramento, Global Ties San Francisco, World Affairs Council Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky, WorldBoston, and Utah Global Diplomacy.

Ivan’s exchange experience led to the development of his project: “What I find to be the crown jewel of my IVLP experience is understanding the step-by-step workflow of [accelerator programs]…and variables that affect it or might endanger it. In my project, I would like to introduce the participants to this workflow, show them the basic principles…introduce them to key decisionmakers in this process and teach them how the ecosystem can help and support them when they stray off the beaten path. The idea is to empower young people and spark the realization that they are the future businessmen and startup founders, and that they are not alone in this endeavor.”

“During my IVLP program, the meetings that had the most profound effect on me were the experience exchanges with startup founders, entrepreneurs, and educators in the field of business and tech. Their approach to problem solving, [their] entrepreneurial mindset, and the advice they shared were the biggest discoveries during my IVLP trip.” – Ivan Ivanović

U.S. Communities Visited

Sacramento, CA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; Boston, MA; Cincinnati, OH; Salt Lake City, UT

Country: Croatia

 

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