When Lisa Heydlauff worked as a teacher in London, one of her students asked her what it's like to go to school in India where there is a lot of diversity? While she didn't have an answer at that moment, she was motivated to find one. So, she decided to travel to our country and learn about the school system here. In 1998, she reached the nation's capital, where she started working for a national newspaper. She recalls, "Though my interest was in education and teaching children, I was assigned to cover a fashion show for the first time. After working for a few months with the newspaper, I joined UNICEF where I worked to educate children in rural areas and wrote about their new programmes. This is when I understood how exactly schools work here."
Having wanting to always start her own organisation, in 2003, Lisa launched Going to School, a not-for-profit organisation that teaches children 21st-century skills, which are now deemed a necessity. She took up various projects and initiatives that would interest children and youngsters. Currently, she works with over 1,000 schools in Bihar, reaching out to more than 3,00,000 children through Going to School. Fast forward to 2020, Lisa has launched another online platform called Map of Me. She says, "I have spent time taking up projects that benefit kids the most but this time, I realised that there must be a platform for youngsters too, targetting those who want to take up entrepreneurship. Hence, Map of Me was launched."
Lisa, who now resides in Mumbai, explains the purpose and the workings of the platform, "This platform is meant for youngsters aged 18 to 25 years who seek guidance before they venture into any sort of business or profession. To gather intel, we travelled to Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to understand the success stories of different entrepreneurs. We were able to speak to and shoot videos of 100 different young entrepreneurs. According to me, entrepreneurship must focus on finding solutions to the problems around us rather than existing as a mere business. From an entrepreneur practising organic farming to a person whose work it is to make elaborate costumes and even a tattoo artist, one can find all kinds of entrepreneurs on our platform, and listen to and adopt those practices in their business." Aside from this, they have also interviewed youngsters who are active and making their careers in sports, cinema, event management, photographer and so on.
What makes the Map of Me platform a unique one is their crisp and clear videos that can play a key role in your decision-making process related to your career. "The more you listen to these stories of entrepreneurs, the more you will get to explore," says Lisa, adding, "We also post about job openings for youngsters on our website." One of their latest postings is a vacancy for radio jockeys for a morning show in Bengaluru. So, if you think you've got what it takes, check out their website, apply for that job and better your chances of being an A-grade entrepreneur.
