Youth Program
Collaborating with the best young entrepreneurs
As the founder of the youth program at OutPeak, I want to use my experience to help new entrepreneurs achieve their business goals. At Babson College, my spirit of entrepreneurship and my passion for creating products have always been my driving forces. As a student, I've had the privilege of engaging in numerous business courses, yet I've found myself yearning for more practical opportunities to bring my ideas to life. This gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world application is a common frustration among my peers. Many of us share the same passion and experience the same challenge of lacking a proper platform to transform our innovative visions into tangible products.
Recognizing this need, I decided to take action.
My goal is to create an association that unites students with a shared passion for entrepreneurship and innovation.
This platform would collaborate with forward-thinking companies eager to support our journey in developing groundbreaking lifestyle gadgets.
Our first significant collaboration is with Outpeak, a company that shares our enthusiasm for innovation. As a devoted coffee lover, I've enjoyed exploring various coffee beans, but I've always struggled with finding a suitable container to preserve their freshness. Too often, coffee beans are spoiled by exposure to oxygen before I have the chance to enjoy them, leading to waste and a sense of guilt over the hard work of coffee farmers. As a result, I conducted research and distributed surveys to my peers at Babson. While there weren't many students who made their own coffee, the survey revealed that those who did also encountered issues with preserving their coffee beans.
Determined to find a solution, I conducted extensive research and conceived the idea of an auto-vacuum coffee canister. Such a container would ensure that coffee beans remain fresh for a longer period by preventing exposure to air. I presented this concept to Outpeak, and together, we embarked on the product design journey. The result is a state-of-the-art auto-vacuum coffee canister made of stainless steel, which I firmly believe is currently the best option for preserving the quality of my beloved coffee beans. Our first launch was at the Specialty Coffee Expo 2024 in Chicago, where our team met many new friends and people who share the same passion with me.
Our success with this product has fueled my desire to invite more students to join this entrepreneurial platform. By collaborating with companies like Outpeak, we can continue to innovate and create more solutions that cater to the needs of our generation and beyond. This collaboration not only bridges the gap between education and real-world experience but also serves as a springboard for young entrepreneurs to bring their inventive ideas to fruition.
Crafted By Her:
From Empowered Hands to Your Canister
My name is Alison Wang, and I am a coffee enthusiast currently in high school. Inspired by the profound privilege of us coffee-lovers being able to savor the subtle flavors and aromas of coffee in its many forms, we celebrate the dedicated women who make this experience possible. Our canisters are made by women, and so are many of the specialty coffee beans they are meant to store. While visiting and getting to know the workers at our canister-making factories and reading stories about the Tianyu Coffee Collaborative, which is founded and run by a Yunnan woman Ye Ping who strives to empower the other women in her community by growing pioneering specialty coffee, I was deeply moved by the high quality of work these women are creating. Many of these women don’t have the privilege to enjoy coffee, yet their hard work is making magic happen. Despite these women’s participation in the supply side of this industry, coffee is still generally marketed more toward the more privileged crowd that can afford to take the time, energy, and money to enjoy the magic of coffee.
As a girl in high school who enjoys drinking, making, and sharing coffee with my community at school as a lead student barista of the coffee club I founded, Outpeak’s youth program has encouraged me to further explore and understand the significance of being able to enjoy coffee. This youth program has inspired and provided me with a platform to support female workers, growers, creators, and entrepreneurs in the coffee industry. Outpeak’s factory and company share my commitment and proudly follow this spirit: the factory is now run entirely by women and the company is composed of mostly women. Outpeak is full of women who bring their unique perspectives and skills to every canister produced. By joining this youth program and supporting Outpeak’s business, you’re helping to bring the ability to enjoy this small luxury back to the hands of its creators.