Nonprofit gives high schoolers a taste of the business world

A company named Runbingo, made up of a team of students from Beijing Yuyuantan Middle School, won the "most popular award" with the most tickets gathered from all visitors.

The product created by Runbingo is a water bottle with a lid-like container set with an alarm clock and a section for pills, which can remind people to take their medication.

First-year high school student, Zhang Yiran, 16, CEO of Runbingo, says: "Our company's product was inspired by the aging population, and we aim to provide convenience and safe living conditions for the elderly."

According to Zhang, the idea of the water bottle exclusively for the elderly came to her when she found her grandparents facing problems.

"They have high blood pressure, but always forget to take their medicines, which should be taken three times a day."

Runbingo now has online stores, selling its special water bottles on different social media platforms, such as WeChat, Idlefish and Baidu, and it has also set up a temporary booth on campus to sell them.

Zhang says the company-simulation program organized by JA China has not only helped her and the team better understand the respective professional fields, but also provided them with an opportunity to improve their public speaking skills.

In the process of developing the product they needed to have meetings and give presentations every week to ensure things were on the right track, which is "rare for a first-year high schooler like me to put all the theories into practice", Zhang says.

Additionally, she says she discovered her likes and dislikes.

"I found that I'm not that enthusiastic about the business aspect.

"It is interesting, but I'm not keen on selling and marketing, so participating in this program helped me avoid wasting time in this sector while I look for my ideal profession in the future."