Josh Feinsilber

Whilst many young students are still figuring out what they want to do, Josh Feinsilber had already made his own unique mark in the area of educational technology. Josh is the founder of Gimkit, a platform that utilizes a game-style engagement with classroom learning. Feinsilber’s story is a quintessential example of a young entrepreneur in today’s society, portraying how youthful insight, passion, as well as initiative can turn into meaningful entrepreneurial success. Josh was a high school, at a non-traditional public school, where project-based learning and internships were emphasized over conventional grades when the idea for Gimkit began. While in school, he interned as a full-stack developer at two companies, portraying his internal drive as well as an innate ability of awareness, as he understood how he himself learned best. Through this process, Josh asked, how can I build a tool that works better than what currently exists in an educational environment. From this assessment of a pain that would lead to entrepreneurial success, the development of Gimkit arose. In 2017, Josh launched what would later become Gimkit as a high school independent study or project-based venture. He was inspired due to already existing classroom-quiz games such as Kahoot and Quizlet, but felt the experience could be improved. Gimkit gaining traction wasn’t just a pure coincidence; Josh integrated standout qualities into his platform. These qualities include game mechanics being embedded in learning, a focus on student retention and motivation, and teacher-friendly designs. Through these intuitive qualities, Gimkit has been able to achieve a global reach, a reach of users across 100 countries. Josh, an exemplary model of a young entrepreneur, shows how student-entrepreneurs can go from an idea to a product, all whilst being in high school, proving there is no age limit to entrepreneurial success. He also demonstrates that creativity lies everywhere, as long as you have the eye to see it, and through this, success can be in reach. Not only does he portray these innate qualities of entrepreneurship, but he also embodies the convergence of coding skills necessary, an entrepreneurial mindset, and educational insight. This trifecta of skills shows the educational prowess needed for success. All in all, Josh Feinsilber is a great example of a young entrepreneur who shows that age is no barrier for innovation, meaningful change can start with a simple idea and a lot of determination, and that creativity lies dormant everywhere. His story inspires young people everywhere to see problems as opportunities and to believe that even the smallest project can grow into something impactful.