To kick off Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Subway restaurant chain and Young & Successful Media, owners of the YSN network, have launched the second Subway Global Challenge, a business simulation game that will enable thousands of players to build, train, operate, and promote their own virtual Subway restaurants as a way to learn business development and entrepreneurial start-up skills. The competition is a widely distributed global online competition and allows aspiring entrepreneurs to compete against their peers in over 100 countries.
The Subway Global Challenge winners will be flown from around the world for a VIP tour of Subway headquarters in Milford, Connecticut, where they will meet with various departments, from store design to global marketing, and will present their winning ideas to the teams that build the company and run the brand. Winners will also tour New York City to see the sites and view restaurant operations before heading to Washington, D.C., where they will meet with government officials as well as business and industry leaders on global business and franchising topics.
Along with the Global Challenge online game—where players take on a series of six challenges to promote their businesses—there is also an educational component. A documentary on the Subway restaurant chain, “Subway Restaurants: How a 17-Year-Old Built the #1 Restaurant Chain in the World through Franchising,” is shared with thousands of college and university students throughout the world. A Teacher's Guide is also available online, which can be used to incorporate the online Challenge into curriculum, designed to show the business from every major operational angle while highlighting the benefits of leveraging franchising as the business model.
"The Subway Global Challenge is about encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit and celebrating the Subway brand by sharing our iconic startup story, challenges, and successes as a business," says Don Fertman, chief development officer for the Subway brand.
The second Subway Global Challenge runs through December 20.
"Subway has one of the most inspiring startup stories of any global brand," says Jennifer Kushell, founder and president of the Young & Successful Media, founder of YSN.com, and author of Secrets of the Young & Successful. "This competition is special because it engages young entrepreneurs from every corner of the world in a gamified business simulation and inspires them to put their skills and knowledge into practice. It also shows the potential Subway sees in young entrepreneurs as prospective franchisees. After all, Subway wouldn't exist if co-founder Dr. Buck didn't see the potential in young Fred DeLuca back in '65."
