This year NHEHS is entering The Tycoon Enterprise Competition for the first time with teams from Year 8 and Year 12.  Started by Peter Jones CBE in 2012,  as part of his campaign to foster a start-up culture through encouraging and supporting enterprise education in the UK.

Tycoon is a national enterprise competition for students, where each team writes a business plan, is lent money, starts a business and trades, while competing with other student businesses from 200 schools and colleges through a kickstarter-style platform in a safe and controlled environment. The competition is divided into four categories and is organised by The Peter Jones Foundation, which provides goodwill start up capital, so only when student companies breakeven, do they repay their loan. There are also awards for Business for Good and for Innovation.

We had planned to enter five teams from both Year 8 and Year 12, but such was the interest from Year 8 (around 70 students wanted to take part!), that we had to run a Dragons’ Den-style round to decide which five teams were to go through to the Tycoon Competition itself!

Just before half term, 12 Year 8 teams had to present a one-minute pitch of their business ideas to our team of Dragons (Miss Watkins, Miss Hughes, Mr Shoults and Mrs Irwin). The Dragons were very impressed with the teams’ enthusiasms, ideas and organisation, making whittling it down to the final five a very hard decision. For those Year 8s whose business ideas didn’t quite make it, there is always next year’s Tenner Challenge for Year 9 to look forward to for those entrepreneurial initiatives!

The Tycoon Challenge for NHEHS teams runs from this half term until March 26th. The first half of this term has seen the teams focusing on their business plans with Miss Watkins, which has to include an executive summary, costs, market research, competitor analysis, a financial forecast plus a marketing plan. This plan will be submitted to Tycoon Enterprise to see if they will be accepted for a loan. The Year 8 teams are hoping to borrow up to £100 per team.  As well as being supported by Miss Watkins, both the Year 8 and Year 12 teams will have access to a SAGE Ambition Mentor during the process who will offer guidance and advice to the individual teams.

The two year groups cover a wide range of products, with several having an eco element to them, while some are donating their profits to charity.

Year 8 Tycoon teams:

Eco Accessories: Masks and scrunchies made from recycled fabrics. (Rahel, Aanya, Dunya, Matilda, Yuna, Tilley, Samara, Ishita)

Paws for the Planet: Eco-friendly dog toys, homemade dog treats, wooden hanging dog organisers and dog bandanas.(Jasmine, Emma, Abigail, Morven, Alice, Zoe, Amelie)

Little Things: Beauty boxes. (Sophia, Freya, Amy, Maanvi, Marianne)

The Care Bear Packages: Well-being boxes with beauty items and jewellery (Aditi, Millie, Saranya)

JLK: Tie-dyed t-shirts, masks and bucket hats. (Jaan, Kiki, Jemima, Lila)

Year 12 Tycoon teams:

Off the Record: Repurposed vinyl records and other items. (Alex, Millie, Meghan, Lottie, Brianna)

Before the Storm: Clothing and tote bags. (Hayat, Jenny, Jasmine, Anouska, Darcy, Raima)

Dizi Products: Jewellery and tote bags. (Sophie, Ellie, Mia, Paloma, Lily)

Scrapbuds: Handmade beeswax wraps and plush toys. (Isabel, Dulcie, Li An)

Graphique: Clothing. (Sabah, Annika, Natasha, Anaiya)

The overall winner of the competition will receive £1000 to be invested in their business, while finalists will be invited to attend a prestigious Tycoon Final, previously held at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. Businesses are judged on eight criteria, including profit made, creativity and innovation, problem solving, financial skills, self management and resilience, communication, digital skills, teamwork and leadership. There will be a national scoreboard on the Tycoon Enterprise website to gauge how all the teams are getting on compared to their peers up and down the country.

This year the teams face an extra challenge with the Covid restrictions, so they will need to use their creativity and ideas to sell their products without a traditional Christmas fair or market stalls, so their attention will switch to selling to their ‘bubbles’ and families, and by making use of app-based sales platforms, websites and social media to showcase their products and fulfil enquiries.

Later this month we hope to share their online platforms and links for parents and students who might be looking for that unique Christmas or birthday present.

Watch this space!