YES students in Dragons Den

Young entrepreneurs have ventured into the ‘Dragons Den’ to pitch their business ideas to local business people as part of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES).

YES – which is delivered in the Auckland region by Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development, on behalf of Auckland Council – gives year 12 and 13 students the chance to set up and run their own business for a year.

The programme pushes students beyond the normal boundaries set in the classroom, encouraging them to develop business skills through practical activities such as the Dragons Den-styled pitch competition which took place at AUT’s central Auckland campus.

More than 300 YES students from 51 teams took part in the 2016 Sanitarium Young Enterprise Scheme Auckland Regional Dragons Den Finals.

Each team was given five minutes to deliver a succinct and engaging pitch for the business plan they’ve created through YES, in the hope of impressing judging panels comprised of more than 30 volunteers from across Auckland’s business community.

Regional winners for Central, South, North, East and West Auckland were selected at the event – the first time a combined YES Dragons Den regional finals event has been held in Auckland.

The Auckland regional winners are:

● Girl Boss, Albany Senior High School, which aims to inspire New Zealand girls to develop their science, technology, engineering skills (and was also winner of the 2016 IDEAStarter youth entrepreneurship contest)

● Brightlife, ACG Parnell College, which makes lycra cycling shirts with LED lighting sewn in

● Chopped NZ, Waiuku College, which creates chopping boards made from recycled timber

● Spice Boys, Ormiston Senior College, which makes spicy mayonnaise based on a traditional family recipe

● Arahina, Titirangi Rudolf Steiner, which designs basic brochure-style websites for small business owners.

Each winning team received a prize of $1000 courtesy of Sanitarium, while the second place team in each region received $400 courtesy of Kiwi Bank.

Girl Boss from Albany Senior High School pitch their idea to the Dragons Den judges.