The Kids Are Alright

Kathleen Wright recently volunteered as a judge at a BP<br>Business Challenge at Onslow College in Wellington. Here we<br>share her blog post about the experience.

Date
18.11.2015
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If, like me, you are a child of the 1960’s or 70’s and haven’t had

experience of teenagers in the 2010’s, you’re probably quite
curious as to what they are like. You might have read the research
about the teenage brain, stories about teenage entrepreneurs and
how we as adults underestimate the abilities of young people.
At Sub Urban, we aim to mix up the generations, learn from each
other and create and support enterprise. So when we were invited
to join the judging panel at the BP Business Challenge at Onslow
College, we were delighted!

As the day approached, I was, to be honest, experiencing a bit of
trepidation. What were these young people capable of? Thrown
together for three days could they really come up with a business plan
and an idea to solve a problem, or meet a need in the marketplace?
The afternoon was fast and furious. We had 10 minutes to spend
with each of the 12 teams – an 8 minute presentation and 2 minutes
questions from us as judges. 120 business students gathered
around their presentation boards pitching their hearts out.

Overall impressions?

Yep. I’d be pretty proud if I were working with these kids. Excellent
presentation skills, great teamwork, a good grasp of marketing,
distribution, finance and social outcomes.

But the thing that really blew me away was the innovation – most of
the ideas were completely new. How about that at 15 years old?

We saw product proposals – square gluesticks, heavy soccer
training balls, pillows with inbuilt speakers, shower karaoke, hot/
cold bottles, super-fitting ear headphones, sticky speakers, magnetic
sport shoe soles, a sprung goal net and more. And apps – to help
you chose your daily outfit, and find you a buddy to play sport with.

Impressive work Onslow College students, teachers and the Young
Enterprise Trust. The kids aren’t just alright; they’re awesome.

This article as been re-published with permission from the Author
Kathleen Wright – writer for Sub Urban.


Email us to find out more about judging at Young Enterprise events.

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November 18, 2015

The Kids Are Alright

Kathleen Wright recently volunteered as a judge at a BP<br>Business Challenge at Onslow College in Wellington. Here we<br>share her blog post about the experience.

If, like me, you are a child of the 1960’s or 70’s and haven’t had

experience of teenagers in the 2010’s, you’re probably quite
curious as to what they are like. You might have read the research
about the teenage brain, stories about teenage entrepreneurs and
how we as adults underestimate the abilities of young people.
At Sub Urban, we aim to mix up the generations, learn from each
other and create and support enterprise. So when we were invited
to join the judging panel at the BP Business Challenge at Onslow
College, we were delighted!

As the day approached, I was, to be honest, experiencing a bit of
trepidation. What were these young people capable of? Thrown
together for three days could they really come up with a business plan
and an idea to solve a problem, or meet a need in the marketplace?
The afternoon was fast and furious. We had 10 minutes to spend
with each of the 12 teams – an 8 minute presentation and 2 minutes
questions from us as judges. 120 business students gathered
around their presentation boards pitching their hearts out.

Overall impressions?

Yep. I’d be pretty proud if I were working with these kids. Excellent
presentation skills, great teamwork, a good grasp of marketing,
distribution, finance and social outcomes.

But the thing that really blew me away was the innovation – most of
the ideas were completely new. How about that at 15 years old?

We saw product proposals – square gluesticks, heavy soccer
training balls, pillows with inbuilt speakers, shower karaoke, hot/
cold bottles, super-fitting ear headphones, sticky speakers, magnetic
sport shoe soles, a sprung goal net and more. And apps – to help
you chose your daily outfit, and find you a buddy to play sport with.

Impressive work Onslow College students, teachers and the Young
Enterprise Trust. The kids aren’t just alright; they’re awesome.

This article as been re-published with permission from the Author
Kathleen Wright – writer for Sub Urban.


Email us to find out more about judging at Young Enterprise events.