The article highlights a number of young entrepreneurs including YES alum Jake Millar, creator of Unfiltered. Prior to creating Unfiltered, Jake created inspirational website Oompher, which he sold to CareersNZ in 2015.

The article also features Olelei Yo, a company formed through The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme in 2015. Olelei Yo produced New Zealand’s first almond milk yoghurt in 2015, and this year has plans to launch an almond milk ice cream.

CEO Matt Billington (pictured above) from Henderson High School says the idea to create an almond milk ice cream came directly from their social media networks.

YES alum Rees Vinsen also featured in an article, ‘Nelson teenage business whizz on a roll’ this month. Rees took part in YES in 2013 and 2014, and has continued with his business idea. Adduco is a creative advertising and design agency. Rees now has offices in Nelson and Wellington, and provides work for 10 freelancers and part times. Rees is returning to the YES programme next week, this time as a judge at the Nelson Dragon’s Den Final.

Fairfax’s article ‘Young, ignorant and starting a business’ goes on to profile a number of business owners under 30. And the trend is growing - according to 2013 Census data, 5097 people aged under 30 identified themselves as employers. Of those, 228 were between the age of 15 to 19 year olds, and a further 993 people were aged between 20 and 24.