Revolutionary soccer balls, an anti-drink spiking initiative, and an easy-to-use park and pay app were among many of the outstanding proposals presented by aspiring entrepreneurs at the Young Entrepreneurs Expo held on Thursday 5 November.

The culminating event of the Entrepreneurship Program, the expo is run throughout the second semester for Year 10 Business Education students. Aimed at allowing students to explore the field of business the program sees students apply concepts learnt in relation to practical situations and get a taste of what it is like to be an entrepreneur. Many have found that it is harder to start a business than it may seem!

Throughout the Sheldon Event Centre, students presented their portfolios and showcased their ideas to parents and visitors, who then had the opportunity to ‘invest’ $50000 ‘Sheldon dollars’ in business/es of their choice. The five businesses that achieved the highest level of investment then pitched their concept to a panel of highly qualified guest judges before an overall winner was announced.

The students benefited immensely from the rich learning opportunities that they were able to take away from this experience. They were focussed on developing entrepreneurial, collaborative, problem solving and innovative thinking skills, each relevant to the modern business world.

Mrs Debbie Whittle, Faculty of HASS Teacher said,

“This journey has taken place across two terms, and I am so proud of the students and how they have grown in knowledge and maturity. It is not easy to pitch your ideas to a group of strangers, but they handled the pressure and questions with maturity and confidence. All of them have worked incredibly hard to come up with such great ideas and execute them highly."

Congratulations to first place winners – Spykd, comprising Jacques Breet, Pavneet Nijjar, Jemma Thompson, and Bryson Williams. SafeBand were voted a close second with their business idea developed by Edward Boniface, Hannah Monk, Oliver Buscke and Niketa Spicer. Third place was awarded to Charlie Banks, Imogen Belford, Taylor O’Dea and Daniel Renouf of Collar & Co.