Dragons' Den delivers

23 October 2020

Dragons' Den facilitator Andrew Patterson with the three judges and students whose entries won the $250 starter prize.

The nerves were obvious, but everyone was doing their best to keep them under control.

Fifteen students ranging from Year 7 to Year 12 gathered in the Milford room of the Business and Entrepreneurial Centre last Tuesday for the final of this year's Dragons' Den, pitching their business idea to three judges in under two minutes followed by eight minutes of probing Q&A. For most students it would be a daunting prospect, but the finalists overcame their nerves to deliver ten impressive pitch presentations that reflected their hard work over the last six weeks, including spending time during the end of term holidays writing their business plans and researching and validating their ideas.

This year’s Dragons' Den was co-ordinated by freelance business writer Andrew Patterson who said the students had all worked extremely hard, even exceeding his own expectations with what they had achieved. “This was the first time I had run a programme like this with high school students and the effort and commitment of the students was very impressive. Their business ideas were all really well thought through and it was obvious to everyone who attended the final pitch session how much they had learnt from their participation in the programme.” The three judges, Jonathan Marshall and Melissa Renwick , both St Peter’s alumni, along with Susanne Rolfe, General Manager Sales & Marketing at Tatua, admitted they had a particularly difficult job deciding on the four businesses who each received $250 in start-up funding to establish their business, thanks to the generous support of Dragons' Den sponsor Milford Asset Management. In the end the start-up funding prizes were awarded to: ·

Luke Brouwer (Year 8) who has established Safari Garden, designing back lit, rustic shelving units that can be made to order.
Gennie Tuck (Year 9) the founder of Good As New, a business where people can go to for second hand school uniforms, sports equipment and school supplies while also donating a portion of the business profits to charity.
Evelyn & Thom Dijkstra (Year 10 & Year 7) the founders of Wetter, which produces a multi-purpose seat for young children.
Emma-Lee Abbot-Joe (Year 12) whose business A Piece of Cake offers both a cake making service as well as providing all the ingredients to make a cake for yourself.

All the students entering this year’s Dragons' Den will be provided with ongoing mentoring support if they wish to develop their businesses further. It’s hoped that over time, building a culture of entrepreneurship within the school will lead to more students considering establishing businesses for themselves as a way of determining their own future pathways towards self-employment.

Campus Principal, Julie Small, described it as the highlight of her week. "I was so impressed by the entrepreneurship and knowledge the students exhibited and they obviously loved the opportunity."

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