Alumni Mentor Young Entrepreneurs

The scheme aims to develop business and entrepreneurial skills through one-to-one mentoring sessions, which run alongside group activity and enrichment sessions delivered by the Alumni mentors. L-R: John Craven, Fabeha Shafaat, Aimen Iqbal, Lynne Kyle, Summer Kay, The scheme’s pilot drew to a conclusion in January 2022 with a Dragon’s Den style pitching event in the Arts Centre with Rob and John attending Sofia Carrera-Knowles, Nic Ford, Umar Awais, in person, whilst Elizabeth, Tony and Juhi attended virtually. Matthew Syers and Rob Dobson Boys’ Division students Umar Awais and Matthew Syers partnered on a fruit flavoured chocolate whilst from the Girls’ Division’s Fabeha Shafaat pitched a free education tool, Sofia Carrera-Knowles demonstrated an aid product for the blind or visually impaired, Aimen Iqbal talked about her ambition to launch her own law firm and Summer Kay explained her loneliness-fighting project.

“Loneliness is a problem for individuals that can lead to mental and physical health issues, and has become increasingly prevalent over the course of the pandemic. My idea involved connecting under 18s with adults experiencing feelings of loneliness. “I conducted market research with some of School’s Alumni, aged 75 and over, who have experienced or can relate to the feeling of loneliness, and discovered that these people can feel most isolated and alone during winter, periods of bad weather, seasonal events like Christmas or at times of bereavement. I arranged three ‘trial’ Zoom calls, connecting a team of Bolton School girls in Years 11-13 (aged 15-18) with Alumni volunteers. Feedback from these trials helped me overcome operational difficulties and determine whether the idea could actually help to tackle loneliness. “Over 70% of the calls were completely successful. As each trial progressed, I made changes and adapted the environment for the remaining 30% in order to improve the service and to develop my idea further. The majority of challenges were due to the technology involved: some Alumni had difficulties and I, myself, faced some tricky logistics, managing multiple simultaneous calls within a short timeframe.

“I would like to thank all parties involved for their time and effort in helping me to achieve the progress made from the trial, particularly those Alumni who faced issues, but continued to persevere for my benefit. The feedback I have received has been so lovely to hear and made the scheme even more worthwhile.”

Summer Kay

“I joined the Entrepreneurship Scheme with the aim of creating a product or service intended to help the visually impaired community – a cause with which my family works closely, housing and training guide dogs. I researched ideas with my mentor, Rob, who has extensive experience as an electronic engineer. Together we agreed that my practical skillset would successfully lend itself to the creation of a physical product: an inhaler which indicates when the container is running out of doses through an audio or vibration alert. Rob helped me with connecting to and researching my target market, improving my skills in communicating professionally with others. “I continued to develop my product whilst keeping my mentor updated, as he guided me through the process and answered any questions I had. I am now at the point of gathering feedback on my designs from my target market and considering costings and licensing before moving onto manufacturing. The programme has introduced me to the world of business and the steps needed to build my own product, and has encouraged me to continue this project into the future.” Sofia Carrera-Knowles

Our thanks go to the five Alumni mentors involved with the Entrepreneurship Scheme, for dedicating their time and expertise to guide and support the students’ ideas and personal growth during the past year, and the Old Boys and Old Girls who assisted Summer in completing her market research during the Autumn Term. The next cohort of Year 12 pupils will join the Entrepreneurship Scheme in September, at the start of the new academic year.