Nelson Marlborough Young Enterprise 2024 Highlights
NelsonMarlborough YoungEnterpriseScheme2024
The Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) grew out of an initiative started by the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce back in the late 1970s and aims to inspire young people to discover their potential in business and in life.
The mission for YES is to ignite the spark of entrepreneurship in the hearts and minds of young individuals, and to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the world of business.
YES is an organisation at the forefront of inspiring and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.
We firmly believe that fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and financial literacy is essential for the personal and professional growth of our students. Our commitment to this vision is evident in the diverse range of programmes and initiatives we offer.
YES provides innovative classroom programmes that stimulate creativity, real-world business challenges that develop practical skills and mentorship opportunities that guide young minds towards success.
Within the Young Enterprise programme, our students embark on an exciting journey of growth and learning, punctuated by four significant milestones known as the ‘YES Challenges’.
These challenges are designed to be both transformative and educational, providing students with opportunities to apply their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in real world scenarios.
All students that complete YES (Challenges 1-4) will receive YES micro-credentials on their NZQA Record of Achievement.
YES 2024
Across the year, over 5000 secondary school students participated in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme, setting up over 1200 companies between them. In Te Tauihu 106 students took part in the programme. The local schools involved were;
▪ Waimea College
▪ Nayland College
▪ Nelson College
▪ Nelson College for Girls
▪ Marlborough Girls College
▪ Marlborough Boys College
“Inspire young people to discover their potential in business and in life”
Achievements and Prizes – Class of 2024
Throughout the year YES students were able to extend themselves by applying and competing in a variety of ways, including challenges, competitions, taking part in national events and applying for funding and be rewarded with prizes and invaluable experiences. Below lists where those extra achievements were awarded.
School
Team or Person Achievement
Marlborough Girls College Refloat Seed Funding
Marlborough Girls College
Nelson College for Girls
Cleo Collins Extreme Experience - Mexico Trip
Lilli Hiatt Extreme Experience - Navigators Trip
Waimea College Next Step Challenge One
Waimea College Fruitbay Challenge One
Marlborough Girls College
Marlborough Girls College
Kawaii Loops Challenge One
Kawaii Loops FuturEcology Competition
Nelson College for Girls Wine Cycle FuturEcology Competition
Nayland College
Marlborough Boys College
Kākāpō Crafts Challenge Two - first
Kina Bombs Challenge Two - second
Marlborough Girls College Taste of the Regions Challenge Two - third
Nelson College for Girls
Nayland College
Nelson College for Girls
Waimea College
Nayland College
Gracies Rents Challenge Two - fourth equal
Clutch Clothing Challenge Two - fourth equal
Lilli Hiatt EIA Weekend Participant
Isla Anderson EIA Weekend Participant
Kākāpō Crafts Market Day - Best Presentation
Marlborough Girls College Refloat Market Day - Best Customer Service
Marlborough Girls College Bliss Books Market Day - Most Sustainable
Marlborough Boys College
Marlborough Girls College
Sam Morris Extreme Experience - Brazil Trip
Kawaii Loops Challenge Three - Regional Winners
Marlborough Girls College Bliss Books Challenge Three
Marlborough Girls College Taste of the Regions Challenge Three
Nayland College
Nayland College
Nelson College for Girls
Marlborough Girls College
Nayland College
Kākāpō Crafts Challenge Three
Clutch Clothing Challenge Three
Emma Fryer Finalist Environment Category - Alumni Awards
Kawaii Loops Innovation Award Regional Final
Kākāpō Crafts Creative Award Regional Final
Marlborough Girls College Refloat Environment Award Regional Final
Nayland College
Only Popcorn Best Annual Review of the Year Award
Marlborough Girls College Taste of the Regions Connect & Collaborate Award
Marlborough Girls College Refloat Regional Winner
Marlborough Girls College
Ms Surrey Collett Most Inspiring Teacher
YES Kickstart Events
Kickstart is the first event of the YES year. This is where students learn about YES, develop a business idea, run this past a number of speed coaches for feedback. They also hear from a panel of business leaders on topics such as leadership, branding, and sustainability. Speakers in Nelson included: Lu Khani, Emma Fryer, Anton Drazevic and Marina Kere. In Marlborough they were Tracy Atkin, Tony Katavich and Chris Walbran and Bess Cuddon-Corlet.
Nelson
Studentsattended &
70Studentsattended &
Marlborough
Mid-Year Pitch
Following the Validation Challenge which tests business concepts with customers, students prepare for the "Pitch". For this they create a prototype of their product and a five-minute presentation.
They then pitch their business idea to a panel of four judges from which they receive feedback to help them further hone their business. This is great to help with the development of their business. Students need to present their business plan. They also need to deliver a professional, persuasive pitch by engaging with the judges and using welldesigned visual aids.
Our Nelson Judges were Shaun Truelock from OneFortyOne, Lester Binns, Cam Burns from Shuttlerock and Nikki Neate from Mahitahi Colab.
Our Marlborough Judges were Lester Binns, Kylie Reeves from OneFortyOne, Ian Musson and Liz Webb
YES Market Day
The YES Market Day is held in Term 3 and provides an opportunity for students to sell their goods, promote services, continue to gather market research and also have a fun experience getting to know students from other schools who are participating in the programme. The group market day is run in the lead up to the students’ sales and marketing challenges where they need to demonstrate different promotional methods. To receive top marks, they had to use several promotional methods and demonstrate different sales channels, outline what they learnt, how effective their strategies were and any potential areas for improvement. Thanks to Nita Knight of the Nelson Market for sponsoring this event.
Justsomeofthe 2024 YESproducts
Final Products
Regional Final Event
It all came down to the top five teams, who battled it out pitching to a panel of judges at the Regional Final event at the Marlborough Research Centre.
A big thanks to our judges, Tracy Atkin - Angel Investors, Brian Dawson - Business Trust, Celia Anderson - OneFortyOne and Catherine Harris -NMIT. MC Pete Coldwell held the evening together in front of an audience of over seventy participants, supporters and sponsors.
Regional Winners Refloat Bags
The judges were impressed by Refloat and spokesperson Tracy Atkin said “Refloat's mission statement clearly defined the problem, using metrics of tonnes to landfill . They identified and quantified a real problem of plastic waste to landfill. We loved your confidence and passion and dedication to sustainability and product innovation. You had profit goals and a north star to measure success”.
The team considted of Bess Cuddon-Corlet, Laura Elliot-Whale and Sydney White from Marlborough Girls College. This was the second year the trio had entered the YES programme with this business. Refloat also won the Environment Award.
Refloat said “We were super surprised to be chosen as finalists, so to be the region’s winning team is amazing, just even being in the finals was a dream come true! We are incredibly grateful for everyone who supported us on this journey, especially our amazing business mentor, Rosa Tovey”.
Environmental Award was won by Refloat, Marlborough Girls College
Best Annual Review Award was won by Only Popcorn, Nayland College
Sponsor Karen Draper from CAANZ (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand) presented the Winner of the Annual Review Award, Only Popcorn from Nayland College scored 98% for this challenge, this challenge is worth 40% of the overall marks in the YES Program and therefore this is an outstanding result! You should be very proud! Very well-structured Annual Review. Good reflections throughout. Impressive work, well done team! Congratulations Levi Tijsen and Senith Don.
Bess Cuddon-Corlet, Laura ElliotWhale and Sydney White
Karen Draper, CAANZ, Senith Don and Levi Tijsen.
Regional Award Winners
Creative Award won by Kākāpō Crafts, Nayland College
Creating their own designs, packaging and having an outstanding work effort has been a winning combination for Kakapo Crafts. Very early on in the year, they achielved impressive sales and were savvy enough to sign up a big order from one of the judges at the mid-year pitch.
Kier Etherington, Angus McMillan, Scarlet Lester, Kalan Parker, Kahlea Scott.
Regional Award Winners
The Connect & Collaborate Award, Taste of the Regions from Marlborough Girls College
The judges said “You did an excellent job of engaging your community, reaching out to gather meaningful recipes and showcasing that Marlborough is about more than just wine. Your detailed production process and strong supplier relationships further highlight your commitment to quality and community involvement. Well done”!
Mary Hedgman, Kate Woolley, Tessa Unwin, Millie Large and Grace Gamble
Regional Award Winners
The Innovation Award, Kawaii Loops from Marlborough Girls College
Emma Robinson and Kayley Hutchison
Feedback from Chartered Accountants Australia NZ reads, Kawaii Loops, Amazing work! An innovative business idea, which holds sentimental value. It’s impressive to see the growth you’ve achieved since last year you should be proud! Your thorough production process is evident and sets a strong foundation. You have a fantastic product.
Regional Final Event
YES National Finals
Our regional winning team Refloat, along with their teacher Surrey Collett and Regional Coordinator Trina Zimmerman joined over 300 students, educators, business leaders and supporters to honour the success of the top 30 of 1273 standout YES businesses from across the country, in Wellington in December at the YES National Award Finals.
The evening marked the culmination of an inspiring year for over 5000 secondary school students participating in the YES programme who turned creative ideas into innovative real-world ventures, demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit and resilience. South Island teams did very well, taking out both first and second places. It was an inspiring night celebrating the year, the mahi and all that was achieved.
“Thankyou to our sponsors, our business mentor Rosa Tovey for supporting us throughout the year and Trina and Ms Collett!! Without your support over the last two years we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are now and are grateful for everything they have done for us”. Bess Cordon-Corlet, Refloat CEO.
“YES Nationals was an awesome experience for my team. They worked hard on their pitch and met with our regional co-ordinator and roaming teacher many times beforehand to take their pitch to the next level. It was such a good opportunity for the students to pitch to a large panel of judges and seeing the other student business ideas gave me lots of good ideas/tips for my students next year. YES put on an awesome awards dinner that was inspiring and gave us an opportunity to acknowledge all the hard work from the students throughout the year. Thanks to the YES team for putting on such an awesome trip!” Surrey Collett, teacher Marlborough Girls College
“The yes nationals was an amazing experience. It was amazing to meet new people, hear about their businesses and have a chance to compete against them. It was truly amazing”. Sydney White, Marketing Sales & Production Manager, Refloat
Link to see all National Award winning teams.
YES Extra Extreme Experiences 2024
YES students can apply to take part in several extra programmes throughout the year, in 2024 Nelson Marlborough had an unprecedented number of 5 applications being accepted to take part.
Entrepreneurs in Action (EIA)
Lilli Hiatt from Nelson College for Girls and Isla Anderson from Waimea College were acceptedto participate in Young Enterprise’s annual ‘Entrepreneurs in Action’ Weekend. The action-packed weekend described as ‘YES meets startup weekend on Steroids,’ saw the selected secondary school students tackle two back-to-back business challenge in Wellington along with 66 other students from across the country.
Entrepreneurs in Action (EIA)
“Participating in Entrepreneurs in Action 2024 was an incredible opportunity and experience. I gained insights into real-world business challenges and collaborated with driven peers to develop innovative solutions. The unwavering support and mentorship from YES alumni and company hosts provided incredible guidance throughout the weekend. This unforgettable trip let me meet amazing people, gain confidence, and develop my entrepreneurial skills By the end of the weekend, I felt immense pride in my team's accomplishments, as well as inspired by everyone else's creative ideas and unique approaches I wholeheartedly recommend EIA to anyone eager to build their business skill set in a fun and exciting way”.
Lilli Hiatt, Nelson College for Girls
“My experience with EIA was memorable as I acquired a diverse set of business skills and gained valuable insights from real-world business leaders. Collaborating with a team of five passionate entrepreneurs allowed us to leverage our different perspectives and skills to tackle real-world scenarios and address underlying business challenges. Overall, this experience left me with a deeper knowledge of the business world, and I am grateful for to be a part of this incredible opportunity. I encourage other enthusiastic Nelson-Marlborough YES students to apply for EIA. I am confident they will have a great experience that will deepen their understanding of business and Young Enterprise and ignite their enthusiasm for continuing business in the future”
Isla Anderson, Waimea College
YES Extra Extreme Experiences 2024 LatAm Biz Brazil
Sam Morris, Marlborough Boys College
Sam was chosen to be one of eight students to go on the Brazil business trip.
During the program in Brazil, students were placed into teams of three, consisting of two New Zealand students and one Brazilian student.
Each team faced a challenge that required them to address one of the three Sustainable Development Goals and develop a new business concept for the Brazilian market. Sam's team excelled, winning the challenge with their innovative business idea, Terra Firme.
This initiative aims to provide advance notice of natural disasters such as landslides and earthquakes, specifically targeting support for people living in favelas and those in poverty, whose homes are often the most affected.
Feedback about Sam from Head of YES, Ian Musson, who was one of the chaperones on the trip was a glowing report.
Ian said, “Sam is an exceptional young man—responsible, engaging, and inquisitive. He asks insightful questions, makes friends easily, and is regarded as the reliable one among his peers.
As a Year 12 student, Sam was one of the youngest in our group, but he demonstrated remarkable maturity and insight, making him well-prepared for his upcoming Year 13 year. His enthusiasm for new experiences is contagious; he embraced every opportunity, whether it was trying Samba dancing or jumping into a capoeira class, always with a smile on his face.
Sam shared his culture; he was affectionately known as our ‘blue eyed Māori’ and shared the song with the same title with our Brazilian students”.
A few more notes about Sam:
• Leadership: Sam showcased natural leadership qualities during team discussions, often encouraging his teammates to voice their ideas and perspectives.
• Cultural Adaptability: He displayed a keen ability to adapt to the Brazilian culture, engaging positively with local students and fostering an inclusive team environment.
• Future Potential: Given his proactive attitude and ability to connect with others, I believe Sam has a bright future ahead, whether in his studies or in pursuing business ventures.
“This trip was something I never thought I would experience, being able to learn from some of Brazil's best business men and women was truly a life changing learning opportunity. Thinking about the trip it's hard for me to fathom where I was, sometimes in the moment it's hard to appreciate these things, but as I look back now I can't help but think about the amazing opportunities that are going to come from this. So on that Thank you so much Young enterprise and LatAm Cape for making this dream a reality”. Sam Morris, Marlborough Boys College
YES Extra Extreme Experiences 2024
Young Navigators
Lilli Hiatt, Nelson College for Girls student was one of 30 YES students chosen to attend Young Navigators 2024, a three-day leadership Extreme Experience in Auckland.
Young Navigators is designed to ignite the potential within young Māori and Pasifika entrepreneurs, challenging students to find innovative solutions to real-world business challenges. Hear what Lilli had to say about the experience below:
"An absolutely incredible opportunity offered by YES, I had an amazing time on Young Navigators 2024 I made friends, met exceptional people, and came away from the trip feeling like a new and improved version of myself (genuinely!)”.
“My highlights include having the pleasure to meet inspirational entrepreneurs, seeing Māori and Pasifika culture represented in a business setting, and observing the change in my and my peer's confidence over the three days - not to mention the sensational kai we were provided with”.
“My top 3 learning experiences would be - understanding the importance of staying true to your roots and not dimming down your culture for anyone, realising the significance of putting yourself out there and taking opportunities, as well as the value of today's youth and the impact we have on the future - particularly in businesses and Māori and Pasifika representation. I would strongly encourage fellow Māori students, as well as Pasifika, to put themselves forward for all the amazing experiences YES offers.“
Lilli Hiatt,
Nelson College for Girls
YES Extra Extreme Experiences 2024
The LATAM BIZ Globalista trip to Mexico
Cleo Collins, Marlborough Girls College was successful in her application to go on the YES business trip to Mexico.
"The LATAM BIZ Globalista trip to Mexico was an unforgettable journey that immersed me in the rich history, vibrant culture, and dynamic business life of Mexico City. From exploring historical landmarks around the city like the Metropolitan Cathedral to the cultural sessions at Prepa Ibero, each day was packed with enriching experiences We delved into the complexities of international business at the New Zealand embassy and witnessed the vibrancy of Mexican entertainment at Lucha Libre.
What I enjoyed most about the trip was the opportunity to interact with Mexican students and entrepreneurs. We learnt about their culture, traditions, and business practices firsthand. The cultural activities, such as the dance lessons, Lucha libre, and the cooking classes were definitely a highlight for me. These activities offer a deeper understanding of Mexican culture and create lasting friendships amongst our group.
Overall, this trip has not only expanded my knowledge of Mexican culture and business but also enriched my personal growth. From pitching a business idea to exploring Frida Kahlo's house, every moment was a learning experience that has left a lasting impact. I've gained confidence, cultural understanding, and valuable skills that I can apply to my future endeavors, both academically and professionally.“
Cleo Collins, Marlborough Girls
College
A big thank you to all who volunteered their time in some way to Help We couldn’t deliver YES in 2024 without YOU!
Thanks to our Regional & National Sponsors
Regional Prize Donation from YES Alumni Emma Fryer, FuturEcology
