Teenagers from Leeds schools and colleges demonstrated their entrepreneurial skills as they pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges from the world of business and sport.
To coincide with the Global Entrepreneurship Week, which runs from Monday 17th-21st November, the Leeds Rhinos Foundation hosted their very own ‘Rhinos’ Den’ event, based on the popular BBC2 programme Dragons Den, at their Tryzone Learning Centre.
Eight teams, made up of budding business men and women from Leeds City College, Morley Academy, The Cooperative Academy of Leeds and Bradford Girls Grammar school, presented their business plan to a panel which included staff from a Leeds Rhinos Foundation partner, British Gas, Rhinos’ Commercial Director Rob Oates and the Foundation’s Head of Operations Bob Bowman.
The 40 students who took part all came up with ideas for new or adapted products for the Leeds Rugby Store. The winning idea came from Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, who had called themselves 1870 and pitched the idea of combining a Rhinos’ beanie hat with built in headphones which can be connected to phones etc. Other ideas included a confectionery range, presented by the Carnegie Experience team from Morley Academy, a selfie stick presented by the Inspire and Convert team from The Cooperative Academy Leeds and a range of face paints created by team B.E.C. from Leeds City College.
Speaking about the initiative Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Adult Learning Officer Jaci Hawkins said: “At Tryzone we aim to deliver education projects to young people and families to make a positive difference to their lives. The idea behind the ‘Rhinos’ Den’ event was to allow the students to demonstrate their creativity and business acumen whilst also developing their presentation skills. All the participants enjoyed the experience and will be given a ticket to come and watch the Rhinos in action next season.”
Chris Walker, Customer Service Team Manager from British Gas, who was one of the ‘Dragons’ on the panel added: “I was really impressed by all the pupils who attended. Presenting to a group is never easy, no matter what experience you have in presenting. I can see the pupils had a great day out and they will have really gained some valuable experience with the great work the Foundation do.”