Elevator Catapults Young Entrepreneurs into the World of Business

Hopeful entrepreneurs at Albyn Primary School have been propelled into the business world thanks to Elevator.

S2 pupils were introduced to the world of business by Lucia Giuntoli, Project Manager at Elevator, when she delivered a string of inspiring workshops through Elevator’s Idea Generation programme, in September this year. The purpose of the workshops was to educate the year group on the principle of business and the role of an entrepreneur.

Split into teams depending on their personality traits, the youngsters, aged 13-14, used their new-found knowledge to generate ideas for sustainable businesses that they can run within the school to accelerate their entrepreneurial skills.

A team from Albyn was spurred on from this experience which led to the development of their business Sustainable Smoothies, a smoothie company being run by students, for students. Realising its potential, the team applied to Elevator’s Make your Pitch Happen competition, held at Elevator’s ninth annual Making it Happen conference on 11^th October.

Going head to head with schools across Aberdeen City and Shire, Sustainable Smoothies battled it out to win £1000 worth of seed money for its business. The team of eight impressed the judge’s with not only their entrepreneurial talent, but their pitching skills, seeing them being crowned the winners and scooping the prize money to help propel Sustainable Smoothies into the school.

Wendy Jessamine, Head of Department Business & Economics at Albyn School, said: I felt very proud watching our pupils perform their pitch at the Elevator Conference.  It was lovely to see their passion and enthusiasm for the business they are creating shine through.  The group, which started in August, have made good use of the knowledge gained at an Enterprise Event run in September by Elevator for all U2 pupils and what they have learned within the department and our Media Group.  

This very generous £1,000 prize money gives the team a fantastic opportunity to buy in the equipment they need to set up and run their business.  With the support of the Department of Business and Economics and Elevator, Sustainable Smoothies, should be a very sustainable enterprise.

Commenting Lucia said: “Giving young people the opportunity to be entrepreneurial from a young age benefits them at every stage of their life. Along with our pitching partners we recognised the talent in schools across the north east and wanted to give young people the opportunity to create innovative projects within their school.

“The calibre for this year’s competition was incredible, making it a tough decision for our judges, but Albyn School stood out above the rest; it was humbling to see how much creative talent these pupils have. Along with the £1000 prize money we will also be providing students with a mentor to support their business, encouraging it to flourish.”