The Encourage programme is delivered through the FFE’s flagship Tycoon Enterprise Competition. Tycoon is a unique national enterprise competition for students aged 6 to 18. Every participating team writes a business plan, is lent money, starts a business and trades, competing with other student companies through a sophisticated kickstarter style platform, in a safe and controlled environment.
The competition is split into four categories and is free to all schools and colleges. We provide goodwill start up capital, so only when student companies breakeven, do they repay their loan.
You can see full details of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition by downloading our prospectus.
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Tycoon Team, Bakeaway
Key Stage 3 Runner-up 2014
This creative team from Haberdasher’s Askes’ Crayford Academy, designed and created their own baking kits to help customers achieve the perfect cookies, cupcakes and biscuits at home. Bakeaway’s strong branding and innovative packaging particularly stood out to the judges, helping to secure the team a place in the awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Tycoon Team, Lease 2 Learn
Key Stage 4 Winner and Overall Winner 2016
Lease 2 Learn from Westborough High School in Dewsbury received £280 as a start-up loan. Their business allows students, teachers and the wider community to lease and hire school IT equipment, including refurbished laptops, at a very competitive and affordable price. The idea was conceived as they discovered over a third of students at their school did not have access to a computer or laptop at home. Lease 2 Learn was selected by a panel of judges based on the criteria of profitability, teamwork, business concept, sustainability and community engagement and the team had a fantastic final profit of over £5,000.
Tycoon Team, Blue Bowtique
Key Stage 1 & 2 Winner and Overall Highly Commended 2016
Blue Bowtique from Barnby Road Academy near Newark received £96 as a start-up loan and invested the money to create bespoke hair bows that give ‘flair to the hair’. They sold to the local community and achieved an incredible profit of £1,482.
Professor Bob Cryan
The younger we get people thinking and believing that they can create their own business the better, because that way we can create a generation of entrepreneurs who can make their own jobs. Each finalist that I’ve met through the Tycoon competition has come up with a different product which just shows how creative the next generation are.