London, Thursday 30th July

Last Monday, a team of students from Badminton School, Bristol, were crowned as the overall winners of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition and presented with £1,000 to fund the continued growth of their business, The Citrus Way.

The Citrus Way was set up by a collective of diverse young female students who saw how the relationship between consumption and climate-change was negatively impacting their community. The business upcycles food-waste in the form of citrus peel, to create an eco-conscious cleaning product that has a luxury feel and a commitment to making the world and our homes, a cleaner place.

After months of business planning and preparation, the team used their initial start-up loan of £336.59 to generate an incredible £1,099.41 in profits. The team were judged on a range of criteria by a panel of business leaders from Sage, whose partnership supports the Tycoon Enterprise Competition.

Debbie Wall, EVP Sage Foundation says, “It’s fantastic to see young people take initiative on issues that affect us today but will only get more serious for future generations, and its crucial we continue to support them. These students have shown determination and initiative, but to build entrepreneurialism and business skills, the Sage Ambition Mentors have helped to shape their ideas and teamwork. All participants should be immensely proud.”

Commenting on their success, the Citrus Way said:

“The Tycoon Enterprise Journey has taught us many valuable skills. We didn’t just learn more about the world of business, but we also learnt a lot about ourselves and how each of us can contribute to the business with our unique skills and talents. And when we come together as a team, that’s when The Citrus Way goes from “just a business” to an extraordinary movement. Our journey taught us that no work comes without challenges and solving them is what makes the experience enjoyable.”

The team will re-invest their profits to scale their business.
This year the Tycoon Enterprise Competition stakes were higher than ever as 2,413 students were able to compete across two trading windows, one in Autumn and the other in Spring. In total, 491 student-led businesses from across the country accessed £101,208 in Tycoon funding, empowering them to start and run their first enterprises.

Delighted by the range of businesses in this year’s Tycoon programme Peter Jones CBE said: 

“I‘ve been blown away by the ambitious and inventive businesses that have been started as part of this year’s Tycoon competition. In challenging circumstances, the students have demonstrated that they have everything it takes to make it in business – their resilience, creativity and determination is inspiring.”

The competition sits at the heart of the Peter Jones Foundation’s mission to put enterprise at the centre of the education system and this year students from 192 schools and colleges spanning the length and breadth of the UK took part in Tycoon.

As well as start-up funding and a suite of digital resources, students participating in Tycoon can have an Ambition Business Mentor to support them on their entrepreneurial journey, thanks to the Peter Jones Foundation partnership with Sage Foundation.

This year, in recognition of the business motivations behind many of the Tycoon start-ups, the Peter Jones Foundation launched the Tycoon Impact Awards which recognise innovative businesses and enterprises committed to ‘doing good’.

Bill Muirhead, Managing Director, Peter Jones Foundation said:

“Over the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of Tycoon businesses putting purpose at the heart of their proposition. The social and ecological consciousness of these young entrepreneurs is inspiring and this year we were delighted to launch the Tycoon Innovation Business Award and Tycoon Business for Good Award, in recognition of the creativity and determination of the next generation of business leaders”. 

Through the Tycoon Enterprise Competition, the Peter Jones Foundation has worked with over 700 schools and given more than £600,000 in funding, to enable over 14,000+ students to start their first business. The Foundation sees enterprise education as a cornerstone in ensuring that students leave school job-ready and, as such, Tycoon has had a tangible impact on the lives of young people.

Winners Tycoon 2019/20     

Tycoon 750 Winners: Operation Heavenly Treats (Wilbury Primary School)
Tycoon 1K Winners: The Citrus Way (Badminton School)
Tycoon 2K Winners: BujoAbby Design (The Bishop of Llandaff School)
Tycoon 3K Winners: Bright New Starts (Accrington Academy)
Overall Winners: The Citrus Way
Tycoon Business for Good Award: Period Equality Together (Sevenoaks School)
Tycoon Innovative Business Award: BujoAbby Design (The Bishop of Llandaff School)

For more information about Tycoon visit: www.tycoon.com
For more information about the Peter Jones Foundation visit: www.peterjonesfoundation.org
For more information about Sage Foundation visit www.sagefoundation.com