Auckland’s young budding entrepreneurs have shown they have business ideas impressive enough to rival successful companies as part of the 2016 IDEAStarter youth entrepreneurship contest.
Six IDEAStarter winners were selected out of 137 entries and announced at an awards ceremony held at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) on 17 May.
The winning ideas all centered around technology – including an app which helps young people share their feelings through colours, a water meter in your pocket and an idea to attract more girls at school into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
IDEAStarter business mentors will work with award winners to help them develop their ideas further with a view to bringing them to market if feasible on further investigation.
IDEAStarter Judge Ken Brophy, Chief Enabler and Co-Founder of Joy Business Academy (JBA) describes the quality of thinking of young award winners as ‘outstanding’.
“Some of the up-front strategic positioning work was very impressive and more robust that some actual businesses I have worked with during my consulting past,” he says.
IDEAStarter is part of Youth Connections, supporting youth employment and enterprise in Auckland, which is primarily funded by the Tindall Foundation and Auckland Council.
Winners
Isaac Mercer – SafeDriver
Zach Preston – Sentinel
Alexia Hilbertidou, Kayla Turner, Sayurie Naicker - GirlBoss NZ
Vivek Kumar – Fulcrum
Caitlin Smart – GreenLightGo
Mildred Wong, Sam Yoon - NoBS Ratings
