Entreprenurs in Action with Ava Aitken

Ava who is part of the COIN South team as well as a student at James Hargest, took a bold step and submitted a video application to Entrepreneurs in Action, an annual event hosted by the Young Enterprise scheme in Wellington where 60 of the most engaged Young Enterprise students come together to complete two back to back business challenges over 48 hours. Southland was lucky enough to have 3 students selected to take part which is an incredible achievement. Alongside Ava Aitken,  Hannah Calder from Southland Girls High School and Aubrey Page from Southland Boys High School were also selected to attend the trip

After arriving in Wellington the students attended a dinner where they had the opportunity to meet other students involved in the programme, and who would become their teammates and business partners over the next 48 hours.

On the first full day, the students were hosted at Massey University Wellington campus where they were introduced to their corporate host, Nedra, and Pearl from Creative HQ (an innovation hub in Wellington). These mentors generously dedicated their weekend to guiding and mentoring the students, along with the assistance of Chris, a Young Enterprise Scheme alumni. The students gathered in the pit, where they listened to inspiring talks from notable individuals, including Barbara Edmonds MP. 

Image credit: Young Enterprise Trust New Zealand

The time had come to jump into the challenges for the weekend. Ava and the other students were presented with their first challenge: incorporating Maori pūrākau (traditional Maori storytelling) into a new business concept.

The teams of students delved into brainstorming. Ava and her team chose to focus on how Maori pūrākau could be used in the area of mental health in New Zealand. Ava pitched an idea to her team which was to incorporate pūrākau into journaling. Throughout the day they consulted with Maori mentors to ensure cultural sensitivity and authenticity in their product development, which helped to shape their idea.

Taking the lead in design, Ava created a mock-up of their journal and collaborated with her team on developing a comprehensive business plan, which was due by 5pm that day. The teams gathered back together during the evening and took turns pitching the business ideas they had developed to the judges. Ava’s team and their idea were placed first. Each team member received a $3000 scholarship to Massey University, along with vouchers. 

Before the day was over a brief was given for their next challenge. The teams would need to decide whether to deal with a company expansion, or whether to export into the European or Australian market for a mock business that was already trading in New Zealand. 

 Luckily before making the decision the teams were able to sleep on the idea and headed back to their rooms at 10pm exhausted from the busy day.

Ava shared that she approached the next day with a mixture of nerves and determination. The teams were hosted at Creative HQ and spent time conducting extensive research on the export markets. Ava’s team was torn between the idea of exporting wine to Australia or beef to the EU. Due to time constraints, the team decided it was easier to just flip a coin, as time was running out. They needed to decide on their area of business and submit a business plan for it before the night was done. 

Back at the hotel, exhaustion set in, but Ava and her roommate stayed up late crafting a compelling pitch and creating a visually stunning pitch deck. With only four hours of sleep, they were up and ready to pitch their plan to export beef to Europe. Ava described the competition as tough due to the hard work the other teams had put in.

At the final awards ceremony, Ava and her team experienced another win. Not only did they each receive another $1000 scholarship for Massey University, but they were also announced as winners of the second challenge. They became the third team in Entrepreneurs in Action history to achieve back-to-back victories.

Though physically drained from the intense weekend, Ava shared she gained invaluable experiences, formed new friendships, expanded her network, and acquired valuable skills, including effective time management. Not to mention, she earned an impressive $7000 in scholarships.

The young people who attended Entrepreneurs in Action showed innovation, collaboration, and determination and the reward that can come from putting yourself out there.