A group of Sixth Form students welcomed a film crew from the Peter Jones Foundation to school this week, as part of their involvement in the Tycoon Enterprise Competition. The visit recognised months of teamwork, creativity and business nous, as the students developed and ran their own start-up, Simply Wrapped.
Tycoon gives young people the chance to experience enterprise for real, offering a start-up loan, mentoring and the freedom to test an idea in the marketplace.
The Trinity team – consisting of Jack, Timofey, Arya, Arush, Aanya, Seung-Yu, and Aidan – are all Business and Economics A Level students and decided to set up a business selling customised, eco-friendly wrapping paper, launched in the run-up to Christmas.
The trading window closed last week, and the team placed fourth on the leaderboard of London entries, after making 113% profit on the original loan of £230. The top student businesses based on their evaluation submission will be invited to a prestigious awards ceremony hosted by Peter Jones CBE later this year.
Temitope Animasaun, from the Peter Jones Foundation, interviewed the students about the process, the challenges they faced and what they learned through the experience.
The team spoke confidently and shared how finding the right supplier proved one of the biggest challenges. “A lot of companies didn’t take us seriously because we’re young,” said Aidan, Chief of Operations. “But once we found a UK-based, eco-friendly supplier and tested the quality, it made all the difference.”
The students built a website, ran social media campaigns on TikTok and Instagram, managed finances and even donated a percentage of their revenue to charity.
Arya said, “It’s been a really positive experience for all of us, and it’s definitely something I’d want to do again in the future.”
What was a key learning for the team? “I think for any business, the most important thing is belief in your idea and having core values. For us, quality and being eco-friendly really mattered, and we had to make sure we didn’t lose the vision of our company,” said Seung-Yu.
What advice would they give to other young people considering enterprise? “You only live once,” said Jack. “Opportunities like this teach you teamwork, digital skills and confidence, so you just have to go for it.”
While Simply Wrapped has now reached its natural conclusion, the experience of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition has helped students develop important life skills and left a lasting impact.
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With thanks to Temitope and the Peter Jones Foundation for coming to Trinity.
The video of the students will be released on YouTube and across the Peter Jones Foundation social channels over the next month.
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