InvestIN Entrepreneur Internship for Catherine (LIV)
My love for entrepreneurship started from the age of nine, when I had the idea to start an origami business with my friends, selling our hand-made products at our school’s annual summer fete. The few hundred pounds we made went to various well-deserving charities, such as WWF and Cancer Research. Ever since, I have always wanted to continue to run a similar project at Wycombe. When I heard from Wycombe Abbey’s Director of Finance, Mrs Doctor, about the InvestIN online summer internships, I immediately chose the Young Entrepreneur Course, as I yearned to learn more about how to build a business.
On 31 July, I started my five-day online entrepreneur internship with InvestIN. There were over 40 young entrepreneurs registered for this course, aged from 12 to 18 years old. The objective was to produce an innovative business idea in teams to pitch to investors. Throughout the course, I learnt about marketing, branding, pitching, the Harvard Principles of Negotiation, ideation, networking, and financing. I attended many lectures that were given by industry professionals and the breadth of knowledge I received was exceptional. The whole experience was invaluable, and I gained some first-hand understanding of what it takes to build a start-up business. I also met many like-minded young people and through this, I practised being both a team leader and a team player. Although I was the youngest in the internship, I presented my thoughts and views confidently, and felt that I gained respect from my older peers.
At the end of the course, my teammates and I pitched our business, VenueCheck, which is an app that rates areas/venues on their hygiene, coronavirus case numbers and allergy awareness. The inspiration behind our app was to tackle the issue of hygiene, especially as the effects of coronavirus still grip our nation. To prepare, we did extensive research around our target demographics, Generation Z and the 18-34 crowd, and simulated board meetings through Zoom to revise our marketing and branding strategies. To troubleshoot our company, we put into consideration our competitors, the longevity of our app and the value of the market. Finally, we did a Dragon’s Den style pitch and successfully negotiated for £15,000 for a 15% equity stake in the business.
The five days went past in a flash. I feel that I developed many of my entrepreneurial skills and will be able to use them going forward. I thoroughly enjoyed the internship and cannot wait to see where my business journey takes me. And who knows, I may run my own business one day!
To finish, I would like to leave with you a favourite quote of mine: “An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create.” — David Karp
Catherine, LIV