Wycombe Abbey Re-Soul Team win Tycoon Enterprise Competition

Wycombe Abbey Tycoon Enterprise Winners

Tycoon is a unique national enterprise competition for pupils aged 6 to 18. Every participating team writes a business plan, is lent money, starts a business and trades and then competing with other pupils through a kickstarter style platform, in a safe and controlled environment. The Peter Jones Foundation provides goodwill start-up capital, so only when the companies break even, do they repay their loan.

The Re-Soul team have given life to old shoes by painting bespoke designs onto the product; making both a sustainable creation as well as a fashion statement. Below they report on their experience of the final.


On Friday 24 September, our team, Re-Soul, was lucky enough to attend the final of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition at Hampton Court Palace. The event began with pitches from each team in the Garden Room, detailing their products and services as well as their successes. It was inspiring to see the creativity of everyone’s products, as well as so many young teams participating in the competition. We were especially happy to see a primary school team win the overall prize: we cannot imagine the dedication and hard work they must have put in!

Our pitch was delivered by Phoebe, our Managing Director, whilst the rest of the team held posters depicting our products. We definitely felt nervous before presenting to Peter Jones and the other participants, but the eloquence of the other teams really encouraged us to be more confident. After our pitch, Peter Jones and a member of their partnering company Sage, asked us about our products and how we collaborated as a team throughout the competition. We never imagined we would win our category when starting up our business last September, so we were pleasantly surprised when the results were announced. After each team had presented, and the prizes were awarded, we talked to the other teams about their products – quick shoutout to Hope (@hopecopthall on Instagram) for their innovative business idea and their amazing social cause!

Following the prize-giving ceremony, we were given a private tour of Hampton Court Palace. We really enjoyed seeing Henry VIIIs Great Hall, as well as learning about the architecture and history of the Palace. It was amazing to imagine what life at Hampton Court would have been like during the Tudor times.

Overall, we are so grateful to the Peter Jones Foundation for providing this incredible experience. We would highly recommend this competition to all girls in Lower Sixth.

Finally, we would like to thank Mrs Kiln and our mentors, Jemma and Katharine, for their unrelenting support throughout the competition. We are so grateful for all your help!

Elizabeth, Phoebe, Joey, Kathleen and Nicole
Re-Soul, UVI

“Many congratulations Re-Soul for winning Tycoon 2k!  Your innovative idea to prolong the life of old shoes was a brilliant solution to making fashion more sustainable. Very well done indeed.” – Mrs Kiln, Head of Economics and Enterprise