National final for young Stone entrepreneurs

A group of young entrepreneurs from Alleyne’s Academy has continued the school’s amazing record in the Young Enterprise competition by making the national final of this year’s contest.

The ‘Ignite’ team will be representing the West Midlands – and flying the flag for Stone – at the national final in July after winning the regional final in Coventry last week. This followed their success at the Staffordshire final in May and a great performance at the Young Enterprise trade fair in Stone in February.

Ignite’s product is a clever smartphone holder called the ‘Connect’. The Connect has a ‘docking’ area for the phone to sit on while on charge or playing media. The product also has a mount for the charger that relieves the stress on the cable.

Katy Minshull from Team Ignite has called on businesses in the town to get behind them by purchasing Connects, which can be branded to make an unusual promotional item for a business.

Katy said: “We are overwhelmed with our success and we are so proud to be representing not only the West Midlands but Stone. To ensure our success at the nationals we really need the support of local businesses. The Connect is perfect as a promotional gift or just as a useful office assistant.”

You can find out more about Team Ignite and Connect at their website – www.ignite-storage.com Team Ignite are also on Twitter (@alleynesYE) and you can email the team too – igniteye@yahoo.co.uk

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Ignite’s mentor is Sarah White, the director of Stone mobile phone company M-Viron.

A proud Sarah said: “Working with the team since last September has been a truly joyous experience. I have had the pleasure of seeing each and every one of them grow and develop to such a high standard. The quality of their presentation and trade stand at the regional finals were outstanding. They have improved their product and sales performance at every stage of the competition and, knowing the plans and strategies that are in place to showcase to the judges at the national finals, I would say the chances of further success are high.”

The Young Enterprise programme helps young entrepreneurs aged 16 to 18 develop their business skills. The teenagers create their own company and sell their own products and services as part of the scheme.

Alleyne’s Academy has a great track record in the competition over the last few years. The school’s students have now won the Staffordshire final four years running, with one group (Versaleaf) making the national final in 2011. Let’s hope Ignite can go one step further and bring the national title back to Stone.

Huge congratulations to every member of Team Ignite and we wish them all the best for the national final in London!

Here’s a video of Katy explaining Team Ignite’s Connect product at the trade fair in Stone in February…