Waikato Business News November/December 2016

54 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS November/December 2016
Enterprising students celebrated at Awards
Enterprising Waikato secondary school students will wing their
way to Wellington in December after coming up trumps at the
Waikato-King Country Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme
Annual Awards.
Survive Out of School
(SOS), of Waikato
Diocesan School for
Girls, took home top honours
as Waikato-King Country Lion
Foundation Young Enterprise
Scheme (YES) Wintec
Company of the Year.
The business, which
developed a smartphone app
for students leaving home
and school, also took home
Waikato Business News Sales
and Marketing Award. Smart
Waikato YES Waikato-King
Country co-ordinator Levinia
Paku said SOS worked consistently
well throughout the
year, building a good business
around a useful product.
“The app includes lots of
life-hacks and essential information
for young people leaving
home, helping them to develop
independent and healthy
lifestyles. They performed
well in YES assessments and
have networked with the right
people, with assistance from
their excellent mentor Seamus
McCrosby (Kiwi Innovation
Network),” Levinia said.
YES involves students setting
up and running a real business,
creating, promoting and
selling a product or service,
conducting market research,
planning, budgeting, taking
and managing risk and turning
problems into challenges.
A second Waikato Diocesan
School young enterprise
team, Tihi Hipi, was named
Stafford Industries runner-up in
the regional awards and their
chief executive Chloe Saxton
clinched the University of
Waikato Award for Leadership.
Tihi Hipi specialises in artisan
sheep cheese products with
unique flavours, including
native kawakawa and manuka
honey.
Fraser High School’s
Be Somebody, specialising
in vegan and organic skincare
products, and St Paul’s
Collegiate’s Crankworks,
who developed a post-hole
borer, have won YES National
Excellence Awards and will
join SOS at the national awards
on December 6. The national
awards remain top secret until
the event.
“These awards are a reflection
of the very talented young
entrepreneurs we have here in
Waikato.
“These teams are not only
thinking outside the square
to develop unique products,
they are working hard to fulfil
the requirements of running
a successful business,”
Levinia said.
Other Waikato King
Country 2016 YES Awards
winners are:
Staples Rodway Financial
Award – Kiwicrosse
(St Peter’s School of
Cambridge)
Smart Waikato chief executive
Mary Jensen said she
is thrilled with the calibre of
entries this year.
“All students can be
extremely proud of what they
have achieved this year. Young
enterprise in our region is alive
and kicking,” Mary said.
Wintec Waikato-King Country Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Company of the
Year: S.O.S (Waikato Diocesan School for Girls) with National Excellence Awards winners
Crankworks (St Paul’s Collegiate), Be Somebody (Fraser High School), Foster Construction’s
Graham Boswell and YES chief executive Terry Shubkin.
EMA Science and Technology
Award: Dallas Kete– H2O-o-YES
(Matamata College) with YES chief
executive Terry Shubkin.
Waikato and Cambridge chambers of commerce
Teamwork Award: Mana Burgers (Hamilton Girls’High
School) with Nathan Orr and Phil Mackay.
Foster Construction Innovation Award: Crankworks (St Paul’s
Collegiate) with Graham Boswell.
University of Waikato
Leadership Award: Chloe
Saxton (Waikato Diocesan
School for Girls) with
Cynthia McNabb.
Waikato Business News Sales and Marketing
Award: S.O.S (Waikato Diocesan School for Girls)
with Alan Neben.
Stafford Engineering Runner Up: Tihi Hipi (Waikato Diocesan
School for Girls) with Kaleb James.
Te Wananga o Aotearoa Sustainability Award:
DECO (Putaruru College) with Angeline
McCormack.
Gallagher Group Commitment Award:
Corallee Collins-Annan– Be Somebody
(Fraser High School) with Keith Gallagher.
Wintec Waikato-King Country Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Company of the
Year: S.O.S (Waikato Diocesan School for Girls) with Klaus Reiter.
Skycity Hamilton Community Trust Third place: JA-OK (Matamata College)
with Roger FitzGerald.