Why take part?

Why Take Part?

Opportunity to learn about how to start a business

The Tycoon Programme takes you on an exciting journey from coming up with a business idea through to developing a brand, trading and making a profit. Along the way, you will learn all the essential aspects of starting and running a business. You will

develop a huge range of skills that will stand in you in good stead in later life and have a fantastic experience that will help you stand out on any UCAS form or CV. It’s a great opportunity to develop your business acumen and what’s more it’s a lot of fun!

Learn how to pitch your business idea

Pitching is at the heart of the Tycoon experience. It’s not always easy to present your business in a compelling and succinct way but the Tycoon programme will provide you with all the tips and tricks you need so that you can pitch with confidence. Through our platform, you will be able to upload your own pitch video and develop this all-important skill.

Experience competition

Our innovative platform enables young entrepreneurs to see how they are faring against other Tycoon businesses in their school, across their Trust as well as nationally. This allows for competition and recognition on several different levels. As Tycoon businesses enter the trading period of the programme, our leaderboard goes live encouraging healthy competition as students enter their weekly sales and vie to be the most profitable week on week.

Ultimately, the Tycoon competition is won by the teams that not only post a profit but do an outstanding job of evaluating their business journey and we recognise these high performing teams at our annual awards ceremony hosted by Peter Jones CBE.

Contribute to your school, college and community

Universities as well as employers are increasingly looking at what young people do alongside their qualifications and Tycoon is a fantastic way of demonstrating enterprise, entrepreneurship and a range of stand-out qualities. Over 90% of Tycoon businesses make a profit and many of our Tycoon teams will elect to give those profits to a local charity or cause they are passionate about. This is another way in which you can make a contribution to your community and make a positive difference through the programme.

Chance to meet Peter Jones CBE

The top two businesses from each Key Stage are invited to our annual awards ceremony where you will have the chance to meet Peter Jones CBE, one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs and star of BBC’s Dragon’s Den. We also give out special awards for the most innovative business and the business that has made the greatest social impact. We hope to see you on the stage at this year’s ceremony!