HotSHots Entrepreneurs Academy 2005

Winning Hotshots

13 students took part in the final of Hotshots.  They were taken to the Lake District Lakeside YMCA during Enterprise week 14-18 November 2005.

Photograph of 2nd & 3rd place winners

The week was action packed with a mix of intensive workshops and outward bound team building activities. During the workshops the winning finalists worked individually on their own business ideas teaming up with a buddy partner for support. The Hotshots programme supported them in developing their ideas throughout the week plus introduced them to several real entrepreneurs who shared their knowledge and experiences.

In between all of this the students took part in outward bound activities every day and evening. It was an exciting week and the students produced truly impressive presentations on the final day. Ideas ranged from an online prescription service to a new invention for darts players.

Michaela Riches, Project Director, spent the week with the finalists taking part in all of the activities. 'I was inspired by these teenagers, they were so enthusiastic, hard working, fun and intelligent. It was amazing to witness the personal development of these kids during the week. Many of the outward bound activities were very challenging and helped everyone conquer their fears and achieve. The business ideas were amazing and inspired. The amount of effort that each student put into their idea was impressive. I think their participation in the Hotshots programme has set them up to be truly enterprising for the future and I am sure they will go on to become hugely successful entrepreneurial adults. They've learnt that anything is possible if you put your mind to it! Oh yes and so did I!

Everyone, including mentors and students were asked to elect the people's choice for the week. Phil Smith, pictured here with the judges, won a state of the art mobile phone donated by O2.