NESTON High School’s BTEC Travel and Tourism students had a close encounter with members of the local business community in a Dragons’ Den-style event.
The ‘Dragons’ for the day were Amanda Coleman, manager of Thomas Cook, Neston; Andy Woolley, manager of Neston Cricket Club; and Tina Phillips, business manager at Neston High School.
Five of the students presented their business plans in the mock den and were grilled about their plans, which included innovative enterprises such as pedal boat hire in a local tourist waterway, sun lounger hire in Cornwall, circus skills workshops, bike hire in the Lake District and a mountain bike tour operator.
The students had worked hard prior to the event to put their plans together, including financial forecasts and marketing strategies.
The Dragons put the students under pressure to demonstrate the feasibility of their business plans.
After intense negotiations, and some on-the-spot revision of plans, all students were offered investment by the Dragons. However, the Dragons proved fierce when it came to claiming sizeable stakes in each enterprise (as much as 50% in one case!).
At the conclusion of the event, the Dragons commented on how well the students performed in such a high- pressure situation and they were very impressed by their entrepreneurial skills and vision demonstration.
The budding entrepreneurs welcomed the opportunities to present their plans, saying how much more they understand the need to prove feasibility since facing the Dragons.
