This blog was written for the Ambition AXA Awards.
As the Ambition AXA Awards work on unearthing some talented treasures among our young population, it seems like a good opportunity to shine a spotlight on a hidden force at work in the British economy.
A million budding business people have passed through Young Enterprise’s Company Programme and they are out there turning the wheels of national prosperity.
Their existence is sometimes ruefully referred to as the ‘best kept secret of the UK education system’ and so I propose to use this blog to highlight these extraordinary young people and let you hear some of their voices. I confess I have an ulterior motive. I want to see enterprise education being expanded in classrooms.
Inspiration
This subject has come to mind because I know that young people across the country are currently rushing to submit their entries before the October 14 deadline for the Ambition AXA Awards. I hope the stories of the young people I am about to relate will serve as an inspiration to potential entrants to the competition as they hasten to fill out their forms.
Every year, under the Young Enterprise Company Programme and the associated Start-Up Programme in universities, more than 30,000 15 to 25-year-olds get the chance to run their own real firms for 12 months with the guidance of volunteers from 3,500 companies. Many alumni go on to outstanding entrepreneurial success and, as I hope to prove to you in this piece, they are making a striking contribution to reviving the UK’s fortunes.
Examples speak for themselves.
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| Adam Soliman meets some of his suppliers |
Take Newcastle University student Adam Soliman. Realising the downturn would bar him from a career in high finance, he got help from Young Enterprise in 2009 to turn his hobby of tea drinking into a business. Frustrated with the ‘bland and bitter’ range of leaves on offer, he launched his own importer and blender under the brand name Charbrew, based in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire.
Today his firm supplies 400 Sainsbury’s stores with varieties such as Strawberry Cream and Tropical Rooibos, a blend of South African Redbush tea mixed with cardamom, coconut, orange peel and lemongrass. Last year he won contracts to supply Lakeland and Booths stores and he has just started selling overseas such as to US chain TJ Maxx and French grocer Casino. With turnover heading towards £500,000 this year he said: “This is a seven day a week job for me now. I am constantly on the go. It’s growing market and lots more people are interested in different types of tea these days.”
Nick Troen and Frank Yeung, who went through the Company Programme in 2002, are now heading for a turnover of £2 million after spotting the popularity of Mexican fast food while on a trip to California. They set up their first ‘Poncho 8’ outlet in the City of London in 2009 and have since added two more London restaurants in Soho and Spitalfields. Nick said: “Young Enterprise sparked off our interest in business. I’ll never forget the mad rush of the first day of trading and the thrill of selling out of stock.’’
Ayrshire-based educational book publisher, Giglets (an old Scots name meaning laughing children), first emerged in 2007 as a Young Enterprise Scotland project created by a group of teenagers in a secondary school. Among them was Craig Johnstone, now managing director, whose dream it is to be the next Richard Branson,and Multimedia Director Tom Brodie-Browne. Their books are based around the adventures of lovable character Tam O’Haggis.
Justin Tuner, Managing Director of Carrot Media, a web design agency based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, said it was ‘fantastic’ to find that the business he started as part of a Young Enterprise Start Up programme became his full time job. “I took a huge amount out of the programme. You get real life experience of what is possible. Even if you are not thinking of starting your own business your employer will understand that you have skills that just aren’t coming out of the education system.’’
Other senior Young Enterprise Alumni endorse Justin’s view.
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| Transatlantic rower Debra Searle |
? Emma Pike, now Vice President of Industry Relations at Sony, said: “The most important skill that I learned was team work.’ James Evans, publisher and founder of Firstcar Magazine, said the main tip he picked up was the ability to ‘think outside the box.” Businesswoman and solo trans-Atlantic Rower Debra Searle MBE said: “I learned more about business through taking part in Young Enterprise than I did in two years of A-level economics. I set up two limited companies while in my 20s and was not at all nervous about doing so.”
The self-styled entrepreneur, writer, geek and foodie Steve Parks said: “Because of Young Enterprise I now run five different businesses.” Duncan Andrews, who founded Aylesford-based general bathroom distributor Qualitex Supplies in 1991 said: ‘The experience was extremely beneficial in developing my own personal confidence and business awareness.”
Truly enterprising
All the young people I mentioned above are truly enterprising. They have the potential to go to the very top. In their various ways, they demonstrate the ambition, leadership ability, capacity for innovation and the dedication to provide excellent customer service that has given their businesses outstanding potential for growth.
These are all qualities which will be necessary to win the enterprise category of the Ambition AXA Awards competition. Let battle commence!
I have always found John to be a person of passion and inspiration in the area of maximising potential. He is friendly, a strong communicator yet has a steely determination for achieving what is right for the development of others.
John has a great grasp of the current challenges in education and articulates these well and persuasively...
John is an outstanding personality, full of energy, enthusiasm and wit, who sets extremely high standards and always delivers on his promises. His passion for lifelong learning and long experience of working with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds make him a skilled and sensitive coach and manager. John is a natural and visionary leader who inspires others and helps them achieve their full potential.
John is an exceptional person. I never stop being surprised with his energy, vitality and determination with which he carries his massive responsibility. I am honoured to be associated with the Award Program and it gives me a great satisfaction to be able to work with John as its leader.
Successful not-for-profit organizations run themselves in a businesslike way, planning strategically, and making themselves properly accountable for their actions and impact. John May is just the sort of person a good not-for-profit needs. I have worked with him for the last five years and greatly value his passion for helping young people succeed, his strategic and management skills and his ability to get disparate groups of people to work in partnership. John May makes things happen.
Having worked with John on various charitable causes I cannot speak highly enough of the work he does...
John has a fantastic sense of humour and was such a great person to work for! He is a great leader, communicator and networker and I learned a lot from him. His passion, enthusiasm and commitment to his work with young people is really inspiring and first rate. He is incredibly generous both with his experience and knowledge and always has time for people.
John is adept with people--able to understand issues quickly and apply his highly positive attitude towards solving them. His leadership style is collaborative and open but he is also very clear about what needs to happen and why. A creative and entrepreneurial person, he brings new and refreshing ideas to the table...
John is a great person to work with. He is inspiring, knows non-profit management and campaigning. John communicates well with all different kinds of people. He is a true connector and makes people smile a lot! He knows the difference between being serious and acting seriously!
John has been great at developing cross sectoral relationships between business, public and voluntary sectors. This understanding of balancing the needs and aspirations of all partners is one of the reason he has been so successful in developing campaigns and organisations.
John is great to work with. His sense of humour and engaging personality should not mask the fact that he is fundamantally a high achiever who has the confidence to tackle big challenges...
John is quite simply an inspiration. He has been responsible for improving the life chances of a vast number of young people who might otherwise have missed out on the chance to build a career for themselves. He is affable, committed and always positive and enthused about his role which makes working with him a very rewarding partnership.
John is committed to making a difference for young people and he lives this as well as talks this. Moreover, my experience is that an organisation he runs will be highly professional, hard-working, and demand the same quality from their customers and partners as they will provide themselves. I moved into teaching to provide opportunities for pupils they wouldn't have had otherwise. Because of John, it has not been a wasted move...
I have worked with John over a number of years on a variety of projects that require tact, diplomacy, cooperative working and just good old fashioned passion. John is engaging, positive and has a great desire to get things done. 
John is an adept strategic thinker, leader and people manager. His engaging and conscientious work ethic is exemplary.
John is an inspiring colleague and leader. In 1995, Scouting and Guiding together took more young people to an overseas event than ever before (World Scout Jamboree). Working with him for 2 years in the run-up was an exceptional experience for me - although Guiding sent fewer girls, I felt equally valued and included in all the planning. Balancing the needs of the young people and leaders was achieved with great finesse and the event was a huge success for all the UK particpants.
John is an exceptional and inspiring leader and a major authority on youth education and development in this country and around the world. In addition to his track record of transformational leadership in a number of significant organisations, John is well known and respected as a public speaker. 
Having been one of John's pupils some 25 years ago in primary school, I can say that to this day he has left a memorable impression that will be with me for ever. He is truly a fantastic role model for the next generation.
John May wears his obvious enthusiasm for Youth Development and Organisational Vision on his sleeve when he presents. Listening to John speak at The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Americas Regional AGM in The Bahamas not only brought clarity to how The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Association was going to meet its Vision and Mission, but made the entire room excited to be a part of if all!
During the time in which I have worked with John I have found that, not only is he a hard working and enthusiastic individual, he is also someone who is easy to work with. He is quick to understand the issues involved and then to help formulate responses, sometimes with little or no notice. Although possessing a great sense of humour he does not shy away from being serious and to the point when the occasion demands. He appears to be a great team leader as well as being a team player
I first taught John a very long time ago, which of course therefore makes him very old. He was an argumentative young man, and still is. Focused, driven, able, principled - just we want in an organisation like the DofE.
John is a fabulous speaker who is able to adapt to meet the needs of the group with whom he is working. I have heard John speak in many situations and he never fails to impress and inspire both adults and young people. John is passionate about what he believes in, and as one of the young people whom he has supported I am forever grateful for his time in helping me learn new skills and develop personally.
John is a great organizer, who keeps focus; yet is open to new inputs and ideas. He is sensitive to different cultures and keeps everyone happy while the ball is rolling...