Oliviah Theyers-Collins is programme manager at Venture Up.
First up, can you explain what Venture Up is?
Venture Up is an intensive, immersive six-week programme aimed at New Zealand's top young entrepreneurial talent. The 2016 programme is based in Wellington over the summer, and we take roughly 40 young leaders aged 17 to 21 and look to build their knowledge, connections and resilience in quite a pressure cooker environment. It's very much experiential learning, so all of the knowledge and insights they're gaining they can apply directly to the business they're running in real time.
Where did the idea come from?
The programme was piloted in January/February this year and was the brainchild of the Young Enterprise Scheme and Wellington's startup base, Creative HQ. Students who had done Young Enterprise Scheme were amped, excited and empowered in this space but then when they left school there was a big gap. There was a lack of offering for these amazing young adults at a really key time when they're potentially making some of the biggest decisions of their lives. We want these young people to come out of the programme able to make very informed choices, and go on with greater confidence and purpose.
Have you seen commonalities among the ventures these young entrepreneurs are wanting to set up?
It's a bit early for us to start seeing any themes, and there was certainly a broad range of ideas in the pilot programme, which in itself is heartening. We had a couple of online services and a SaaS app, but we also had a really cool product in the agricultural sector and even a paleo chocolate product.
One thing I have noticed more broadly is a much stronger sense of social awareness among these young entrepreneurs. People are thinking beyond dollars, and have an increasing awareness around things like ethics, sustainability and social impact. This presents such a positive future for business and the people it impacts, and I'm excited to build on that.
Do you think there's a growing trend for young people to look at entrepreneurship as a career option?
Absolutely, and I think there are a few reasons why. The Young Enterprise Scheme at the secondary school level has played a huge part. They make this space fun and accessible for students and I see firsthand what people are getting out of it. They're pumped, empowered and some are genuinely shocked at what they're capable of. They might have seen business as the realm of adults, but if they've got the ambition and drive their ideas can be just as good if not better and fresher, because they're a bit less jaded by life and its boundaries. And given the opportunity to do something they really believe in they'll march with it.
I think it's also a byproduct of this generation where they have access to so much through globalisation and the internet. Parenting styles have changed too, so young people are way more empowered to think and do things for themselves, and take more risks.
Then the last aspect is tertiary institutions are also getting on board in this space, whether that's through clubs or innovation competitions, or degrees or components of degrees around entrepreneurship. It's encouraging a move away from a tight idea about being an entrepreneur to having a more 'entrepreneurial mindset', and that's giving people a greater understanding of the benefits of applying those skills across all aspects of life.
