London students impress at Virgin head office in social enterprise ‘Dragon’s Den’-style competition

Forty students from five secondary schools in London were invited to Virgin’s head office after impressing judges with their social enterprise ideas in a city-wide ‘Dragons’ Den’-style competition.

The students experienced an afternoon of workshops and mentoring with Virgin StartUp’s team of expert business advisors, who helped them refine their ideas, consider how they could grow them into viable businesses and learn more about entrepreneurship as a future career path.

The event was organised by social impact lifestyle brand Leiho, and the Social Enterprise Academy as part of the ScaleUp to Grow competition, equipping young people with the skills and confidence to create positive social change.

Over recent weeks, forty students from five London schools developed and pitched social enterprise business ideas designed to address challenges within their communities. The six teams behind the strongest pitches were invited to Virgin’s London headquarters to continue developing their concepts with the Virgin StartUp team, Virgin’s not-for-profit which helps fund and support future business founders and entrepreneurs.

The students’ ideas included an interactive ‘Basket Bin’ designed to make disposing of litter more engaging for young people, a youth club providing a safe and supportive community space, and an initiative aimed at increasing recycling rates in UK schools. Other teams explored solutions to period poverty, community safety and young people’s wellbeing.

Kishan Shah, 17, from Ilford County High School, whose app aims to reduce food waste globally, said: “It’s been brilliant to hear from the Virgin StartUp mentors and learn from their experiences. I hadn’t considered entrepreneurship before, but the session has really inspired me to think about running a business.”

Arlo Babin, 16, from Logic Studio School, whose idea is to create a safe and supportive youth club, said: “The Virgin StartUp team helped us understand how to manage our finances and turn our idea into something practical. We’re really lucky to have this support, as not every school has the resources to help young people explore entrepreneurship.”

Andy Fishburn, Managing Director of Virgin StartUp, said: “The students were incredibly impressive. Their ideas demonstrated real maturity and depth, combining purpose, profit and the potential to create viable businesses that would deliver real impact in their communities. It’s brilliant to see so many young people having that entrepreneurial spark and considering how to turn their business ideas into a possible career opportunity.”

Joey Li, founder of Leiho, a social impact brand supporting underserved communities by turning everyday essentials into opportunities for change, said: “We want to give more young people the opportunity to develop business ideas that have real purpose. Young people will shape the future, so it’s vital that we nurture their creativity and entrepreneurial skills from an early age.

“Bringing students out of the classroom and into a working environment gives them the chance to learn from others, build confidence and feel part of something bigger.”

Will Crossley, Young People Development Lead at the Social Enterprise Academy, said: “The careers landscape is constantly changing, so it’s important that young people see entrepreneurship as a genuine option. Experiences like this help them build essential skills while showing them they can create meaningful change in their communities.”

For more information on Virgin StartUp please visit www.virginstartup.org.

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About Virgin Startup:

Virgin StartUp is the not-for-profit home of entrepreneurship at the Virgin Group. Founded in 2013 by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin StartUp helps early-stage founders start and grow the businesses that they’re passionate about by providing founders with business advice, access to funding, mentoring, training and more, including scale-up and investment readiness programmes.

As a national Business Support Partner of the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans Scheme, Virgin StartUp provides access to funding between £500 - £25,000 to help founders start or scale early-stage businesses in the UK. Since launching in late 2013, Virgin StartUp has distributed more than £100million to 7,000 early-stage founders around the country.

Virgin StartUp exists to make entrepreneurship possible for everyone. By combining founder-first funding, inclusive support, and accelerators for under-represented founders, Virgin StartUp is levelling the playing field and helping more people start up and thrive. Its 50/50 pledge, which came into effect in 2019, commits to equally funding women and men founders through the Start Up Loan programme.

Virgin StartUp is also home to a community of thousands of founders, helping to provide the support and opportunities they need to build better business together. The Virgin StartUp Community is an online platform open to any aspiring or early-stage business founder, offering a dedicated space for founders to connect, share, learn and grow with like-minded entrepreneurs and industry experts. Founders can access 1:1 mentoring and 1:1 advisory calls, as well as online learning, workshops and face-to-face events to inspire and support them in their business venture.