Winner : Shannon Ferries
Student currently studying at Inverurie Academy in the town of Inverurie, in the North-East of Scotland
The first Mint Formations Enterprising Entrepreneur Award goes to Shannon Ferries (pictured), a student currently studying at Inverurie Academy in the town of Inverurie, in the North-East of Scotland. Shannon first heard about the contest while taking part in a business workshop at the University of Aberdeen.
Mint Formations is thrilled to award Shannon with the first-place prize of £1000. Shannon has promised to use the prize money “to go and begin trying to develop the idea” that won her the award. Winning during the time of the global Covid-19 Pandemic, Shannon commented on how her award brings a silver lining to difficult times and intends to work on her winning business concept immediately since she is now “faced with the prospect of having 3+ months to do it.”
To select Shannon’s winning entry, our panel of judges poured through all the submissions received, carefully considering each proposal. The winning idea was eventually chosen based on a combination of its innovative thinking, creative outlook, realistic implementation and astute knowledge of untapped markets.
Shannon’s business concept aims to support the large and often-underutilised 13 to 18-year-old working student community. Her brand wants to offer tailored resources that help younger people find suitable jobs and work placements, allowing them to secure income and develop workplace skills from a young age. Her pitch focuses on modernising the outdated world of employment opportunities she and her peers are currently facing.
When informed of her win, Shannon told Mint Formations: “I ran up to my business department and immediately told my business and economics teacher, Mr Kelman, and burst into tears. He’s been the most supportive person throughout this difficult year and this has become a massive silver lining in the cloud of the last few days of school for us.”
Mint Formations would also like to congratulate our winner, and our ten runners-up, listed below in no particular order:
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James Gamlin
- University of West England
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Ruben De Noronha
- University of Westminster
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Lara Jarsun
- Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires
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Andrette Meade
- Prairie View A&M University, USA
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Piotr Buraczewski
- University of Derby
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Anastasios Proios Doukas
- University of York
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Morgan Beilby
- University of West England
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Joel-Herve P. Johnson Boa
- University of Buckingham
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Rosanagh Davidson
- Perth College
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Anass Hattam
- Entrepreneurship Campus
Rajesh Velayuthasamy
Director of Mint Formations
The level of creativity and innovation we saw this year was outstanding. We want to offer our sincere congratulations to the winner Shannon, and all our runners-up. Selecting a winning entry was no easy task; the quality of business pitches was very inspiring. We’re confident all our runners-up have bright futures in business and encourage everyone to continue to follow their dreams.
