Some of Brampton’s students competed in the Young Enterprise North London Final last week. Nicole, Harry, Duran and Emily are from team ‘Ripple +’ and won awards for Best Trade Stand and Most Profitable Business. Brampton sat down with the team to hear about the company and their success.
‘Our idea was to use this opportunity to cut down plastic use, and encourage people to drink more water, which is why we created our metal reusable drinking bottles. We saw it as an opportunity to really positively affect the issue.
We are keen to pass on our project, (hence the ‘ripple’ effect), by giving our intellectual property and profit to other schools, and then other schools can also have a positive impact on their community.
We’ve focused a lot on social media, and have used it to sell in bulk to businesses. These have mostly been local, but there are 100 Ripple + bottles in New York City schools now!
Our business has coincided with issues we’re passionate about being discussed a lot, like the war on plastic and the sugar tax, so we’re very pleased that these things are beginning to change and we have had a small impact on our community as well.’
The trade stand at the regional awards last week was the company’s first trade stand, as they have been focusing on social media, but that didn’t stop them taking home the award for Best Trade Stand.
‘The Mayor of Barnet was there and he was very receptive to our company and our aims, so we were very pleased.’
The other prize, Most Profitable Business, is also a record breaker! Ripple + had a 66.2% profit margin, a record for Young Enterprise, and with a turnover of £4,200, the company’s hard work has paid off, and can put their profits to the cause they’ve been passionate about since September!
One of the Managing Directors, Nicole, even managed to make it onto Anthony Joshua’s Snapchat story! She approached him in her local gym and explained their company ethos to him. Nicole and Harry also had the opportunity to go to Disney HQ in Hammersmith, where they encouraged them to realise the importance of branding. Nicole also said how important their business advisor, Ean Brown, has been for them:
He really helped us. He taught us so much about continually being optimistic and believing in your company. We’re so grateful!’
Lucy Wood, Head of Geography, who coordinates extra curricular at Brampton says, ‘they really did us proud, all of them were enthusiastic, confident and professional. And the only team to win two awards on the night! I’m also very grateful to Ean Brown for the immense support he has provided to the Ripple + team in his role as Business Advisor.’
Congratulations to Ripple + – Brampton is very proud of you!
Check out Ripple +’s Instagram here
