Young Enterprise Scheme Hall Of Talent

First Laureates Inducted Into Young Enterprise Scheme Hall Of Talent

Three Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) graduates have been selected as the inaugural laureates to be inducted into the YES Hall of Talent next month.

Stefan Lepionka (Charlie's Juice), Laura McDonough (Impero Innovations) and Michael Clist (Canary Data Solutions) have been selected from 190 YES alumni. They are the first recipients to be recognised by Enterprise New Zealand Trust (ENZT) for their business success since participating in the scheme during their high school years.

ENZT Executive Director, Ken Baker says that the YES Hall of Talent, supported by Industry New Zealand and ANZ Banking Group,, supported by Industry New Zealand and ANZ Banking Group, has been established to provide an opportunity for ENZT to recognise and celebrate the achievements of young New Zealanders.

"These laureates have created their own innovative companies, and the Hall of Talent celebrates both their success and the role YES has played in developing their entrepreneurial skills. We hope recognising the success of these laureates will encourage more young New Zealanders to consider business as a career."

"Building a business is exciting and challenging on a personal level and makes a vital contribution to the wellbeing of the wider community by creating jobs and wealth," said Mr Baker.

YES, owned by ENZT and sponsored principally by the Lion Foundation, has been running for the past 23 years and has seen over 25,000 students participate in the programme. Under the scheme, secondary school students form their own companies and market their product or service as a way of teaching students valuable business skills, the risks involved in starting a company and the importance of a "can-do" attitude.

Michael Clist, a 2003 YES Hall of Talent laureate who launched his own software development company Canary Data Solutions in the new millennium, believes his decision to move out on his own was definitely influenced by the YES programme. "The adrenaline of business decisions, the satisfaction of your own creativity, recognition and risk can only come from owning your own company," he says.

The laureates will be inducted at a ceremony on 9 May 2003, 12:00-2:00pm at the Copthorne Hotel Wellington Plimmer Towers.

Enterprise New Zealand is a charitable Trust and its mission is to promote enterprise education, economic and financial literacy and business understanding, and the development of a "can do" attitude in cooperation with New Zealand businesses.

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