Stress Busters - Aindriú ó Fearáil

Colaiste Mhuire Co-Ed, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

Youth Entrepreneur Winner 2010

Aindriú won the overall Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his company called ‘Stress Busters’ which designs and manufacturers a unique stress busting doll marketed as a fun and effective way to beat recession anxiety.  

The product, aimed at both young and old, was conceived because the business savvy entrepreneur noticed how stressed teachers can become at school and also how the recession had elevated peoples stress levels generally. His market research demonstrated that 85% of people surveyed were interested in purchasing this novel toy either for themselves or as a gift for friends and family. Aindriú has committed 10% of all potential profits from his enterprise to Childline.

"I am selling the stress buster in a place that is accessible for my target market and I am also cheaper than my competitors (very important in the recession!) My product is aimed and made for the student and adult market, and is not just a corporate toy for the desk like a lot of stress relief novelties."

Wishing Wings - Sarah D'Arcy

St Dominics Secondary School, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10

International Entrepreneur of the Year

Sarah wowed the judges with her business "Wishing Wings" which is a retail business selling original hand made wire angel sculptures made primarily from recycled materials. Sarah makes these handmade sculptures herself and was inspired by her love of angels.Sarah's business is not only commercially viable but is also giving back to society. Sarah donates 20% of all profits to Aware, a charity that helps with teen suicide.   

As part of this award, the young entrepreneur was selected to represent Ireland at the NFTE International Awards held in New York in April. Sarah commented on her trip to New York " It was an absolutely amazing experience, meeting up with young entrepreneurs from all over the world was so exciting, it was a huge celebration at the Mariott Marquis in New York and I'm very grateful for the opportunity"

Sluffins

Sarah Blaine & Lauren McSharry

Foróige Killybegs, Co. Donegal

Finalists in the Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2010

Sarah & Lauren set up a baking company making and selling muffins, cakes & brown bread from the finest ingredients. The dynamic duo recahed the finals for their homemade baking business called ‘Sluffins’ – “Hard to Beat Mama’s Muffins” which turned an old family muffin recipe into a profitable business for the ambitious teens.

The young bakers sold their product at €1 each and their profit and loss statement at the end of the entrepreneurial programme showed a net profit of €201.75.

G & G Cards

Gemma Shannon & Gemma Leahy

St Dominics Secondary School, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10

Finalists in the Youth Entrepreneur Awards 2010

Gemma & Gemma set up their card design company in response to what they believed was a niche in the market for high quality low cost greeting cards. The pair used questionnaires, internet research and networking to discover that there was a demand for their product in both the school environment and in the local community. Both girls have a strong social conscience and intend on donating 10% to the Kidney Association of Ireland.

The Dominics Dish -

Emma Brennan & Emma Kavanagh

St Dominics Secondary School, Cabra, Dublin 7

Finalists in the Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2010

The Dominics Dish is a website for the students of  St. Dominic’s College. It includes a videoblog, news-cast reporting on all the news around the school as well as written news and advertisements of local and mini-companies

The girls commented "We are both very involved students in our school.We take part in several school teams and clubs and would like to share our enthusiasm for extra curricular activities and providing a positive outlookon school life for students by getting them involved. We felt students were missing a reliable and accessible source of information on the events and news of our school."

Trinity's Got Talent

Karl Graham, Vanessa Deegan,

Tara O'Brien

Trinity Comprehensive, Ballymun, Dublin 9

Finalists in the Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2010

Karl, Vanessa & Tara decided to set up an events management company to showcase the student body's talents and skills for the whole community to enjoy. Months of preparation was put into this talent show with a difference and the whole school got invoolved including students and teachers. All three made a large profit from this event and plan to run it on an annual basis within the school and perhaps even involve other schools within the community of  Ballymun.

Silkline Designs - Ciaran Reid

Foróige, Blanchardstown Youth Service, Dublin 15.

Finalist in the Youth Entrepreneurship Awards 2010

Ciaran made it to the finals of the Youth Entrepreneurship Awards with his business "Silkline Designs". This is a website design company where Ciaran creates websites for small and medium sized businesses. Ciaran has learnt programming skills in the last few years and he believes that this, coupled with his strong business focus will enable him to expand and develop his business rapidly.

"I had a huge interest in websites and IT, and always looked at how things run and work the way they do. I started looking at how websites operate and what’s behind them. From that, I started researching HTML and CSS script in my free time. I realized that I could apply my interest in business and my IT skill to form a business."