Young Enterprise - Spiralling ahead towards a more entrepreneurial culture
A team from Junior College, named Spiral, has won this year's HSBC Young Enterprise Company of the Year award. The Times Business interviewed company secretary Roberta Galea about the team's experience and Spiral's two products: a camping tent and Malti9. Spiral left Malta for Stockholm yesterday, where they will compete for the European Company of the Year Award.
How did your team come to know about Young Enterprise?
Our managing director Emma Beck was attending a marketing lesson and asked the person next to her, our marketing director, Leanne Bason whether she heard about Young Enterprise. She explained to her what it is, and Leanne came up to us as her friends to join in. Finally, with contacts here and there, we ended up as a team of 11 people, although we finished this experience as a company of nine members.
What attracted your team to this competition and how did you get together as a team?
The main thing which attracted our team to this experience was the fact that being part of HSBC Young Enterprise will help us all throughout our lives, whether we will be in the business industry or not, in future. Getting together as a team was not an easy task since we all came from different walks of life but through the good leadership of our managing director and activities from the HR department we started understanding one another and becoming one.
How did the idea of your product come about?
The idea of the Malti9, as our dictionary for mobile phones in Maltese is called, was primarily Emma's idea but was developed collectively. The Quechua tents came to mind during a team meeting where we saw baskets which fold and open up easily. This is when we browsed the internet for innovative products and the Quechua tents came up.
Why two such different products? And what's the connection, if there is one, between them?
The only connection between our two products is time efficiency. Both products assist consumers in making good use of their time. We chose these two products primarily because we wanted the tents to be a supporting product towards the development of the Malti9, and secondly we wanted to highlight innovation.
What were the challenges you encountered?
As every other company, Spiral had its challenges and obstacles along the way. The most difficult challenge we had was when the Malti9 had some errors and some team members were losing their motivation, but with help from a professional programmer to ensure that no errors were in the software, the team's motivation was regained. Today our product is exactly what we wanted it to be.
When it came to the tents there was no way for us to import them directly from abroad since the foreign company does not approve of this. Nevertheless, this did not stop us and in fact two people from our company went to Brussels to get the tents down to Malta and check the quality of the product.
What sort of assistance and advice did you obtain on the way, and from whom?
Advice was sought for every decision the company needed to take, being choice of products, marketing, launches and stands. Advice was taken mainly from our link teacher at Junior College, Elaine Wong, and the parents of all team members were always there to give a helping hand and their advice.
Why would you recommend this experience to next year's students?
This is an experience of a lifetime. It is a lot of hard work but this hard work pays off as soon as you succeed in something - finalising your product or managing to reach the HSBC Young Enterprise finals.
For Spiral, this hard work paid off when we reached the finals, were nominated for six awards, won three of them and finally won Company of the Year.
How are you preparing yourselves for the European finals?
Preparing for the European finals of Young Enterprise is of course even more hard work than preparing for the local finals.
We are literally not sleeping and going in and out of Young Enterprise offices to prepare reports, speeches, a stand and presentations.
All these things need to be done in a professional manner in a week, but no, it's not impossible, we'll manage. We'll manage thanks to the help of YEM CEO Karl Gouder and YEM vice chairman Karl Briffa who are working day and night with us.
What are your expectations?
To be honest, we want to win our second final. It is obvious that all companies participating would like to win but nevertheless we are not over confident. More than anything we want to go to Sweden, present ourselves well and after all have fun.
We are representing our country and we are going to give our 100 per cent to make a good name for us, our families and for Malta.
Some of the comments by judges of HSBC Young Enterprise 2008
Giovanni Buttigieg, Malta Council for Science and Technology
"It's good to have scientists; good to have entrepreneurs. Success comes faster if scientists know how to do business, and entrepreneurs understand technology. That's what Young Enterprise is contributing to. That's why the Malta Council for Science and Technology supports it."
Emidio Friggieri - Malta Quality Group
"I have been involved in YEM for the last 12 years, either as an assessor of the Best Quality Award or as an advisor. When I see the enthusiasm, commitment and energy that youths bring with them every year, I cannot resist not coming back to give a helping hand. They start from nothing to develop products/services and mostly lead their company to success in less than nine months. This alone motivates me to help on a voluntary basis. Every year, Young Enterprise gives birth to some of the new entrepreneurs of tomorrow. It offers the right opportunity to experience business management first hand. This is an experience that we in the real business world look for when employing staff. The success is also measured by the number of former young achievers who are now leading a successful career, as I happen to know some of them. I encourage all students to go for it - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity - take it."
Louis Olivieri, Malta Marketing Institute
"I enjoy fuelling the enthusiasm of the young achievers, supporting their efforts and those of YE Malta with whose dedication, the opportunity for the participation of the achievers is made possible. I believe in Young Enterprise as an opportunity for self development and an experience in preparation for the real world at an age where the work effort and team work can be enjoyed."
Stephanie Ceccato - The Edward de Bono Foundation
"The Edward de Bono Foundation works hand in hand with Young Enterprise each year to give participants the edge they will need for the future. YEM is committed to give Malta the next generation of successful entrepreneurs by not only helping them learn about the general subjects that are necessary to run an organisation, but also by giving them the opportunity to develop their personality, self esteem, and therefore contributing to greater success in all forms of endeavour."
Doriette Camilleri, HSBC Bank Malta plc.
"This has been my second experience as a judge, however I have been involved with Young Enterprise for the last six years. Therefore, I can appreciate the challenges that these young achievers face - and win - year after year. My only regret is that I missed the chance to participate in this annual competition as YE was introduced to Malta after I finished sixth form. Every year, their enthusiasm encourages me to find the necessary time to dedicate to these young entrepreneurs. They constitute a very important element for Malta's sustainable future."
Our managing director Emma Beck was attending a marketing lesson and asked the person next to her, our marketing director, Leanne Bason whether she heard about Young Enterprise. She explained to her what it is, and Leanne came up to us as her friends to join in. Finally, with contacts here and there, we ended up as a team of 11 people, although we finished this experience as a company of nine members.
What attracted your team to this competition and how did you get together as a team?
The main thing which attracted our team to this experience was the fact that being part of HSBC Young Enterprise will help us all throughout our lives, whether we will be in the business industry or not, in future. Getting together as a team was not an easy task since we all came from different walks of life but through the good leadership of our managing director and activities from the HR department we started understanding one another and becoming one.
How did the idea of your product come about?
The idea of the Malti9, as our dictionary for mobile phones in Maltese is called, was primarily Emma's idea but was developed collectively. The Quechua tents came to mind during a team meeting where we saw baskets which fold and open up easily. This is when we browsed the internet for innovative products and the Quechua tents came up.
Why two such different products? And what's the connection, if there is one, between them?
The only connection between our two products is time efficiency. Both products assist consumers in making good use of their time. We chose these two products primarily because we wanted the tents to be a supporting product towards the development of the Malti9, and secondly we wanted to highlight innovation.
What were the challenges you encountered?
As every other company, Spiral had its challenges and obstacles along the way. The most difficult challenge we had was when the Malti9 had some errors and some team members were losing their motivation, but with help from a professional programmer to ensure that no errors were in the software, the team's motivation was regained. Today our product is exactly what we wanted it to be.
When it came to the tents there was no way for us to import them directly from abroad since the foreign company does not approve of this. Nevertheless, this did not stop us and in fact two people from our company went to Brussels to get the tents down to Malta and check the quality of the product.
What sort of assistance and advice did you obtain on the way, and from whom?
Advice was sought for every decision the company needed to take, being choice of products, marketing, launches and stands. Advice was taken mainly from our link teacher at Junior College, Elaine Wong, and the parents of all team members were always there to give a helping hand and their advice.
Why would you recommend this experience to next year's students?
This is an experience of a lifetime. It is a lot of hard work but this hard work pays off as soon as you succeed in something - finalising your product or managing to reach the HSBC Young Enterprise finals.
For Spiral, this hard work paid off when we reached the finals, were nominated for six awards, won three of them and finally won Company of the Year.
How are you preparing yourselves for the European finals?
Preparing for the European finals of Young Enterprise is of course even more hard work than preparing for the local finals.
We are literally not sleeping and going in and out of Young Enterprise offices to prepare reports, speeches, a stand and presentations.
All these things need to be done in a professional manner in a week, but no, it's not impossible, we'll manage. We'll manage thanks to the help of YEM CEO Karl Gouder and YEM vice chairman Karl Briffa who are working day and night with us.
What are your expectations?
To be honest, we want to win our second final. It is obvious that all companies participating would like to win but nevertheless we are not over confident. More than anything we want to go to Sweden, present ourselves well and after all have fun.
We are representing our country and we are going to give our 100 per cent to make a good name for us, our families and for Malta.
Some of the comments by judges of HSBC Young Enterprise 2008
Giovanni Buttigieg, Malta Council for Science and Technology
"It's good to have scientists; good to have entrepreneurs. Success comes faster if scientists know how to do business, and entrepreneurs understand technology. That's what Young Enterprise is contributing to. That's why the Malta Council for Science and Technology supports it."
Emidio Friggieri - Malta Quality Group
"I have been involved in YEM for the last 12 years, either as an assessor of the Best Quality Award or as an advisor. When I see the enthusiasm, commitment and energy that youths bring with them every year, I cannot resist not coming back to give a helping hand. They start from nothing to develop products/services and mostly lead their company to success in less than nine months. This alone motivates me to help on a voluntary basis. Every year, Young Enterprise gives birth to some of the new entrepreneurs of tomorrow. It offers the right opportunity to experience business management first hand. This is an experience that we in the real business world look for when employing staff. The success is also measured by the number of former young achievers who are now leading a successful career, as I happen to know some of them. I encourage all students to go for it - this is a once in a lifetime opportunity - take it."
Louis Olivieri, Malta Marketing Institute
"I enjoy fuelling the enthusiasm of the young achievers, supporting their efforts and those of YE Malta with whose dedication, the opportunity for the participation of the achievers is made possible. I believe in Young Enterprise as an opportunity for self development and an experience in preparation for the real world at an age where the work effort and team work can be enjoyed."
Stephanie Ceccato - The Edward de Bono Foundation
"The Edward de Bono Foundation works hand in hand with Young Enterprise each year to give participants the edge they will need for the future. YEM is committed to give Malta the next generation of successful entrepreneurs by not only helping them learn about the general subjects that are necessary to run an organisation, but also by giving them the opportunity to develop their personality, self esteem, and therefore contributing to greater success in all forms of endeavour."
Doriette Camilleri, HSBC Bank Malta plc.
"This has been my second experience as a judge, however I have been involved with Young Enterprise for the last six years. Therefore, I can appreciate the challenges that these young achievers face - and win - year after year. My only regret is that I missed the chance to participate in this annual competition as YE was introduced to Malta after I finished sixth form. Every year, their enthusiasm encourages me to find the necessary time to dedicate to these young entrepreneurs. They constitute a very important element for Malta's sustainable future."