Audacious whiz kids announced

Otago Polytechnic students, Alyse Cooper and Henry Hewat, have been announced in the top ten 24/7 Audacious Business Idea Competition, each taking home $1000 in prize money.
The Audacious Competition saw over 200 business ideas submitted by Otago Polytechnic and University of Otago students, more than double the number entered in 2009.

The ideas were reviewed and judged by a panel of academics and business professionals and the top ten ideas were awarded $1000 each at the prize giving ceremony.
Peter Harris, Manager of the Dunedin City Council Economic Development Unit which coordinates the competition is thrilled with the response.

“Audacious aims to nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs and the jump from 97 ideas entered last year to 227 this year is fantastic,” he said.

Ryan Priemus, the Audacious business coach who advises students about the reality of running a business, has been swamped with students wanting advice about their ideas.

“It’s a great job because there are some wild ideas that students talk to me about, and I can never pick which of them might turn them into reality. Some ex-Audacious students have gone on to create really successful businesses.”
In addition to one-on-one advice, Audacious runs a series of seminars for students who want to understand the realities of business. In the second semester competition students are required to turn their ideas into a detailed business plan, and the winner will be awarded prizes to the value of $20,000 to start their own business.

For more information about Audacious, visit www.audacious.co.nz