Last month saw a Dragons Den style event take place in the Antalis Academy, with nine young entrepreneurs pitching their marketing ideas to a formidable line-up of dragons in the hope that they would be selected to put their ideas into practice. The twist in the tale was that all the candidates who stepped up to the challenge are currently taking part in a unique #nolimits programme, created by Commercial Group, which supports disadvantaged young people in changing their current life circumstances.
The Dragon’s Den day was the latest module of the programme. It has been six months in the making as longstanding partners, Commercial and Antalis, explored ways to develop their shared values relating to social impact, supporting and creating lasting change for disadvantaged young people. Mark Browne, Sign & Display Support Manager at Antalis, has passionately championed these values which is key component of the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy.
He commented: “The #nolimits programme provides the perfect opportunity to encourage young people to learn new skills, collaborate and present a viable business idea. Seeing young people in action as they presented their ideas confidently reinforced what we’re all working towards – providing the perfect environment for people to shine.”
As you can see from the images it was a great day, perfectly summed up by Matthew (19), from the winning team who said “I really enjoyed looking around Antalis’s facilities including the warehouse. It was great learning about sign making, the 3D printer and of course presenting to the dragons. I was nervous but I’m glad I did it.”
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