Venture Capital Firm Connects With Young Entrepreneurs

Last week, Hex Gardens, a Lower Eighth company which sells 3D-printed modular bee hotels and bird feeders, represented St Paul’s at the Young Enterprise final for the London and Essex region, widely recognised as the most competitive in the UK. Held at Amazon’s headquarters in central London, the team, led by MD Ettore and featuring core executive members Lorenzo, Victor, Alexander M., Alex S. and Leo, won not one but two awards: Best Online Presence and Best Marketing. Hex Gardens also significantly exceeded the sales of all other competing teams, generating revenues of more than £3,500.

The success of Hex Gardens caps a remarkable year of entrepreneurial achievement at St Paul’s. Last weekend, HaloX, another Young Enterprise team made up of pupils from both the boys’ and girls’ schools, featured in The Sunday Times for their innovative safety alarm plushie product. Meanwhile, Conrad from the Upper Eighth has raised more than $500,000 for his aerospace start-up, Initium.

As the Young Enterprise programme draws to a close, several of the eight pupil companies operating this year, together with Lower Eighth and Upper Eighth pupils interested in entrepreneurship, attended a dedicated talk and workshop hosted by venture capital firm Pareto Holdings on Thursday. Pareto specialises in early-stage start-ups and the session featured two Old Paulines, Ibrahim Khan and Kayyan Elmassry, both of whom have also been supported by the school’s own incubator programme, Ester.

The talk and workshop provided a valuable opportunity for the school’s aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from current founders about scaling and expanding businesses, securing funding, and building the connections needed to continue developing their ventures. With so many exciting business ideas emerging from pupils and alumni alike, connecting young entrepreneurs with industry experts who can demystify the world of venture capital and support further development remains central to encouraging entrepreneurial ambition at St Paul’s through the school’s Start It programme.