As part of their package of prizes, the Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge winning team Trash4Cash from St Bede’s School, Bradford, spent the day in London on Saturday 7 June as guests of the Entrepreneurs Organization UK at their inspirational EO Unlimited conference, before a trip to see the world-famous Cirque du Soleil at the O2 Arena courtesy of Barclays.

The five Year 8 students spent an incredible day in London as part of their package of prizes for beating over 500 teams in this year’s competition. Hot on the heels of having met the stars of BBC’s Dragon’s Den, the five boys spent the morning at the EO Unlimited event in London’s top-class Grange Hotel. The visit was part of the wider partnership between Mosaic and the Entrepreneurs Organization UK, which will see EO UK entrepreneurs supporting all six of the finalist teams for the next year to provide mentoring support to bring the students’ ideas to business reality.

“I am sure we will treasure this as one of our fondest memories for the rest of our lives!”

The EO Unlimited event brought together some of the leading entrepreneurs from the UK, Europe and beyond. Attending the final morning, the five winning students and their Mosaic mentors were able to hear from Martyn Dawes, the founder of Coffee Nation who  set out to build a high-growth business with a simple idea and the will to do whatever was required to make it a success. Twelve years later he sold Coffee Nation for £23m.

The group also heard the inspirational life story of entrepreneur Dr Eyal Ronen, founder of Spotlight Leadership which helps business leaders all over the world set themselves free and bring their own missions to life. The students, and their Mosaic mentors, really enjoyed the opportunity to hear from such amazing entrepreneur leaders and to rub shoulders with so many other entrepreneurs, providing a fantastic start to their ongoing mentoring relationship with EO.

The feedback from the students on the conference was hugely positive:

“… fascinating, intuitive and inspiring.” – Rohan Bingham

“… excellent speakers who gripped my attention instantly.”

“… exhilarating and inspiring.” – Twaanda Sikwese

“… inspirational and emotional.” – Mateusz Kucko

The afternoon saw a more relaxed approach, taking the Emirates Airline cable car to the 02 Arena to see Cirque du Soleil’s awe-inspiring Dralion show, living the high-life in a private box generously donated by Mosaic partners Barclays. The boys, all gripping their iPads which they won in the Challenge, were sure to capture every moment of this incredible experience!

The students really enjoyed themselves, and had the following to say:

“… truly magical and wondrous acts that I will never forget. A truly wonderful day!” – Rohan Bingham

“… spectacular, mysterious, magical and unforgettable acts that I have ever seen. A dream of a day!” – Twaanda Sikwese

“… awesome and unbelievable acts that I will never forget. A truly spectacular day!” – Mateusz Kucko

“… amazing and thrilling acts that I will never forget. A super unforgettable day!” – Nikhil Mistry

“… entertaining, super and almost impossible acts that I will never forget. A truly amazing day!” – Francis Harrison

Barclays, many of whose staff act as volunteer mentors with Mosaic, leapt at the opportunity to host the winners for this amazing show. The students shared with the Barclays hosts details of the business proposition which helped them to win the Challenge, even explaining their plans for franchising the idea in the years ahead!

Jonathan Freeman, National Director of Mosaic, said: “This was a fantastic day for these incredible boys, providing them not only with really important insights from the world’s leading entrepreneurs but also to experience a little bit of the high life with Cirque di Soleil. We really look forward to continuing to support the students for the year ahead so that we can help them bring their recycling business to life.”

Summing up the day, St Bede’s teachers Mrs Khan and Mrs Walker said: “The weekend was absolutely awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Thank you all at Mosaic for such a memorable and fantastic experience – I am sure we will treasure this as one of our fondest memories for the rest of our lives!”