Do you know a young entrepreneur in the making? RTÉ is supporting the 2018 Junior Entrepreneur Programme in its mission to nurture creativity, independence and problem-solving among pupils of all abilities. To find out more about the programme, we spoke with founder Jerry Kennelly.
What is the Junior Entrepreneur Programme and how does it work?
Since launching in 2010, the Junior Entrepreneur Programme (or JEP) has brought real-life business learning to more than 50,000 children in primary school classrooms all over Ireland.
Running over a 12 to 16 week period during the school year, the programme nurtures creativity, independence and problem-solving among pupils of all abilities, helping them develop their own individual business skill sets in collaboration with their classmates.
By harnessing vital aspects of English, Maths, Visual Arts, ICT, Drama and SPHE, it’s ideally designed to blend seamlessly into the primary school curriculum. It’s a not-for-profit initiative, and completely free for schools and pupils.
Who can apply? How? When?
We’re now at the end of the 2018 programme and we’re open for registrations for 2019. Pupils and parents should speak to their teachers about the programme.
Only 5th and 6th class pupils in the Republic and P6 and P7 in Northern Ireland can run the programme (though if it’s a 4th, 5th and 6th mixed class it’s ok).
Registering is easy at www.juniorentrepreneur.ie.
How did JEP begin?
JEP began in 2010 with myself and a group of like-minded people who thought they could make a difference in Irish society. We wanted eleven and twelve-year-old children to be aware of their environment and what makes it work.
We started with a small programme in Kerry and Limerick and eventually went island wide, helped by lots of volunteers and some of Ireland’s most successful entrepreneurs helping out.
Working with Mary Immaculate Teacher Training College, we produced the original Classroom kit, which maps out a journey for teachers and the class. It brings them on a journey where they learn about entrepreneurship, meet local entrepreneurs and do all the groundwork to brainstorm ideas and solutions - just like we do in real-world startups.
What are the goals of the programme?
Our vision for JEP is that it will allow children to understand that they can think independently and create something real from nothing but an idea.
JEP gives children a chance to stand on their own two feet and to show the world what they can do at an early age. Only a tiny percentage of the children who have completed JEP will go on to start their own business, but they all understand the challenges faced by the cornerstone of our economy - the entrepreneurs who drive it.
The JEP alumni understand that money doesn’t grow on trees and that goods and services don’t come from shops. They understand that it takes passion, drive and commitment to creating a product or service that people will pay for. They get what is probably their first taste of the real world.
There is a superb opportunity for nationwide adoption of an initiative that will change lives forever. There are 4,200 primary schools on the island of Ireland with over 170,000 pupils in senior classes. There has never been a nationwide entrepreneurship programme with a real connection to entrepreneurs but this is something we can impact today.
Tell us about your own great entrepreneurial story.
I was lucky to grow up as one of four sons of very entrepreneurial parents - Padraig and Joan. My Da was a chemist who decided to drop that lucrative profession to become a photojournalist and cameraman. My mother followed in the same career - both running an international news business from Tralee in the 1950's.
We started a newspaper called Kerry’s Eye as a family in 1974 and my three brothers still run it - very successfully today.
I left the family business to start my own road running a photo-journalism business in 1981 and quickly got into technology. That led me to start Europe’s first digital stock photo agency in 1996. That company, Stockbyte and a sister company, Stockdisc became global leaders in the industry.
It was a combination of the creative flair from my parents and the technical knowledge I built along the way. The brands became the largest creator of premium stock photography in the world and had 120 partners in 70 countries. We had a great ten years and sold the business to Getty Images in 2006 for a consideration of $135million.
In 2008, I started working on a new business, Tweak - a company which provided agency standard graphic design for small business, delivered online. This launched in 2011 and today we provide this content and technology service to some of the world’s largest online printers.
Last year we launched Tweak Cloud, a technology platform that allows companies to control their brand and advertising assets and allow their staff to automate design and make marketing happen faster and at a much lower cost.
What advice do you have for parents of children who are showing budding entrepreneurial talent?
I would say give them every chance to bring out their natural talent. Give them a loan of a small amount of money and ask them to put their detailed plans down on paper and ‘pitch’ them to you. They’ll need to have a goal for what their sales and profit should be and have proper figures for all their costs to back those up.
Then let them go and do it themselves. Don’t do it for them - you need to let them make their own mistakes and have the joy of making some good decisions - on their own. They’ll learn to come up with solutions that you won’t even have dreamt of. They’ll have a new understanding - and respect - for money now that it’s their own.
What are the benefits to students, teachers and parents of getting involved?
It’s inspiring to see eleven and twelve-year-old children turn ideas into businesses that create products that people are willing to pay for. The joy that the JEP alumni experience is almost indescribable.
In an adult world, these children are given free rein to discover their own hidden talents and creativity. They discover what they’re good at and experience the joy of a shared goal with their class.
Teachers and pupils talk about the revelation of previously unknown skills among the class - and are all buzzed by the confidence of achieving real-world business success in the classroom.
