OUR VISION

The idea for Summit 24 came from feedback from some of the young business owners and attendees to our Youth Māketes. We were hearing about a desire for a space to grow and connect with education, resources and the opportunity to korero with business owners who have made it big with their own ventures. The conference space, especially in business, is traditionally thought of as a more adult space so we knew that we had to break down some barriers to get young people to attend and to get the community to take us seriously.

We knew we couldn’t pull off an event of this magnitude on our own so we began a very fun and effective cross-organisation collaboration with the wonderful Te Aukaha, Young Enterprise Scheme Canterbury, and The King’s Trust Aotearoa.

Our vision for Summit 2024 was:

  • To inspire young people to pursue their business ideas and take the next step in their entrepreneurial journeys
  • To create a sense of connectedness among young entrepreneurs to one another and to the wider business community in Ōtautahi
  • To provide young people with the required knowledge and skills that will help them success in their business venture

 

OUR SPEAKERS

A major milestone for us was securing Hannah Koumakis as our keynote speaker. Hannah has been on an incredible journey that has led her to business success with her guided journal series, Dear The Series. Her reach on TikTok and her positive but realistic attitude towards business ventures meant that she was a great fit for Summit and she did an awesome job of inspiring our rangatahi at the start of the day.

Our other speakers included Brianne West (Environmentalist and Entrepreneur, Founder of Ethique), Zach Warder-Gabaldon (Ministry of Awesome), Oliviah Theyers-Collins (NZTE), and Rod Baxter, (The King’s Trust). We also held a panel of local business owners including Paige Sullivan, (Pss Beauty), Hamish Stayt and Mackenzie Annett (Ecobase Founders), and Ngaio Haraki and Jordan Duggan (Saucey Kiwis Founders). There was also funding advice from key industry leaders including Toihi Mahuika-Wright and Jahkaya Tukaki (Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu). The day ended with a closing address from the Hon. Matt Doocey, the Minister for Youth.

 

OUR WORKSHOPS

  • How to Be a Succesful Entrepreneur
  • Building a Business 101
  • Brand Storytelling
  • The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing
  • Networking and Connections
  • Pitching Your Business to Investors
  • Funding Your Business Panel
  • Inspiring Speakers Panel

 

OUR EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

  • Seeing the expo space filling up in the morning and realising, wow, this is really happening!
  • Hearing young people networking and sharing their business ideas with one another
  • Having Hannah as a keynote speaker and then running the Digital Marketing workshop which our rangatahi absolutely loved
  • Delicious kai at lunchtime from the amazing team at Bacon Bros
  • Having the hilarious Hora Kairangi Nicholas and our very own Micah Heath MC the event and lead the audience in some games
  • The inspiring speakers panel where local business owners were able to share their real stories and advice from starting their own businesses

 

HEAR FROM OUR ATTENDEES

“I learnt heaps and was able to connect with other rangatahi interested in business.”
“Loved the workshop on digital marketing.”
“It was so much fun!”
“There has been a lot of information that we can use moving forward in our entrepreneurship journey.
One of the main things I learnt was networking and how to connect with other people.”

 

“I enjoyed the speakers who brought along an activity to do whilst listening to them speak.
Hannah got us to work as a team which was fun.”
“One thing I am going to take away is how important your team.
The skills, experience and expertise of the people you work with lead you to success.”