The young executive behind the Teen Verdict Awards in Brighton and Hove is earning himself a reputation for enterprising ideas and he hasn’t even left school.
While many youngsters dream of being a pop star or a footballer, Michael Stevenson, 17, prefers the rugby pitch. But the pitch that really stirs his dreams is the business pitch.
His goal is the boardroom. And he’s already winning prizes for his business ideas.
Since he started his A levels he has come up with two ideas that have earned attention and won him a prize.
His current project is the Teen Verdict Awards which he set up with a group of friends to encourage shops and venues to provide a better service for young people.
The award scheme has the backing of the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, the council and the three MPs for the city.
With 45,000 under-18s growing up here and 32,000 students, he’s confident that the awards make good business sense.
And the Brighton College pupil has already won a £3,300 prize to develop a product idea that he pitched in a Dragons’ Den style contest.
Simple
His low-cost simple idea could save the government millions of pounds a year and help children have healthier teeth.
It’s a straw that changes colour when it comes into contact with acids in drinks.
Michael said: “We had a Dragons’ Den style presentation where I had to pitch to 300 of my classmates in my year, the year below and the year above and a panel of five local business people who were ex-pupils. It was really nerve-wracking.”
He gave a ten-minute presentation backed up by a 20-page business plan.
He said: “My mum’s a dentist. She’s always told me not to drink fizzy drinks. They cause acid erosion on your teeth.
“If you use a straw, that’s one of the best ways to reduce the contact with your front teeth.
“I wanted to find a way to educate children. I don’t think you can prevent it. If you just tell a child, ‘don’t drink Coke,’ it’s not going to work.
“The straw goes bright red when you drink a fizzy drink. It makes it more fun and educational to teach children like this.
