Young entrepreneurs pitch football business ideas at LBS
Education charity Football Beyond Borders and LBS teamed up to provide high school children the chance to pitch their ideas
Students from two London high schools have pitched their football business ideas to a London Business School (LBS) judging panel.
The event, which celebrated football, business and education, was the culmination of a two-month project between the LBS Football Club and education charity Football Beyond Borders.
The charity uses the power of football to inspire young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their goals. COO Jack Reynolds said: “We do this by putting a young person’s passion for football at the heart of their educational experience.” He thanked LBS students for volunteering their time to help prepare the children for the pitch.
MBA student Andrew Serio, who manages LBS Football Club’s partnerships along with Masters in Management student Charlie Ryder, said the evolving relationship with the charity was an important one. He told the children: “It’s been fun and rewarding for us to work with you. Hopefully it’s been similarly rewarding for you to come to LBS and see what it’s like for us to be students.”
There are hundreds of thousands of young people whose needs are not met by mainstream education, many from disadvantaged backgrounds. These students are handpicked to work with the charity.
The winning idea was an app to allow aspiring footballers to study and replicate the training regimes of their football idols. Taylor, a Manchester City fan from Chestnut Grove Academy in London, delivered a confident pitch. “Have you ever wondered what it takes to get Ronaldo’s rock hard abs?” he asked the judges. “Now you can find out.”
Three alumni working within the world of sport made up the judging panel – Adrian Melville, Insight Manager at Sky Sports, Oliver Nowalski, Group Marketing Product Manager at Manchester City Football Club, and Diane Reynolds, Commercial Development Manager at Fulham Football Club.
Boaz Valkin, Associate Relationship Manager at Prodigy Finance, was also on the judging panel. His employer sponsors LBS Football Club, working on a number of social impact initiatives alongside the club.
Fulham’s Reynolds said to the winning team: “We loved your pitch. It was very realistic and the presentation was amazing: you convinced me that I should download the app.”
