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“Be prepared to pivot” was the advice given to a group of students embarking on the latest Wellington College Future Founders programme.
Two alumni of the programme came back to talk to the new cohort at their first meeting this month.
Elsie, from Winston Churchill School, and Constance, from The Holt, both pictured at the front seated, told the Year 9 students what they had learned on the business mentoring programme and how they had benefited from the advice of other entrepreneurs.
The Future Founders project was created in 2023 by Wellington College’s Head of Business Simon Roundell alongside Amanda Thomson, founder of drinks company Thomson & Scott.
Now in its fourth year, it is working with two students from the college alongside two pupils from Blessed Hugh Faringdon in Reading, two from St Crispin’s in Wokingham and one each from Bohunt, Kings International and The Holt. Each was given £20 as a seed fund they can use to start their own business, and an ‘accountability buddy’ to keep them on track with their project.
They will learn how to write a business plan, generate sales and manage cash flow during six days over the course of this year.
The external pupils were selected to take part in the project by the Wellington College Student Alliance, which collaborates with state schools to create extra opportunities for their students.
The Future Founders group will meet twice a term in Spring, Summer and Autumn 2026.
