This year’s Australian Business Week has been a huge success for our Year 11 students, who swapped the classroom for the boardroom over five intensive days.

Between 7-11 April our aspiring student-entrepreneurs swapped their timetabled lessons for an immersive business experience that saw them work in teams to conceive and launch their own virtual café businesses.

On 'day one' of Australian Business Week they got an inspiring head-start from old scholar and successful local business owner David Madjovic of Brighton Jetty Bakery, who shared his real-world wisdom on what it takes to run a thriving café.

During the course of the week, our students tackled everything from branding and marketing to product development and business strategy—culminating in a buzzing trade show in the college gymnasium.

The student team behind self-titled business, ‘Chapter and Cup’, became Tatachilla’s inaugural Australian Business Week Grand Champions. The judging panel, comprised of local business owners, noted that the students on the ‘Chapter and Cup’ team were highly consistent, professional and collaborative.

Chief Executive Officer of ‘Chapter and Cup’, Year 11 student Friedrich Hillen, said that his biggest learning during the week was that “teamwork was key”.

“I think that my team really worked successfully as a group, and that this was our strongest point,” said Friedrich.

“We all came up with our back-story together, listened to each other, valued each other’s opinions, and in the end came up with the ‘Chapter and Cup’ concept, and everything it stood for.

“It surprised me quite a bit as to how much money we made in our hypothetical company, as our profit did increase quite quickly for what I thought was possible in two years.

“Some advice that I would give others who might be undertaking Australian Business Week for the first time is to talk and share with other student-companies, because you can learn so much from each other and inspire each other to take ideas to the next level,” Friedrich said.

The premise for ‘Chapter and Cup’ was to be ‘well read and fed’. The café not only sold organic and sustainably-sourced snacks to support brain health, but also ran a community book swap program and hosted regular book launches to enhance community culture, wellbeing and participation.

Friedrich was joined on the ‘Chapter and Cup’ team by fellow business masterminds Amelia Laan, Georgia Hams, Max Cook, Ewan Rowe, Sienna Brockenbrow, Asha Mansell, Alea Zimmer and Cody Grant.

Australian Business Week coordinator and 7-12 Humanities Learning Leader, Melissa Smith, said that the week equipped students with a range of highly transferable skills that they could apply to any discipline area of their choosing.

“We understand that not all Australian Business Week participants will pursue a career in business, however the week provides so much more than just a taste of entrepreneurship.

“The program also enhances the students’ ability to communicate, collaborate, problem-solve, think creatively, bounce back from disagreements and navigate opposing views in a team setting.

“It is these skills that make Australian Business Week so beneficial for our students who are on the cusp of Year 12 and who will soon take up tertiary study or enter the world of world.

“Those students who discovered a passion for business during the week can now choose to pursue the follow-on module, called Business Innovation, which is offered at both the Year 11 and Year 12 levels,” said Melissa.

All 12 student-led companies made a profit during Australian Business Week and concluded the program in the black, a remarkable result which reflects the level of business acumen within our Year 11 cohort. 

The college heartily congratulates each of the student teams who completed the Australian Business Week program - which was the equivalent of an entire semester's worth of work - and looks forward to welcoming next year’s cohort into the world of business enterprise.