Enterprise Day: Build a Business in a Day
In short
Build a Business in a Day takes a class of 12-14 year olds from a problem to a pitch between 09:00 and 15:15. Teams of 3-4 interview real people, choose a problem and a target customer, build and test a prototype, work out costs, price and break-even, find a USP and a name, then pitch with evidence to a panel.
Included in the £49 educator licence. One zip file, about 8.7 MB.
- Time
- 09:00-15:15, with break and lunch
- Group
- A class in teams of 3-4
- Prep
- About an hour, plus a panel
- Screen
- Optional
Look inside
Real pages from this kit. Have a flick through.
Slides pupils can read from the back row, a guide with every word you need and printables that look great in black and white.
Slide: three kinds of evidence
Three kinds of evidence, collected in order: problem interviews, a prototype test and a demand test.
What pupils make and take home
- A Venture Canvas that tells the story of their business on one A3 page
- A problem backed by interviews, and a target customer
- A prototype tested by other teams, and a decision about what to change
- A price they can justify and a 90-second pitch with evidence
Why it works in a real classroom
- Every session timed, with the words to say and what to do if a team is stuck
- Optional extensions marked for teams who are ahead, and left out of the timings
- A cost bank and a step-by-step money sheet, so the maths never stalls
- Five awards with clear descriptors, judged on evidence as well as delivery
Get the kit
How to download the Enterprise Day
Four quick steps. Everything comes as one zip file with numbered folders, so you always know what to open first.
- 1
Sign in
Use your We Can Be account, or create one free in a minute.
- 2
Unlock with the £49 licence
One payment covers every teacher and leader in your setting, for good.
- 3
Download the zip
One file, about 8.7 MB, with everything in numbered folders.
- 4
Unzip and open folder 01
Windows: right-click, Extract All. Mac or iPad: double-click or tap. Then open 01 Start here.
The whole kit, in one download
Slides, guide and every printable · zip file · 8.7 MB
Included in the £49 educator licence. Sign in first and we'll check your access.
Stuck? Get in touch and we'll sort it.
09:00-15:15
The day
09:00
1 · Think like an entrepreneur
Founder stories, the sticky-note wall, teams of 3-4 with rules, and the Venture Canvas.
10:00
2 · Find a problem
A problem hunt, three kinds of evidence, interviews with another team, then one problem sentence and a target customer.
10:55 · Break
11:15
3 · Ideas and a prototype
Competitors, 8 ideas in 8 minutes, a vote, a reality and ethics check, then 35 minutes to build.
12:30 · Lunch
13:15
4 · Test it, price it, brand it
A prototype test, the money words, two kinds of cost, a price, break-even, then a USP and a name.
14:15
5 · Market it and pitch it
Honest marketing, a one-line message, pitch prep and rehearsal, then 90-second pitches, awards and an individual check.
What's in the zip
Everything you need, in numbered folders
Open folder 01 and it tells you what to print, what to read and what to press. No hunting through files the night before.
01 Start here
- One page: print, read, book a panel, press play
02 Guide
- 19 pages: the day on one page, every session step by step, key words, tech labs on AI and social media, assessment, progression and a source register
03 Slides
- 52 slides, editable and as a PDF, with the script in the speaker notes
- An editable Venture Canvas for teams on devices
04 Print
- Venture Canvas (A3) and a worked example
- Founder story cards
- Key words and confidence check
- Cost bank and a step-by-step money sheet
- Pitch planner and score sheet with descriptors
- Founder mission cards and certificates
- Learning check and individual check
- Tools for every stage, with QR codes
- Optional extras: interview, test, money, brand and marketing sheets, and large-print key words
Real UK founders
Founders pupils will meet
Real people who started with a simple idea, some while they were still at school. Every fact is checked against a published source, and the guide shows you how to invite a local entrepreneur too.
Lucie Macleod
Hair Syrup
Hair oils, first mixed in her student kitchen.
Pip Murray
Pip & Nut
Nut butters, first blitzed in her own kitchen.
Tessa Clarke & Saasha Celestial-One
Olio
An app where neighbours share spare food.
Kim Innes
Humble Crumble
Crumbles, from a market stall to bakeries.
Rob Law
Trunki
A children's suitcase they can ride on.
Ben Francis
Gymshark
Gym clothes, first made in his parents' garage.
Fraser Doherty
SuperJam
Jam from his gran's recipes, sweetened with fruit juice.
Nick D'Aloisio
Summly
An app that summed up news stories for your phone.
Cross-curricular
Curriculum links, life skills and tools
Curriculum links
- England: PSHE and citizenship (economic wellbeing, money), D&T (designing for a user), English spoken language, maths (costs, profit, break-even)
- Scotland: Developing the Young Workforce and the Career Education Standard
- Wales: Careers and Work-Related Experiences (CWRE)
- Northern Ireland: Learning for Life and Work
- Gatsby Benchmarks 4 and 5, with a business owner who talks with pupils about their work
Life skills it builds (Skills Builder)
Optional tools on a screen
The kit runs on paper. These free tools add a bit of magic on the big screen.
AI · Kit Add-on Studio
Add exactly what your group needs
A warm-up, a themed version, a stretch task or an adaptation for one child. Describe it and the studio writes it to fit the enterprise day, ready to print.
AI · Kit Add-on Studio
Ask for exactly what your group needs
A warm-up, an adaptation, a themed version or an extension. It's drafted inside the kit's rules: teams of 3-4, adults hold any money, the teacher runs any AI tool, low-ink printables, UK English.
Free account: 3 a day. Never include pupils' names.
What you'll get
- Where it fits in the kit, and how long it takes
- Timed steps with words to say
- What to gather, and a low-ink printable if it helps
- Ways to support and stretch, and what success looks like
Print it, or copy it straight into your plan.
More for ages 12-14
The same story, other lengths
Answers
Questions about this kit
No. In the Day, money is worked out on paper: a worked keyring business, then each team's own costs from a cost bank, a price and what each sale leaves. The Enterprise Week and the club add a real market.
Teams pair up and interview two members of the other team, five minutes each, then swap. Pupils can take notes or observe until they're ready to ask.
It's optional but it makes the day. A local business owner, a governor or the head can judge from about 14:45 with the score sheet. A business owner who talks with pupils about their work supports Gatsby Benchmark 5.
Core activities take 265 of the 310 minutes in the sessions, leaving time for moving around. Optional extensions such as the lunchtime test and the AI tech lab are only for teams who are ahead.
Pricing
Free taster, then £49 once for your setting
Start here
Free
Taster lesson, with a free account
- A complete one-hour lesson, not a cut-down sample
- Slides, a step-by-step guide and every printable
- Founder story cards and a problem hunt
- Exit tickets and a founder mission for every pupil
Educator licence
£49 once
Every teacher and leader in your school, club or group. No subscription.
- Every kit, in every format, for every age group as it's released
- Editable slides, word-for-word guides and every printable
- Unlimited Kit Add-on Studio
- Everything in the £29 plan too: every course, every tool with unlimited AI, the role models and all the resources
- Yours for good, with free updates
Get started
It's included in the £49 educator licence. Join the list and we'll email you the day the hub opens.
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