From work placement to entrepreneur? It’s possible with this big idea competition for the leisure and travel industry…

The trouble with work placements and internships is that they often don’t lead anywhere – apart of course from the experience you gain at the time. However post-placement or intern opportunity and you may end up back looking for a job or another placement once again.

The trouble with becoming an entrepreneur is often that without that grounded commercial work experience in the business world gained by working for someone else, you may lack the basic business skills and knowledge to make a real good go of it. So, no matter how good your idea, there are a few important factors that can act as a barrier to that success.

So, here at TheEmployable, when we heard about the The Big Idea competition, a UK based travel / leisure themed competition headed up by entrepreneurs Ross Marshall and Andrew Harding from YourGolfTravel.com and its aim to match up a 6 month work placement with the chance to start your own company, we thought it best to tell all you employable and enterprising folk all about it…

The guys are basically looking for applicants to submit an application that details a leisure / travel business idea that they believe could be the next big thing in the leisure and travel industry. If you’re interested, you’ll have up to 1000 words to make your case, and if you’re selected for the finals, you’ll have to pitch, Dragons Den style in October to win the prize. Applications have to be entered by….

The prize being, a package of support and hard cash aimed at developing said winning idea into a commercial and viable business.

And this is where the placement come start a ‘business competition’, links together.

To begin with, you will gain a 6 month placement working in the offices of Ross and Andrew’s award winning Palatinate Group, gaining valuable experience and skills in a variety of departments. But this ain’t no low-to-no paid role, as the winner will also be put on a pro-rata £30k salary and gain hands on mentoring from the two chiefs, Ross and Andrew themselves.

A fab idea by all accounts! The great news is that you’ll also then get the chance (post all that valuable work experience) to put that experience to use and launch your own fab new leisure / travel themed business. Plus on top of this, the two guys are putting their money where their mouth is and adding a pot of £30k in to get your business idea up and running.

Of course like any competition, especially when there’s startup investment included, there are certain equity terms and conditions, so read up about the competition, the placement conditions, and all the T&C’s via this link here.

Good luck! Push the boat out and get your skates on if you want to avail of this exciting opportunity.