Dragons' Den at Macfarlanes!
23 August 2013
In August, one of the leading UK law firms and London Youth's partner Macfarlanes hosted one of the most exciting events of The Challenge summer calendar – Dragons' Den!
The Challenge Dragons' Den event is a culmination of all the hard work the young people have put in to designing a range of social action campaigns for their local community. Exciting as it sounds, the Dragons' Den is a tasking experience for the group of 60 young people involved. Not only do the five teams pitch for up to £80 funding to cover the costs of their projects, they do this in front of their peers and a panel of tough Dragons whose job it is to challenge their ideas and spot flaws in their business plans.
The invitation to bring The Challenge young people and staff to the Macfarlanes LLP offices was an incredible opportunity as no previous Dragons' Den event has been hosted by a corporate partner. It was a generous gesture which made a huge impact on the journeys of the 54 young people who turned up suited booted and ready to face the Dragons on the day.
It was a brilliant day and afterwards this is what some young people had to say:
“It was really scary to begin with but once it was over it felt liberating.“ – Challenger (Aged 16)
“Going to MacFarlane’s was great. It made the day feel really professional and it felt like the real thing. Thank you so much for the day I really enjoyed myself and the food was great!” – Challenger (Aged 16)
“I didn't expect their offices to be so nice. I have never been to anywhere like this and it was great!” – Challenger (Aged 16)
Everyone loved the experience:
“Our young people felt very special, thanks to the decorations, the Dragons' Den theme lunch menu, friendly and extremely helpful staff! There was no doubt that the young people felt the effort was made especially for them. The event was a great success with the young people, who were so engaged they were still talking about it on the coach journey back. “ – Sandra (The Challenge APM) London Youth
“The panel took their job very seriously challenging teams for up to 20mins at a time! They might not know this yet but they will soon realise that being grilled by Macfarlane's Jeremy is nothing in comparison to your first job interview. The atmosphere, Macfarlanes staff and Dragons made a significant contribution to their experience on The Challenge. London Youth & The Challenge says THANK YOU!” – Genevieve (The Challenge PM) London Youth
