Light flickering out for a beacon of our prosperity

Take a moment to imagine a charitable institution whose vision is to contribute to the prosperity of Australia through the promotion, development and enhancement of business enterprise skills, capacities and understanding.

Imagine selflessly offering the brightest Aussie students the opportunity to start their own company, for free, from scratch, with no strings attached. Imagine thousands of students a year, in every state of Australia, learning how to start businesses that will drive this nation’s future.

Imagine a track record of amazing success; after graduating from the program, Scott Farquhar and his business partner Mike Cannon-Brookes founded Atlassian. The pair received the 2006 Ernst and Young Australian Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and today they have more than 15,600 satisfied customers from 138 countries around the world.

YAA is one of those things that you can only truly appreciate if you have experienced yourself. Last year I was given an opportunity to participate. I was elected Managing Director of a Young Achievement Australia Company, which was made up of 15 students from 3 Universities, who had travelled here to study from 6 different countries.

We created an educational resource to enrich the minds of young people by showcasing the stories and advice of Australia’s most successful business leaders and social entrepreneurs. Their companies had annual revenues in excess of $1.2 billion per year. They came from 3 different states of Australia, and had business operations in more than 115 countries around the world. From Boost Juice to Gloria Jeans, JustCuts to Wotif.com, and Imagination Entertainment to EcoWash, we featured entrepreneurs alongside philanthropists, and today’s corporate giants alongside the young start-ups who will become tomorrow’s success stories.

We sold shares to raise capital ourselves, we manufactured our own products, we formulated and executed a market entry strategy and a sales strategy based on our own financial models, and we liquidated our company to distribute profits to our shareholders.

Our company returned almost 1000% profit to our shareholders in just six months of operation (albeit with a small initial financial investment). We sold our intellectual property to an educational publishing company to ensure that our efforts will continue to educate students for years to come.

It was a remarkable first year of University for me, because I learnt far more from this program than from my tertiary studies. I developed leadership and interpersonal skills that will guide me for the rest of my life, and I built networks that continue to open doors to new opportunities today.

This example is just a microcosm of the YAA experience. Imagine scores of teams undertaking similar journeys every year, in every state. Envision what our country will lose in the future as a result of the collapse of YAA; economic and social growth, business and political leadership, and a priceless stockpile of knowledge and education. Ultimately, we will deprive our children of potential to better their own future.

At its annual NSW Awards Dinner last week, Young Achievement Australia CEO Pam Smith was still optimistic; she said that the fat lady had not yet sung. However, the immediacy of the moment cannot be overstated; with its offices closing down this week, the fat lady just put the microphone to her mouth.

Is there a saviour for YAA?

If a superhero does not answer this call, we must recognise that fault lies all around. YAA failed to raise the money it needed, business failed to donate it, government failed to grant it, and philanthropists failed to bestow it. The lack of our community’s foresight in this entrepreneurial age is astonishing.

Nonetheless, the debate over fault will soon become immaterial. What will no longer be debatable is that unless someone steps up, we will all need to grab a shovel to bury some of our prosperity as a community. Without Young Achievement Australia, the bright promise of our future will become slightly darker.