$20 Boss Awards.
The $20 Boss Awards are a fantastic way to celebrate the achievements of young people and showcase the brilliant business ideas they’ve created in $20 Boss. The awards bring together young people, teachers, parents, and supporters of young entrepreneurs.
Entry Categories
Have you got a business idea that could be a real success, could change the world, become the next big thing, or could make a difference to the lives of people around you?
Enter your team to have a shot at becoming the $20 Boss Enterprise of the Year and win up to $500 in seed funding and $250 for the highly commended team.
The junior category : Grades 5-7
The Senior category: Grades 8-12
We’re looking for schools that represent the very best of the values of $20 Boss, that succeed in supporting students to achieve their best, and that innovate, create and celebrate progress.
Enter your school for a chance to take out the Standout School Award and win a $5,000 programs membership for your school.
2024 Awards
Junior Enterprise of the Year
Embrace Diversity - Winner
St Joseph’s School, Murray Bridge, SA
Led by Serenity Woodley, this initiative raised awareness about racism and celebrated Aboriginal culture through beautifully crafted chopping boards. Their contribution of $1000 to the Murray Bridge Moorundi Aboriginal Health Centre demonstrates the power of using art to create change.
Little Bird Facepainting - Highly Commended
St Joseph’s Primary School, Laurieton, NSW
Daya Jones brought joy and creativity to local events with her face painting skills, emphasising how art can enhance community celebrations and create memorable experiences for everyone, she has contiued this business outside of $20 Boss.
Stand out School
St. Joseph’s Primary School Lauriton | NSW - Winner
At St. Joseph’s Primary School, Fiona Hayward’s Year 5 and 6 students have thrived in the $20 Boss program for two years. After the success of their first Market Day, the school implemented a voucher system to manage money safely, ensuring the students could focus on their businesses.
The students developed business plans, repaid their initial $20 investment with interest, and donated their profits to the Mini Vinnies Christmas Appeal. Several students have continued their businesses after Market Day, even selling products in local stores. St. Joseph’s also hosts its own $20 Boss Business Awards, recognising students for their achievements in entrepreneurship, teamwork, and creativity.
Senior Enterprise of the Year
Beach Safety Awareness Program - Winner
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Kensington, NSW
Ffyon’s initiative aimed at enhancing beach safety awareness among young children has reached over 300 students and has been recognised with an award for its excellence. Ffyon's commitment to community safety is truly commendable.
InPrint 3D - Highly Commended
St Mark’s Anglican Community School, WA
A special shoutout to InPrint 3D, our highly commended entry, for creating 3D-printed fidget toys that help neurodiverse students stay focused in class. Their innovation showcases the power of technology in supporting educational needs.
Hale School | WA - Highly Commended
At Hale School, Gaile Racey has been a leader in delivering a unique version of $20 Boss, blending entrepreneurship with social responsibility. “What sets our program apart is the dual focus on entrepreneurship and social responsibility,” Gaile explains. Hale students have not only created innovative businesses but also raised over $5,000 annually for Anglicare WA, surpassing $10,578 in profit this year.
One challenge was encouraging students to move beyond food-based businesses and think sustainably. With support from the school’s parent and business community, students developed sustainable products that addressed real market needs. Gaile shares, “The fusion of entrepreneurial passion and service learning has transformed our students into leaders with skills and big hearts to shape a brighter future.”
$20 Boss Enterprise of the Year Award (Junior and Senior) Prizes:
$20 Boss Enterprise of the Year Trophy, $500 Seed Investment and a virtual mentoring package from Young Change Agents (2 x 1 hour sessions)
$20 Boss Enterprise of the Year High Commendation Award (Junior and Senior) Prizes:
High Commendation Certificate, $250 Seed Investment and a virtual mentoring package from Young Change Agents (2 x 1 hour sessions)
$20 Boss Standout School Award
$20 Boss Standout School trophy, a framed $20 Boss Standout School certificate, and $5,000 programs membership package from Young Change Agents for your school.
All shortlisted finalists will receive:
Finalist Certificate and a virtual mentoring package from Young Change Agents (2 x 1-hour sessions)
All shortlisted finalists will receive feedback on their business from the panel of VIP judges.
Prizes
2022 $20 Boss Award winners:
Senior Enterprise of the Year Award
Rusty Recycle Art by Luke
Rust Reloaded creates one-of-a-kind, individual sculptures and objects for people's gardens, using rusty recycled materials that would have otherwise gone to landfill. Luke sources the discarded metal from friends, family, local farms, and properties in the Adelaide Hills.
Senior Enterprise of the Year Award: Highly Commended
Seabird Jewels by Ashleigh
Seabird Jewels, collects marine debris, including: sea glass, wire, rope, fishing line, drift wood, glass jars and bottles, from the beaches on Christmas Island and recycles the debris into unique gifts and jewellery using sea glass found on Christmas Island.
Junior Enterprise of the Year Award
Sliving Fruits by Lucia
Sliving Fruits is a small local business that dries and stores over-abundant seasonal fruits to prevent wastage and storage issues. By air drying and packaging excess fruits for snacks, beverages and other handmade products. Sliving Fruits have a long storage life due to the jars they sell the products in, and jars can also be returned for sterilizing and refilled at a discounted price.
Junior Enterprise of the Year Award: Highly Commended
Mega Sticks by Logan
Mega Sticks sells and creates handmade pens from naturally dropped tree branches. Logan collects, sands, drills and constructs the pens themselves. When the pens run out of ink, they can be replaced. The problem they're trying to solve is the use of disposable plastic pens.
Impact Award
Seabird Jewels by Ashleigh
All the way from Christmas Island, Seabird Jewels collects marine debris from local beaches such as sea glass, wire, rope, fishing line, driftwood, glass jars and bottles. The debris is then recycled, and made into unique gifts and jewellery and sold at local markets.
Marketing Hero Award
Aaliyah’s Authentic Aromas by Aaliyah
Aaliyah is passionate about using natural products that are non-toxic to both humans and the environment, so has created Essential Oil Roller Bottles and Essential Oil Spray. Aaliyah has worked with some industry professionals during the planning stage of her business and has used marketing to help grow it even further.
Standout School Award
Tennant Creek High School
Tennant Creek High School has had a very successful experience in adapting and delivering the $20 Boss program to its Year 7-9 students. As a school operating in a low-SES, majority Indigenous community in the remote NT, TCHS services many students who have never had any experience with entrepreneurship/business, and as such, the $20 Boss program allowed our students to have an entrepreneurial educational experience that they would never have otherwise had, whether at school or in their lives beyond school. Teachers adapted and differentiated the program extensively for our students to give them the best chance at having a successful entrepreneurial educational experience.
Standout School Award: Runner Up
Heathfield High School
Since 2020, Heathfield has offered $20 Boss as a flagship component of the school's Entrepreneurial Pathway for students in Year 8. The strength of $20 Boss and the alignment with their school vision, their entrepreneurial vision for students and their desire to support the local community have enabled them to create a pathway that has grown from 40 students in 2020 to over 230 students for the 2023 school year; all of whom will participate in $20 Boss before moving onto associated ventures, programs and experiences.