Turning a Passion into a Business Idea

When Year 10 student Jackson joined our new Digital Start Up elective, he already had a passion for investing. What he didn't expect was that it would lead him to the national Just Start IT competition, where his business idea, Tickr, impressed a panel of experienced entrepreneurs and investors to claim second place.

Designed to make investing more accessible for young Australians, Tickr aims to build financial literacy by teaching students the fundamentals of investing through an engaging, education-focused platform. Jackson developed the concept as part of the Digital Start Up elective, where students learn how to identify real-world problems, build innovative solutions and pitch their ideas like entrepreneurs.

His polished presentation drew high praise from investor Mark Arena, who described Jackson's pitch as being better than 99% of the adult pitches he sees — an incredible achievement for a Year 10 student.

We caught up with Jackson to learn more about the inspiration behind Tickr, his experience pitching to industry leaders, and why he believes the Digital Start Up elective is one every aspiring entrepreneur should consider.

How the idea came about and the problem Tickr is trying to solve?
Well, I've been investing since I was 11 years old and have taught myself all different ways to trade since, my passion for trading (or investing) influenced me to make a product of this nature. The problem Tickr is solving is a lack of knowledge when it comes to investing in the stock market, housing in Australia has become an almost impossible goal, learning to invest while your young can compound to more than help you reach this goal. Current investment platforms in Australia only cover paper trading which is nothing special at all and is quite common, whereas Tickr is teaching investing - an actual need in our financial economy.

Your favourite part of building Tickr?
Just seeing it all come together, being able to navigate through the features in Tickr was satisfying to see how the features flow into one-another.

What was it like pitching your idea to a panel of judges and investors?
It was a very cool and valuable experience. I was excited rather than nerve racking. I was excited to hear their feedback and what they thought of my product as I am genuinely wanting to make something of Tickr and hence really wanted to hear what they said.

Mark Arena described your pitch as being better than 99% of the adult pitches he sees. What was going through your mind when you heard that?
Despite only smiling, I was ecstatic when I heard that, especially considering that out all the investors on the board he was the one I really wanted interested in my product.

How have you found the new Digital Start Up course and the Just Start IT program?
I am very happy to have the opportunity to partake in this program, it has provided great skills for me when forming and pitching a business plan but what I've learnt can also be applied to many other things I'd do through life.

What advice would you give to other students who are looking at doing the Year 10 Digital Start Up course?
I'd honestly say 10000% take the Digital Start Up elective! It's an awesome course and you learn so much.

My biggest tip would be to start working on your pitch as soon as you're introduced to the Lean Model Canvas. The earlier you start, the better. Make your presentation look as professional as possible—use AI tools like Claude to help create your PowerPoint, design a brochure and even build a prototype with wireframes. I'd also recommend getting your brochure professionally printed because it really stands out.

The investors love facts and figures, so make sure you do plenty of research and run a survey to get real data. You need a really strong problem statement, a story about a real user (making it a little emotional definitely helps), and a clear explanation of who your competitors are and why your product is different and better. Show that your product has been designed with your users in mind, explain exactly what it does, and clearly identify your target users. For Tickr, mine were students, teachers and parents.

You also need to think like you're running a real business. Include realistic start-up costs, explain where the money would be spent, outline your revenue streams, show how much you plan to charge and include projections of how much your business could make over time. I even included a table showing how long it would take to earn back my start-up costs.

Finally, before you finish your pitch, tell the investors exactly how they can help you—whether that's investing, introducing you to potential partners or mentoring you. If you've put in the work and thought through every part of your business, it really shows. That's what gives you the best chance of standing out.