EINAR Dela Cruz and Simon Naval, both 15, and Lorenzo Alforque, 16, could be Australia’s next big entrepreneurs.

The students from Emmanuel College in Altona North have won Victoria University’s annual iPAB (I Plan a Business) contest.

Their business plan for ‘Your Sushi’, a sushi bar that allows customers to custom make their own sushi rolls, won first prize for best business plan by a Year 10 group.

The judges were impressed by the do-it-yourself idea as a unique selling point.

“I didn’t think we would win, there are some pretty smart people out there,” Einar said.

iPAB was developed by VU’s Faculty of Business and Law as an incentive for secondary students from Melbourne’s west to practice business planning skills and demonstrate their entrepreneurial capacity.

Student John Dawson also won first prize for best business plan by an individual in Year 10.

John’s plan involved a product called ‘Hide-n-Dry’, a multi-purpose towel with a hidden waterproof pocket.

Professor John Breen, Faculty of Business and Law at Victoria University, chaired the judging panel, which included academic staff from across VU and local business representatives.

“The Faculty of Business and Law has been encouraged by the number of schools and students who have entered the competition over the two years it has run and we see great promise for the competition in the future,” Professor Breen said.

“Each of the plans was looked at on its merits. Some had more marketing detail, some more financial, some more product design. The one that was the best overall was named as winner.”

The group of Year 10 students share $500, each deciding to save their share.