The Wykehamist
Meanwhile, Adam Smith( Wealth of Nations, 1776) asserted that entrepreneurs serve as intermediaries who fuel the division of labour, while Jean-Baptiste Say later argued that they are uniquely capable of coordinating resources to meet market demands. But it was Joseph Schumpeter who truly captures the Wykehamist sentiment, distinguishing entrepreneur from capitalist with his 20 th-century term Unternehmergeist( entrepreneur-spirit). Schumpeter believed a healthy economy requires dynamic disequilibrium— the constant kicking over of the apple cart to build a better one. This driving force of innovation is exactly what Wykeham started.
Winchester’ s rich history provides for a vast catalogue of esteemed entrepreneurs. Splendidly, the list provides some very Wykehamical variety. One fellow, for example, noticed that the only way to get from A to B was at a speed that would make a bullet feel sluggish, while another pair of old friends determined that the modern human could not possibly function without a sturdy breakfast.
Richard Noble’ s( E, 59-64) pursuit of the Land Speed Record with ThrustSSC was a massive entrepreneurial undertaking, involving ground-breaking engineering and the kind of risk that would make Cantillon’ s hair stand on end. Meanwhile, founders of FUEL10K( Barney Mauleverer( I, 88-91) and Alex Matheson( C, 87-92)) identified a gap in the market for high-protein granola, to meet a modern demand. Whether you are breaking the sound barrier or reinventing the morning meal, the Wykehamical spirit doth prove central to success.
The Next Generation: Alchemists, Algorithms, and Activists Fast forward to the present day, and this spirit is still thriving at Winchester College. Having established an entrepreneurial hub in Makyth Ventures( MV), our annual pitch competition, MV Ignite, this year features businesses built on the principles of the circular economy and has featured nine weeks of head-to-head competition between 24 teams from the College and other local schools. The four teams of Wykehamist entrepreneurs in the final are proving that the ability to innovate and coordinate economic resources( as Say put it), is very much a 21st-century Wykehamist trait too.
If you wish to see Unternehmergeist in its purest form, you need only turn to the most recent crop of Wykehamists treating the world like their own personal laboratory. Entries into the Harvard-run Earth Prize have received a Scholars Distinction( BioBox, 2024) and even become global runners up( Bactoplastics, 2023), while Tony Jiang( K, 21-) this year designed, built and coded an Arduino word clock from scratch— a feat of technical wizardry based on the QLOCKTWO EARTH 45. Conrad Bowyer( K, 23-), meanwhile, has been developing a web-based image identification system that has true commercial potential. Tom Jiang( X, 25-) has been tweaking Anki’ s open-source algorithms to optimize spaced repetition tools specifically for Winchester’ s unique academic context; serial entrepreneur Rocket Boon-Long( C, 24-) has set up a charity, EcoVentures, in his home country of Thailand to promote sustainability and youth empowerment, with initiatives including low-carbon rice and rooftop farming. With the school’ s contemporary societies( Catalyst Soc; IDEAS Soc), competitions( Ingenuity Challenge; MV Ignite) and the introduction of electronics and robotics, this legacy is sure to continue.
The modern scholar also has one more ace up his sleeve: Wykeham Links. This Careers and Mentoring platform allows Wykehamists past and present to connect with those possessing experience and expertise in their field— another way of ensuring the integrated system William of Wykeham dreamed of remains a living reality.
To Undertake is to Flourish The word entrepreneur is pinched from the French‘ entreprendre’— to undertake. It fits Winchester like a well-tailored pair of spats. To undertake a task is to commit oneself to it with heart, soul, and a dash of panache.
It is the embodiment of Wykeham’ s meritocratic dream. His motto, which we all know so well, Manners Makyth Man, reminds us that value is defined by actions and character. Whether you are a 14th-century Bishop building a college to save a kingdom, an OW breaking the sound barrier, or a current pupil pioneering low-carbon rice production in Thailand, the spirit remains: the Wykehamist is one who sees a gap in the world and has the Unternehmergeist to step into it.
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