A 16-year-old Somersfield Academy student plans to use the $25,000 he won in a business pitch competition to solve one of his biggest challenges – no payment gateway.

Nico Bean won the youth category of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation’s Wave of Opportunity Pitch Competition. His business, Flow by Nico, sells specially designed mobile phone cases, notebooks and artwork.

“Moving forward I would like to create a Shopify website,” Nico said. “I have already found someone locally who can set one up for me.”

Right now, he has a website hosted by Wix, but can only take orders through it.

“That makes it difficult for international customers,” he said.

He does use the BEDC’s By Bermuda programme offering a free payment gateway and website to emerging businesses, but has not made many sales through it.

Payment is also an obstacle for him at vendor markets such as Harbour Nights.

“People will come to me asking if I take cards, but I have to tell them I only take cash,” he said. “Credit card machines are very expensive if you do not make a transaction every month. They charge a monthly fee.”

He started out selling artwork on social media when he was 12.

“I think my business has really grown,” he said.

Today, his products are stocked in four different retail locations on the island: The Stationery Store on Reid Street, P-Tech on Reid Street, Masterworks Museum of Art in the Botanical Gardens in Paget, and the Bermuda National Trust Gift Shop at Waterville in Paget.

When he entered the pitch competition in November, he was unsure what to expect.

“I didn’t know how many people I was up against or who my competitors were,” he said.

It took him three weeks to memorise his speech.

“I was almost shocked when they called my name as the winner,” he said.

He was even more surprised when the BEDC named him the most enterprising youth entrepreneur for 2024, a few days later.

“It was a very good week,” Nico said.

Most of his artwork is created through acrylic pour, a technique where paint is allowed to flow over a canvas to create an abstract piece of art.

Nico took part in the BEDC’s student entrepreneurship programme in the summer of 2023.

“That is where I met my BEDC mentors,” he said. “In the last year, they have assisted me so much. They helped me with getting my name and my products out there. I am so grateful to them.”

The most useful lesson the BEDC taught him was how to make a 60-second business pitch, and a five-minute pitch.

“I use the 60-second pitch on a weekly basis, when people are interested in my products, or want to know more about my business,” he said.

He would also like to buy a branded tent and tablecloth to raise his profile at Harbour Nights.

“I would also like to put out regular paid advertisements on social media, and create new products,” he said.

So far, his bestselling items are his notebooks.

“They do well at vendor markets,” Nico said. “My next bestseller is phone cases, but customers have to order one for their specific phone. It would be too expensive for me to keep in stock phone cases in every size.”

He has one more year in high school before going off to college.

“I want to study business,” he said. “If I do a dual degree I might study business and something like graphic design.”

The BEDC’s Wave of Opportunity Pitch Competition was sponsored by reinsurer Global Atlantic.