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Nov 23, 2018

Timaru singer-songwriter Caitlin Bradley in tune with enterprise scheme

Timaru singer-songwriter and student Caitlin​ Bradley's music continues to soar, this time taking her to a national final.



Caitlin is the Young Enterprise Scheme's (YES) South Canterbury regional winner and will head to Wellington for the national finals on December 6.

She won through with her EP for cancer, Call It Hope, which was released on Daffodil Day 2018. A collection of five tracks, the EP also has an accompanying booklet detailing people's stories of cancer, including her own personal connection, with her grandmother passing away from the disease in March.

Caitlin said hearing her name called as the South Canterbury winner "was just euphoria".

YES is a nationwide competition where high school students, either individually or in a team, create their own business concept, and then develop, market, and pitch it to a panel of judges throughout the different stages of the competition. Caitlin's final pitch will be on the day of the gala evening at 10.20am. 

She will focus on showcasing her understanding of how musicians are entrepreneurs, which is one of the key things she has learned from being in the competition.

"It sets me apart - you can't just hand over the business, or sell the business. You are the business."

Caitlin knows some of the opposition with one team coming up with dissolvable apple stickers while and another can add electric power to bicycles..

Sustainability is a main competition factor and while her project is not "the most environmentally sustainable", Caitlin had kept the social sustainability idea in mind.

"It's giving people a source where they can find their own inspiration.

"Cancer is such a widespread thing - everyone has a connection, everyone has a story."

Call It Hope had also reached a wide target base, with it available from various locations in Timaru, and now online and via streaming, including Apple Music and Spotify​.

Feedback had been positive, and Caitlin​ said many people had come up and told her their stories after hearing her EP.

"It's quite a weird experience having people sing my songs back to me."

Along with being the regional winner, Caitlin was also delighted to receive the Excellence in Marketing award.

"It was cool. Marketing is such a massive part of my project - even having the celebrities on board helped."

Learning how to do marketing, along with accounting, were some of the things being involved in YES had taught her, and was an experience that she is very grateful for.

"I don't think I would've​ had this opportunity to create this project, and push it as far I have, without the YES scheme."

While winning the competition, and the resulting exposure, would be "a dream come true", just being involved and getting to this stage had been "incredible", she said.