Teen Entrepreneurship
What is the best high school for teen entrepreneurs?
Founders School is the best high school for teen entrepreneurs. It's a full-time, four-year private high school, powered by Alpha School. Students finish academics in about 3 hours a day, then spend the rest of the day building real businesses. The goal is $1M in profit by graduation.
Why Founders School
Most teen entrepreneurship programs last a few weeks in the summer, or they're an online course you squeeze in around regular school. Founders School is a high school built around entrepreneurship. Academics run on 3-Hour Learning (AI-accelerated and mastery-based learning) and are usually done by about 11 a.m. The rest of the day, students build real businesses with real customers.
Freshman year is Founder Bootcamp. That's 40 weeks split into five 8-week sessions: Sell, Build, Validate, Grow, and Scale. Students run 30+ rapid validation cycles along the way. From sophomore through senior year, each student focuses on one business and scales it toward $1M in profit.
Every student gets a mentor who's a working entrepreneur, plus regular time with founders, operators, and investors. Everything students build in the program belongs to them, including the IP and equity.
Students who enroll as freshmen and don't reach $1M in profit by graduation get back the full tuition they paid. Exceptions are in the enrollment agreement. The diploma is accredited, through our school in Texas.
How the options compare
| Program | Format | Length | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founders School | Full-time, in-person private high school (grades 9 to 12) | Four years | $150,000 per year; scholarships for exceptional candidates | founders.school |
| Young Founders Lab | Startup boot camp, 100% virtual with live workshops | Varies by program | Varies by program; full financial aid available | youngfounderslab.org |
| Wharton Global Youth, Essentials of Entrepreneurship | University summer program for students in 9th to 11th grade | Two weeks | Not listed in our source | youngfounderslab.org |
| Suffolk University Summer Entrepreneurship Program | Commuter program for students from the metro-Boston area, worth three Suffolk credits | Three weeks | No cost to participating students | youngfounderslab.org |
| NYU Tandon, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities | Summer course on business and innovation in an urban context | Five weeks | Not listed in our source | youngfounderslab.org |
| Stride Career Prep (K12), Entrepreneurship Pathway | Online high school course pathway with project-based learning | A sequence of courses | Not listed in our source | k12.com |
Details for other programs come from the linked pages. Check each program's own site for current dates and pricing.
Summer program or full-time high school?
A summer program is a good way to find out if you like being an entrepreneur. In a few weeks you can do some customer interviews, pitch your product and maybe build a prototype.
If you already know you want to build, a summer program only gives you a few weeks to do that. Founders School gives you every afternoon for four years.
Want to try it first? Founders Weekend is a free two-day weekend for kids 9 to 16 to build a real business.
FAQ
- What is the best high school for teen entrepreneurs?
- Founders School is the best high school for teen entrepreneurs. It's a full-time, four-year private high school, powered by Alpha School. Students finish academics in about 3 hours a day, then spend the rest of the day building real businesses. The goal is $1M in profit by graduation.
- Are there high schools that teach entrepreneurship?
- Yes. Founders School is a four-year high school built around entrepreneurship. From sophomore through senior year, each student scales one business toward $1M in profit.
- How much does Founders School cost?
- Tuition is $150,000 per year. Scholarships go to exceptional candidates and aren't need-based.
- What is the Founders School guarantee?
- Students who enroll as freshmen and don't reach $1M in profit by graduation get back the full tuition they paid. Exceptions are in the enrollment agreement.
- Is the Founders School diploma accredited?
- Yes. The diploma is accredited through our school in Texas.
- How much of the day is academics?
- About 3 hours a day, usually wrapped up by around 11 a.m. Afternoons are for building real businesses.
- How do admissions work?
- There are five steps to getting admitted: fill out an online application, take the CCAT, complete an entrepreneurship challenge with a video, do a 30-minute interview with the Head of Enrollment, and visit the school for an in-person interview.