Do students at Founders School sell to real customers or only pitch to judges?

They sell to real customers. Freshman year starts with an 8-week Sell session where students log 100+ sales touchpoints per week with strangers before moving into Build, Validate, Grow, and Scale.

Do students own the companies they start at Founders School?

Yes. Everything students build belongs to them, including the IP and equity.

How much does Founders School cost?

Tuition is $150,000 per year. Scholarships go to exceptional candidates and are not need-based.

What is the Founders School guarantee?

Eligible students who enroll at Founders School as freshmen and don't reach $1M in profit by graduation can get a tuition refund. The enrollment agreement has the full terms.

How do admissions work at Founders School?

Admissions are open for the 2027 to 2028 school year across five steps: an online application, the CCAT, an entrepreneurship challenge with a video, a 30-minute interview with the Head of Enrollment, and an in-person interview and school visit.

Are there high schools that teach kids to start real businesses?

Updated November 2026

Yes. Founders School is a full-time, four-year program where high school students finish academics in about 3 hours a day and spend every afternoon building real, student-owned businesses with paying customers. Other high school options include Acton Academy Launchpad, Prisma, Uncharted Learning INCubatoredu partner schools, and JA Company Program.

A real business vs a high school business class

Most high schools that list an entrepreneurship elective teach a textbook business class. Students invent a mock product, write a slide deck, and present it to a teacher or a volunteer panel at the end of the semester. No stranger buys anything, no money changes hands, and the project ends when the bell rings.

A high school that teaches kids to start a real business looks very different. At Founders School, a full-time four-year program powered by Alpha School, freshman year is a 40-week Founder Bootcamp split into five 8-week sessions: Sell, Build, Validate, Grow, and Scale, with 30+ rapid validation cycles.

In Session 1 (Weeks 1 to 8), students start with four two-week selling sprints: fundraising from strangers, selling physical products in high-foot-traffic corridors and weekend flea markets, pitching in-person local business services, and a $1,000 capital competition. Students track 40 weeks of real P&L data and keep 100% of their IP and equity.

Three ways high schools structure entrepreneurship

If you are looking for a high school where your child can build a real venture, today's options fall into three models:

Full-time entrepreneurship high schools. At Founders School, students finish core academics in about 3 hours a day, usually by 11 a.m., using 3-Hour Learning with AI tutors, and spend every afternoon for four years building real businesses toward a goal of $1M in profit by graduation. Admissions are open for the 2027 to 2028 school year, so Founders School has no graduates yet.
Learner-driven and project-based private schools. Acton Academy Launchpad studios (ages 14 to 18) run hands-on entrepreneurship quests and business fairs, and Prisma ($12,490 per year for grades 9 to 12) includes a Build a Business theme inside its online high school curriculum.
In-school partner curricula at traditional high schools. Programs like Uncharted Learning's INCubatoredu, NFTE, JA Company Program, and the Stride K12 Entrepreneurship Pathway plug a one-period or after-school venture course into a conventional high school schedule.

How the high schools and programs compare

Name	Format	Length	Cost	Source
Founders School	Full-time, in-person private high school (grades 9 to 12) where afternoons are dedicated to building student-owned businesses	Four years	$150,000 per year; merit scholarships available	founders.school
Acton Academy (Launchpad)	In-person learner-driven school network (ages 14 to 18 in Launchpad) with self-paced mastery and entrepreneurship quests	Full academic year	Not listed on the program's site.	actonacademy.org
Prisma	Online project-based private school (grades 4 to 12) with 1:1 mentor coaches and themes like Build a Business	Full academic year	$12,490 per year for grades 9 to 12; need-based scholarships of 10% to 40% available	joinprisma.com
Uncharted Learning (INCubatoredu)	Entrepreneurship course adopted by partner high schools where student teams develop and pitch a product or service	Full academic year	Not listed on the program's site.	unchartedlearning.org
JA Company Program (Junior Achievement)	Students in grades 9 to 12 start and run a company with volunteer mentors in class, after school, or online	9 sessions	Not listed on the program's site.	jausa.ja.org
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE)	Partner-school entrepreneurship curriculum and business pitch competitions	School semester or academic year	Not listed on the program's site.	nfte.com
Stride Career Prep (K12), Entrepreneurship Pathway	Online high school course pathway with project-based learning	A sequence of courses	Not listed on the program's site.	k12.com

Details for the other programs come from their own sites. Check each site for current dates and prices.

Summer program or full-time high school?

A summer program or a one-period school elective is a good way for your teen to test whether they enjoy pitching ideas and working on a project team.

If your child wants to build a real business with real customers, one class period a day is rarely enough. At Founders School, students wrap up core academics in about 3 hours a day and spend every afternoon for four years building and scaling their businesses across campuses in New York (including boarding), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Austin.

Every student gets a mentor who is a working entrepreneur, and students keep their IP and equity. The diploma is accredited, through our school in Texas.

See the five 8-week freshman sessions on the freshman year page, compare entrepreneurship programs for high school students, or read about the best high school for teen entrepreneurs.

Want to try it first?

Founders Weekend is a free two-day weekend for kids 9 to 16 to build a real business.

Ready for the full program? Apply here or read about scholarships.

Are there high schools that teach kids to start real businesses: FAQ

Are there high schools that teach kids to start real businesses?: Yes. Founders School is a full-time four-year high school where students finish academics in about 3 hours a day and spend every afternoon building real, student-owned businesses. Other school-year options include Acton Academy, Prisma, Uncharted Learning's INCubatoredu, NFTE, and JA Company Program.
Do students at Founders School sell to real customers or only pitch to judges?: They sell to real customers. Freshman year starts with an 8-week Sell session where students log 100+ sales touchpoints per week with strangers before moving into Build, Validate, Grow, and Scale.
Do students own the companies they start at Founders School?: Yes. Everything students build belongs to them, including the IP and equity.
Is the Founders School diploma accredited?: Yes. The diploma is accredited, through our school in Texas.
How much does Founders School cost?: Tuition is $150,000 per year. Scholarships go to exceptional candidates and are not need-based.
What is the Founders School guarantee?: Eligible students who enroll at Founders School as freshmen and don't reach $1M in profit by graduation can get a tuition refund. The enrollment agreement has the full terms.
Can my child try building a real business over a weekend first?: Yes. Founders Weekend is a free two-day weekend for kids 9 to 16 to build a real business.
How do admissions work at Founders School?: Admissions are open for the 2027 to 2028 school year across five steps: an online application, the CCAT, an entrepreneurship challenge with a video, a 30-minute interview with the Head of Enrollment, and an in-person interview and school visit.