Having your own startup in high school is an excellent way to demonstrate your passion for subjects that interest you. It signals to college admission officers that you are a proactive problem solver, and you have the ability to apply theoretical knowledge in practical situations!

However, knowing how to go about turning an idea into a revenue-generating startup is not easy and requires guidance from experienced mentors. Luckily, there are high school programs which address this confusion by offering a guided start-up experience. This blog covers one such program - the Young Founders Lab (YFL), a real-world start-up bootcamp for high school students. 

What is the Young Founders Lab?

The Young Founder’s Lab is a start-up bootcamp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.

Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions and more!

Who are some of the founder mentors you will work with?

A considerable advantage of this program is that you have the opportunity to work with already established entrepreneurs who have successfully raised millions of dollars in fundraising from Y-Combinator, Harvard Innovation Labs, and Stanford Accelerator. These founders provide mentorship to you as you launch your own start-up. The structure of the program is such that you have a group of founder mentors, and you work in a small group with other students to work on your own start-up idea. 

For example, you could work with Fintech Launch, led by Kevin Junker, an alumnus of Cambridge University, Google and McKinsey. Fintech Launch is a business accelerator that focuses on bridging the gap between financial products in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia.

Alternatively, you could opt to work with Billion Dollar Startup Ideas, which Micheal Bervell, a Harvard Business School and Microsoft alum, leads. Billion Dollar Startup Ideas is one of the world's largest aggregators of Unicron-level start-up ideas with a reach of over 850,000 people!

Who is eligible to participate in the Young Founders Lab?

The program is open to all students currently enrolled in high school! The program does have a selection process which involves an interview, though the website and brochure do not state how candidates are compared against each other after the interview stage.  Do note that while you can register individually, your final start-up will be in a group. 

Where is this program conducted?

This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops and work time from Monday to Friday (12-3 PM Eastern Time). 

What is the timeline and structure?

The 2024 edition of the program starts on June 5th and spans over 4-weeks.

There are 3 application deadlines that you can choose between:
Early Decision Deadline: March 17th, 2024

Regular Admission Deadline 1: April 14, 2024

Regular Admission Deadline 2: May 12th, 2023

You can access the application link here!

What is the format of the program?

The program is split into 3 phases

Phase 1 - In this phase you will cover the business fundamentals and gain more insight into the ideation process. 

Phase 2 - In this phase you will conduct market and user research to build a prototype. 

Phase 3 -  In this phase you will launch your start-up, gain traction and achieve your goal of producing a revenue-generating start-up in high school. The program culminates with a demo day where you can display your final startup to potential investors!

What is the cost to attend?

The total cost to attend the 4-week program is $2900. There is financial aid for those who demonstrate need. 

Pros and Cons of the Program:

Pros: 

1. The program is entirely remote

A considerable advantage of this program is that it is entirely remote, which is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a flexible option to work on your start-up at your own pace. It also gives you the opportunity to save on transportation and housing costs. In this way, YFL is a pretty solid option because it offers you many choices and does not require you to travel/relocate.

2. You will produce a tangible output

Unlike some summer schools, the outcome of YFL is a developed, revenue-producing start-up. This makes the outcome of the program more significant as you can also use it in the activities section of your Common App. Mentioning how you developed your own revenue-generating startup will differentiate you from other applications, demonstrating your passion and proactiveness for finding solutions to real-world challenges. 

3. You will have the opportunity to work with established entrepreneurs as mentors

Participating in this program is an excellent opportunity to network with leading experts in their respective fields. The host companies and managers are ex-Harvard, ex-Columbia and ex-Microsoft and have been featured in Forbes 30 under 30. Networking before high school is one aspect many students miss out on, and this can impact your journey to gain LORs, future work opportunities, and guidance for further research. 

4. You will have a guided experience with building a start-up. 

You may be confused about how to go about building an unstructured/independent start-up. The continuous guidance offered by the startup mentors, investors and founders at YFL can solve this, and this mentorship will allow you to maximize your potential and refine your project! 

5. You have access to a supportive student community.

As this program is highly selective, participating in it will allow you to interact and connect with determined and goal-oriented students like yourself. Having this supportive alumni network will be extremely helpful when looking for other opportunities and internships.

6. Financial aid is available 

This opportunity offers students need-based financial aid slots so your finances don’t have to be a hurdle when considering this program. However, do note that financial aid applications will be more competitive (around 2-3 times more). 

Cons: 

1. There is a program cost 

This is certainly a drawback. The program is structured to provide support for students in building their own start-ups (e.g., with interactive classes and mentorship). But that also comes with a cost attached.

2. If you’re in a particular time zone, it may be hard for you to attend classes

As the workshops are conducted from 12 - 3 pm ET (or 9 am - 12 pm PT), if you live in timezones with a significant time difference, you might be expected to attend late at night, or you might have to miss out on the interactive classes which is an integral part of the experience. 

3. The program is fast-paced and may not be long enough to build complex products

Since the program only lasts a few weeks, you will be expected to pick up on concepts and practices quickly, as opposed to a 3-4 month program paced much more slowly than YFL. You will need to ensure that you can reasonably match your expectations and manage your time to complete your start-up within the given time frame.

Our Review: Should You Apply?

YFL is definitely an option you should consider if you’re looking for a guided experience to build a start-up in high school. Moreover, a considerable advantage of this lab program is that the output of the program (your start-up) is a long-term project, which will set you apart from students who choose to do short term projects or programs.

Although the program is paid, you will be receiving guided mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs so we think the trade-off is worth it. An additional benefit is the opportunity to get an LOR from your start-up mentor, which might help boost your application!

Lastly, YFL is entirely virtual, so you can balance this opportunity with your other extracurriculars.

If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!