We are an elite incubator for high school students founding startups and non-profits
Young Founders Lab is a startup bootcamp for ambitious high school students. We help students build organizations that generate revenue and serve their communities.
Don’t just take our word for it
My experience with Young Founders Lab was truly invaluable. Throughout the month-long program, I gained a wealth of skills and had the privilege of meeting some incredible, like-minded people. I was paired with two teammates, and I loved every moment of working alongside them.
St Christopher's School, Bahrain
It was such an honor to be one of the students chosen for YFL. From speaking with successful entrepreneurs to collaborating with my bright, innovative team members on our own start-up, I’ve learned so much about the journey of entrepreneurship.
Hamden Hall Country Day School, United States
YFL was genuinely an amazing experience because it took us through the entire process of putting a startup together. We built an MVP as well as a pitch and were quite happy with the outcome. We as a team decided to take our program forward post YFL and received support from our mentor!
Jayshree Periwal International School, India
My YFL experience was incredibly enlightening. Being mentored by someone experienced in the field I want to go into and going through the whole process of creating a startup taught me so much about entrepreneurship and innovation.
Emerson High School
YFL has given me an incredible learning foundation in the world of entrepreneurship. The individual program is very unique in its design. My mentor was a Harvard Business School alum and the founder of many startups. The 1:1 format with a lot of flexibility in the schedule allowed me to balance the program with my AS-level academic schedule.
Vibgyor High School
YFL was an amazing experience. I learned so much about starting a business and even got to launch one by the end!
Naperville North High School
YFL was genuinely an amazing experience because it took us through the entire process of putting a startup together. We built an MVP as well as a pitch and were quite happy with the outcome. We as a team decided to take our program forward post YFL and received support from our mentor!
Jayshree Periwal International School, India
It was such an honor to be one of the students chosen for YFL. From speaking with successful entrepreneurs to collaborating with my bright, innovative team members on our own start-up, I’ve learned so much about the journey of entrepreneurship.
Hamden Hall Country Day School, United States
We run the world’s most successful high school programs
In The Numbers
We ran a survey of 340 alumni of our programs. We found that our alumni were 4x more likely to get into an Ivy League university or Stanford.
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Why become a founder in high school?
Mentorship from a world-class network of young founders and industry leaders
Kevin
Founder & CEO, Cambridge Uni
Google & McKinsey alum
Fintech Launch is focused on bridging the gap between fintech products for individuals in markets including the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Michael
Founder & CEO
HBS MBA & Microsoft alum
Billion Dollar Startup Ideas is one of the world’s largest generator and aggregator of unicorn-level start-up ideas, with a reach of over 850,000 people.
Luke
Founder & CEO
Harvard & YC alum
Recognized in Forbes, NYT, and the Harvard Education Review, Fair Opportunity Project sends free college application advice to 63,000 public educators and provides free 1:1 mentorship to hundreds of students.
Josh
ESG Consultant
Josh is a Yale and Wharton grad who has consulted with a variety of startups.
"Mentoring students through the Young Founders Lab program has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The students are brilliant and creative, and it's inspiring to see the ideas they come up with and their determination to make them a reality."
Aishani
Finance Professional
Columbia Business School MBA
Aishani, a CBS alum, has previously worked at BlackRock and Merrill Lynch, bringing extensive experience in finance, investment, and scaling fintech and education startups.
CC
Founder, Hydra
Harvard Business School MBA
"Mentoring through Young Founders Lab has been one of the most energizing parts of my year. These students aren’t just learning, they’re building with real curiosity and courage, and it’s inspiring to be a part of that."
Sapna
Ford Motor Company and Oxford alum
"My experience mentoring YFL students has been phenomenal. The students in this program are highly engaged, motivated, and creative individuals who want to develop their initial ideas into successful businesses. It's a pleasure to help future entrepreneurs learn business basics and see their ideas take off."
Team-Based Program
WORKING TOGETHER
Perfect for students looking to learn and innovate in a collaborative environment, the YFL Team-Based Program is a 100% online summer workshop for high school students focused on launching a business or non-profit organization. With 30 hours of live, interactive workshops, students collaborate in teams, gaining hands-on experience and expert guidance. In 2025, the program is offered in two sessions: June 9–29 or August 4–24, and costs $3,490.
Individual Program
PERSONALIZED MENTORSHIP
The YFL Individual Program offers high school students one-on-one mentorship to develop and launch their own venture – either a startup or non-profit – making it ideal for students seeking a tailored approach. Tuition for both programs is $3,990.
Startup Founders
With 12 hours of personalized coaching and a flexible start date, the Startup Founders Program pairs students with highly experienced mentors who guide you through each step of our curriculum, from early Problem Identification through the launch of a revenue-generating business.
Non-Profit Founders
For students looking to explore social or environmental impact, the YFL Non-Profit Founders Program guides students through a 3-month curriculum that looks at each stage of organizational development, from needs assessment to fundraising, culminating in the launch of a unique and thoughtfully designed non-profit venture.
Our application process
Building a start-up is hard. That’s why we only take the best.
Attend an info session
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Before you apply, please make sure you understand the program and its components. While this is optional, attending our info session is a great way to do this!
Fill out your application
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We want to know why you are interested in YFL and what makes you a good candidate. Make sure you allocate adequate time to filling up the application.
Complete your interview
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If you are shortlisted, we want to meet the person behind the application. You will have an interview with a senior member of our team to understand your motivation deeper. Just be yourself!
Receive an admission decision
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Based on your application as well as the interview, we will make a final decision within a week of the interview and update you via email.
Kick the program off
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If you decide to join the program, we will match you with one of our mentors based on your field of interest and sector of your startup. As soon as you confirm the match, the program begins.
Build your startup
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Get started on your journey of becoming an entrepreneur!
Begin your startup journey
Apply now