An idea nobody hears about is not a business.
It's a secret.
Your child has the mindset. They have built the thing. Now they have to stand up and convince someone it matters — and that is the moment everything they have learned becomes real.
A twelve-year-old, standing up,
defending an idea that is theirs.
Every parent who has watched this describes the same thing: the nerves before, the shaky first sentence, and then somewhere around the thirty-second mark — the moment their child realises they know what they are talking about.
That realisation does not fade when they sit down. It becomes part of how they see themselves.
This is why the pitch sits at the end of the programme and not the beginning.
Six things a child has to master before they can pitch
The pitch looks like a performance. It is really a test of whether the thinking underneath is sound.
Say it in one sentence
What the business does and who it is for, in a single line. If they cannot do this, the idea is not finished — and they discover that themselves rather than being told.
Lead with the problem
Nobody cares about a product until they understand the problem it solves. Children instinctively start with their solution. Learning to start with the problem changes how they argue about everything.
Show that the numbers work
What it costs, what it sells for, what is left. A pitch with no numbers is a wish — and this is where the Business Model Canvas they built earlier finally proves its worth.
Explain why it is theirs to build
What do they know, care about or have access to that makes them the right person? Genuinely difficult at thirteen, and one of the most valuable questions they will ever be asked.
Handle the hard question
“Why would anyone choose you over what already exists?” They will be asked this. Learning to answer without falling apart is the skill that transfers furthest.
Say what happens next
A pitch ends with an ask. What do they want from the person listening — a partner, feedback, permission, support? Ending clearly is a skill most adults still fumble.
They learn how the money world actually works
In the final cycle, before they present anything, your child studies what happens on the other side of the table.
Angel investors and venture capital
Who funds new businesses, why they do it, and what they are actually looking for when someone pitches to them.
How real startups grew
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok — studied as case studies. How each began, what problem they solved, and how they scaled.
Financial resources
Where money for a business comes from, what it costs to take it, and why some founders keep control and others lose it.
Managing people and customers
Human resource management and customer service — because a business is mostly people, not products.
Values and business ethics
What you will and will not do to grow. Taught before the ambition arrives, not after.
Aristotle's First Principles
The reasoning method behind Tesla, Netflix and Apple — applied directly to their own business before they pitch it.
Once a year, they pitch for real — in front of an audience
In partner schools, the year ends with a Hackathon: students present the businesses they have built and compete. Some schools open it to students from other schools, turning it into a genuine competition.
This is the event parents film on their phones and still have five years later.
A real audience
Classmates, teachers, sometimes parents and students from other schools. Not a webcam. People, in a room, listening.
Real questions
They are asked things they did not prepare for — and have to answer on their feet. That is the entire point.
Real stakes
Competition, recognition, and a result. Children prepare differently when something is actually being judged.
For students in partner schools, the story continues
Two further cycles take the business your child built and push it into the real commercial world. Available only through schools.
E-Commerce
Taking a business online and selling to a market that does not care how old you are.
- Building and running an online store
- Marketplaces — Amazon, eBay, Etsy
- Branding and unique selling propositions
- Digital marketing and email campaigns
- Orders, shipping and customer service
- Staying safe online and spotting scams
- Scaling up and building loyalty
Green Entrepreneurship
Building a business that works for a planet under pressure — without pretending.
- Identifying real environmental problems
- The triple bottom line: environmental, social, economic
- Developing and testing green business ideas
- Building a green brand without greenwashing
- Sustainable operating practices
- Marketing products responsibly
- Measuring genuine environmental impact
These two cycles cannot be bought for home study at any price. They need group work and teacher facilitation. If your child wants to go this far, show their school the programme →
They will forget the business. They will not forget standing up.
In ten years your child probably will not remember what they priced their product at, or exactly what went in the marketing section of the plan. They will remember being nervous, doing it anyway, and finding out they could.
That memory shows up at a job interview. In a university seminar. The first time a manager asks them to present to a room. Confidence built from evidence does not wear off — because they have proof.
Six things the pitch teaches that have nothing to do with business
This is the part that follows them into every room they ever walk into.
Saying more with less
A pitch has a time limit. Learning to cut everything that is not essential is a skill most adults never acquire.
Performing while nervous
The nerves never disappear. What changes is knowing you can function anyway — and that only comes from having done it.
Answering what you were not asked to prepare
Thinking clearly under an unexpected question is the difference between knowing something and having memorised it.
Reading a room
Noticing when people are lost, bored or interested — and adjusting. Children pick this up remarkably quickly once they are on their feet.
Defending without being defensive
Someone questions their idea and they learn to answer the point instead of protecting their ego. That is a lifelong advantage.
Finishing in public
Anyone can start something privately. Completing it and putting it in front of other people is a different act entirely.
The Founder Sprint — the whole journey in one week
You do not have to commit to three years to find out whether this is right for your child. The Founder Sprint compresses the entire arc into seven days — mindset, building, and their first recorded pitch.
- Your child builds their founder profile — who they are, what they stand for
- They make their first connections in a global network of young entrepreneurs
- They sketch a real business idea with Andrew guiding them
- They record their first pitch — and earn their Founder Badge
7 days · No credit card required · Or see the full programme and pricing
What parents ask about the pitch
Answered directly.
The pitch is part of completing the programme, but it is built up to over three years rather than sprung on them. At home the first pitches are recorded privately, not performed live. By the time a child reaches this point they have already built the business, written the plan and know the material better than anyone in the room. Nervous children usually surprise themselves — and their parents describe it as the biggest change they have seen.
At home, the pitch is recorded and submitted through the platform — there is no live audience unless you arrange one. In schools it is usually delivered to the class, and at the annual Hackathon to a wider audience which can include students from other partner schools.
No, and we would be misleading you to suggest otherwise. Students learn how angel investors and venture capital work, and they pitch as if to an investor — but this is an educational exercise. No money is raised, invested or transacted anywhere in the programme.
An end-of-year event run by partner schools where students present the businesses they have built and compete. The school sets the format, decides whether to open it to other schools, and can charge an entry fee if they wish. It is not available to home learners, since it requires a school to organise it.
Only through a partner school. Cycles 4 and 5 — E-Commerce and Green Entrepreneurship — require group work and teacher facilitation, so they cannot be delivered at home. If your child wants to go further, speak to their school. We offer schools a free 30-day pilot to try the programme.
A free seven-day introduction that takes your child through a compressed version of the whole journey — building their founder profile, making their first network connections, sketching a business idea with Andrew, and recording their first pitch to earn a Founder Badge. No credit card required, and no obligation to continue afterwards.
Yes. The Certificate in Entrepreneurial Skills is issued on completing the full programme, and the pitch is one of the four requirements alongside completing every cycle, building the business and writing the plan. See the certificate →
One day they will need to convince a room. Let the first time be at twelve.
Not in an interview that matters. Not in front of people who can say no to something they need. Let them learn it now, while the stakes are exactly right — which is to say, real enough to matter and safe enough to fail.
Free for 7 days · No credit card · GDPR & COPPA compliant · Or ask us a question first
Step one The founder mindset →
Step two Create your startup →
What they earn at the end See the certificate →
Want Cycles 4 and 5? Show your school the programme →
