About Young Founders Lab
About Young Founders Lab
Young Founders Lab is a real-world start-up incubator, founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs, that helps ambitious students in Grades 8–12 build organizations that generate revenue and serve their communities.
Young Founders Lab is a virtual entrepreneurship program for students in Grades 8–12. Students have innovative ideas for solving problems, but they often lack the support to bring them to fruition — so YFL matches them with successful entrepreneurs for close mentorship, helping them build a revenue-generating company.
We created Young Founders Lab because there are very few opportunities for students in Grades 8–12 to learn entrepreneurship through execution. Traditional business competitions and case studies teach theory; YFL gives students the mentorship, structure, and accountability to actually build something — just like real founders do.
In a world where creativity and problem-solving are increasingly valuable, we believe high schoolers should have the chance to build meaningful ventures while still in school.
A bootcamp for ambitious students in Grades 8–12 to build revenue-generating startups.
We prioritise venture creation from the outset — for students who want to build and pitch a real startup or non-profit quickly.
One-to-one and small-team mentoring gives targeted, practical guidance as students develop ideas and refine their pitches.
Multiple pathways with rolling start dates — a 3-week daily Summer Group Program, a 12-week Individual Program, and a 10-week Pitch Competition Prep Program — all fully online.
The lab is entirely remote — a flexible option to build your startup at your own pace from anywhere in the world. You also gain access to mentors and investors across the globe, widening your reach and network.
Because YFL is highly selective, you'll connect with determined, goal-oriented students like you. That alumni network becomes invaluable when you're pursuing other opportunities and internships.
Find the pathway that fits how you want to build.
Explore programsWhere our founders and mentors come from
Funded by
Studied at
Worked at
Students learn directly from startup founders and operators with backgrounds across top universities and the world's leading companies.
Founder & CEO
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.
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.
Founder & CEO
Harvard & YC alum
Recognized in Forbes, NYT, and the Harvard Education Review, Fair Opportunity Project sends free college advice to 63,000 educators and 1:1 mentorship to hundreds of students.
Founder, Hydra
Harvard Business School MBA
CC Salzman is founder & CEO of Hydra Hydration. She built a background in brand management at Kraft Heinz, then earned her MBA at Harvard Business School, where Hydra first gained traction.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Start your founder journey with Young Founders Lab.