It is the mission of LaunchX, a Michigan-based company offering student entrepreneurship programmes, to both inspire and empower the next generation of high school students, affording them the skills, attitude, and confidence that they need to become leaders in the dynamic and ever-changing world in which we find ourselves today. Named as having the Best Student Education Programme 2024, LaunchX thoughtfully combines immersive and hands-on experiences with mentorship from unbridled experts in the field, creating a unique culture of creativity and critical thinking in the process.
Today’s business landscape can seem incredibly daunting for the younger generation, which has to both deal with competition on a scale never before seen and stay one step ahead of a corporate landscape that is evolving faster than at any point in history. The result is that young people can feel overwhelmed and frustrated, unsure of where to turn in this versatile international job market. Enter LaunchX, a company determined to alter the fortunes of the next generation of budding entrepreneurs through its comprehensive, inclusive, and supportive high school summer programmes and student business programmes.
Founded by Laurie Stach back in 2012, LaunchX held its inaugural summer programme the following year, this under the name of the ‘Launch Summer Program’, at the world-renowned MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The subsequent 12 years saw this enterprise go from strength to strength, and it had soon expanded to additional universities across the US within only a few years of launch. Another significant milestone was hit last year, when the company offered four programmes throughout the summer, its largest amount yet.
Despite this significant growth, LaunchX remains as dedicated to achieving its ultimate goal – “to equip the next generation of leaders with the tools they need to turn their ideas into impactful, sustainable ventures that contribute positively to their communities and beyond” – as it did at the very beginning. It should come as no surprise then that LaunchX crafts an environment where young entrepreneurs are given a platform to explore their passions, as well as to develop practical business skills and build lasting industry connections.
Guiding the company in this noble venture is a set of core values that are rigorously adhered to, with these spanning the likes of empowerment and growth, innovation and creativity, integrity and ethics, as well as excellence and quality. From ensuring personal and professional development to seeing students embracing the new ideas that they will need to succeed further on down the line, LaunchX’s values are the foundation on which its subsequent successes have been built over the last decade and counting.
Besides its textbook company values, LaunchX is further distinguished through its unique curriculum, one that is proud to be entirely independent and not linked to any one university. A curriculum such as this ensures that all of the enrolled students gain access to the best and most current theory and practical elements concerning entrepreneurship. This all starts with basic business theory, so even those students not acute with the ins and outs of this sphere can benefit immeasurably from the sessions of these encompassing high school business programmes.
More than simply teachingbusiness knowledge, LaunchX is unique in the sense that it allows its students to implement said knowledge through first-hand experiences. For example, they are provided with the opportunity to either start their own business (for real) or consult with an existing business, going well beyond the basic business plans and hypothetical business solutions that other courses of this nature usually deliver. Impressively, things do not end here, and students gain unique access to the knowledge and experience of the wealth of mentors, speakers, and panellists that the company attracts every year.
“Our students really do start businesses, make sales, and grow in their skillsets. Furthermore, they often take these skills beyond their start-ups, becoming incredibly successful both as students and employees.”
As one can clearly see, implementation is the name of the game here – a process that is delivered from the company’s dedicated full-time staff right down to its students. It is ultimately the bias towards dedication and innovation present throughout the company that is allowing it to continually redefine what young entrepreneurship looks like, something which is on display right across its suite of ever-growing annual entrepreneurship summer programmes for students.
Every year since the pandemic – a period which saw LaunchX forced to move its operation online, something it was able to do incredibly effectively given that it experienced a record number of applications and student reviews – the primary focus for this team has been how to expand into a challenging global market. As a company representative explains, “we have looked for new ways to offer our programmes, such as moving our consulting programme to an online format to reach more students around the world.”
These international expansion efforts are really beginning to pay off, and LaunchX is incredibly to excited to share with our readers that it is set to test out a new programme later this year in both Singapore and the wider ASEAN region. An online offering, this international entrepreneurship training course will see unique experiences provided to students whose breaks in the school year differ from those standard in the US, meaning that the company will be able to secure a range of new and exciting talent from all over the world, solidifying the future of global entrepreneurship in the process.
LaunchX already boasts such alumni as Aadit Palicha, who was responsible for founding global unicorn Zepto, as well as Panashe Madzudzo, a talented individual doing their part in reshaping the field of health, as seen in their inclusion in the first Google for start-ups accelerator: AI First. What these two examples show, as well as the countless others that have followed a similar trajectory, is that high school students are incredibly capable of pioneering change, all they need are entreprensurship and consulting activities like those offered by LaunchX.
“This was a great opportunity and one of my best experiences. I got to make life-long friends, who I wish to continue my entrepreneurship journey with after LaunchX. I would love to also help others prosper as young entrepreneurs!”
Afitab Iyigun (LaunchX student)
When it comes to high school summer programmes, LaunchX’s business and entrepreneurial solutions for students position it as a frontrunner in this space, and a company more than deserving of being recognised as operating the Best Student Education Programme 2024. As the company begins to look ahead to next summer, in which it is planning to run a low-cost entrepreneurial bootcamp for those not quite ready to attend the full entrepreneurship programme, we wish it all the best, and invite interested parties to find out more using the link below.
For business enquiries, contact Thomas Clapper and Forest Ritcher from LaunchX from – https://www.launchx.com/
