The Young Founders course

From the idea you keep having to your first paying customer.

A 12-week course for young people starting a business, one phase a week, at your own pace. You watch each short video, then run that activity on your own idea in the Workbook.

$297. Includes the Young Founders Kit, the Playbook and the printed Workbook you build in.

A digital course. You start the day you join.

Start the course

Young people sitting together, confident and at ease

Ten weeks in, here's what you'll have

an idea you've chosen on purpose, tested in conversations with real people
a written offer with a price, and the words to pitch it in ten seconds and in three minutes
a name, a one-line description and a simple website people can buy from
the numbers that matter written down, and a target for your first $2,000
your first sale, or a clear, specific reason to change the idea and the next step to take

The twelve phases

The same twelve in the course and in the Workbook, so the video and the page in front of you always match.

The real world is the best teacher. Score where you are, train your eye to spot problems worth solving, and write down your why.
Ideas that matter. Generate ideas, filter them, check them with real people, and commit to one in writing.
Offers that work. Turn the idea into an offer with a price, and pitch it in one line and in three minutes.
Brand design that stands out. Set what your brand promises, name it, and write the one line that says what you do.
Marketing that connects. Pick your channels, plan a one-page website, and set up a way to capture interest.
Make money on and with purpose. Set a price you can say out loud, and track the numbers that keep the business alive.
Build systems, not chaos. Turn a job you repeat into a simple system you can hand off.
Make it real, make it legal. Register properly and put the basic protections in place.
Momentum and growth. Audit what's working, add a second income stream, and plan one bold move.
The founder's mindset. Write a five-year picture of your week, build a reset routine, and set your goals.
The integrated founder. Rewrite the voice in your head, close the gaps, and hold ambition and rest together.
Graduation challenge. Re-score where you started, write your founder statement, and set your next thirty days.

How it works

Each phase opens with a short intro video, then a short walkthrough for every activity, so you watch how it's done and then do it yourself. Around 120 short videos across the twelve phases, plus a lesson PDF for every activity and four bonus guides: AI Is Your Co-Founder, Real Founders Making Impact, Show Your Work Online and Offline, and Digital Nomads. You do the activities in the printed Workbook, on your own idea.

The videos are short and made to watch right before each activity, and one phase a week is the natural pace. You can start any week and there's no group to keep pace with.

Access: digital, the day you join, kept for 12 months. The printed Workbook ships to you and is yours to keep.
Support: post your questions in the learner community and get them answered there.

Who it's for

Young people starting a first business, roughly 15 to 30, and the parents backing them. You don't need an idea yet. The first two phases are where you find one that fits you. You don't need any business experience either. You bring the idea and the hours, the course brings the order to work in.

For parents

What will my child actually do?Choose an idea, price it, put it in front of real customers, and fill in a printed Workbook as they go. They finish with a priced offer and their first sale or a clear next step.

Is it live teaching or self-paced?Self-paced. The lessons are filmed, so your child watches and works when it suits them.

Do they need a business idea first?No. Phases one and two are where they find one and check it with real people.

How much time does it take?The videos are short and each activity is a focused task. One phase a week is the natural pace, and it fits around school or work.

What do they need from me?Encouragement. You're welcome to work through it alongside them, though you don't need to.

How do they get in?Digital access the day you buy, kept for 12 months, and the Workbook ships to you.

Why it starts with the person

The first two phases are about the founder before the business, because a business copied from someone else's idea runs out of fuel by month three. There are no six-figure formulas here and no talk of a millionaire mindset. You start a real business, and as you build it, it builds you back.

Young people talking across the counter of a local shop

The Kit is included

The course comes with the Young Founders Kit. The Playbook holds the stories and the thinking. The Workbook is where you run every exercise on your own business. If you'd rather work through the books on your own without the filmed lessons, the Kit is sold by itself from $67.

Want it done with you?

When you'd rather not do it alone, the coaching group is twelve weeks with Charbel, two live calls a week, working your business alongside other founders. It's the step up from this course, and a second Kit of your choice is included.

Three young founders laughing together on a city street

See the coaching group

About Charbel

Charbel is a serial founder, a creative and an educator. He's been starting businesses since 1988, across hospitality, retail, technology, design and education, founded Academy Xi, grew it to a $22 million valuation and sold his stake for seven figures, and has coached 8,500 people. He built each of those businesses, and each one built him back.

If you can see a spark in your young person and you're not sure what to do with it, this is what he built for exactly that: real work that grows them while they do it.

Meet Charbel