Project ECHO: National Teen Entrepreneurs' Business Plan Competition
The 22nd annual national business plan competition where middle and high school teams pitch original startups to judges for scholarships and awards, culminating in an in-person event at California State University, Dominguez Hills with more than 40 competing teams and a public livestream.
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Camp BizSmart: Innovate This!
An in-person weekend Maker's Lab competition on the Monterey Central Coast (with an optional Santa Clara University residential option) where teams of teens ages 13-18 assume C-level executive roles to design a water-filtration product for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and pitch it to investors for a cash prize.
NFTE West Region Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
The Bay Area/Northern California qualifying competition of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship's West Region, where students from NFTE's Entrepreneurship Essentials, Startup Tech, and BizCamp courses pitch student businesses for scholarships and seed capital, with winners advancing toward NFTE's national showcase; NFTE has served Bay Area students for over 25 years.
Northeastern University Oakland: Experiential Entrepreneurship
A two-week residential pre-college program on Northeastern University's Oakland campus where high school students form teams, learn business planning, product development, pitching, and negotiation from Bay Area mentors, visit local innovative businesses, and culminate in a pitch presentation to entrepreneurs.
UC Berkeley Business & Entrepreneurship Academy with NFTE
A two-week, in-person Summer Discovery academy at UC Berkeley for grades 9-12 taught by an NFTE-certified instructor, covering market research, the Lean Canvas, financial planning, and marketing strategy, culminating in a professional business pitch judged in a classroom showcase.
BUILD: Bay Area Entrepreneurship Program
A national nonprofit founded in 1999 in East Palo Alto and expanded to Oakland in 2004, integrating a multi-year, project-based entrepreneurship curriculum into Career Technical Education pathways at Bay Area high schools, serving over 1,500 California students annually.
High School Entrepreneurship Olympiad
A national two-round competition for teams of up to five high school students: a 30-question, 60-minute multiple-choice assessment followed by a startup-strategy case challenge judged on clarity and feasibility, with up to $5,000 in prizes awarded by percentile tier.