ENTREPRENEURIAL SUMMER CAMPS: A GREAT WAY TO SPEND SUMMER 2020
Summer workshops that combine hands-on entrepreneurial learning with loads of fun? Yes, please!
It’s never too early to plan for the summer break. If your girl still dreams of seeing herself on Shark Tank, then let her soak up everything she can learn from an entrepreneurial summer camp. It’s an immersive environment that helps young girl entrepreneurs practice leadership, develop critical thinking, hone negotiation skills, and see the value of relationship-building. Even if she doesn’t want to be an entrepreneur when she grows up, her time at this kind of camp will still pay off and make positive contributions to whatever she chooses to do. To help your girl get started on her summer plans, we’ve compiled a list of entrepreneurial summer camps from across the nation.
Active SPARK Business Academy Inc.
Recommended for ages 5-14; 3 Mid-Atlantic locations
Active SPARK Business Academy Inc. provides three options for campers between 5 and 14 years old. One of the camps, My First Lemonade Stand, teaches participants how to market and launch a lemonade stand for charity. Budding Entrepreneurs camp focuses on confidence-building, so campers ages 10-13 can deliver Shark Tank-worthy pitch presentations. The Future Millionaires Bootcamp is for preteens and high schoolers who want to get a head start on their future with SPARK Academy’s five levers of success: personal finance, investments, entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation.
Tuition ranges from $249 to $425, depending on the location. All three camps take place between June 22 and August 28. 10% off is available for a two-person registration.
Recommended for girls ages 10-15; 15+ locations across the United States
Alexa Cafe blends STEM, entrepreneurship, and social impact in a vibrant college-like setting. Campers are encouraged to explore their interests in tech and find opportunities to turn their big ideas into realities. They collaborate in teams and finish projects with the help of mentors from tech companies and universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Caltech, and New York University.
Tuition ranges between $579 and $949 per week depending on the add-ons (food and accommodation) and location.
Recommended for girls ages 6-12; locations in California, New York, and Washington D.C.
For one week, BizzyGirls campers are taught how to create and market a product line in the industry of their choice. Camp curriculum includes branding, advertising, e-commerce, sales, marketing, and even cost accounting.
At some sites, women business owners share their advice while they watch the campers pitch their products. At the end of the seven-day program, every camper sells their wares in a pop-up store where they can engage with customers. They’ll even have a chance to open their own online shop at BizzyGirls’ e-commerce site.
Tuition depends on location, and most sites offer discounts for siblings, multi-camp registrants, and returning students.
Recommended for ages 11-15 and 13-17; 2 locations in Northern California
What sets Camp BizSmart apart from other summer camps is its mentorship program. C-suite Silicon Valley executives act as mentors and guide teams of campers, between the ages of 11 and 15, on how to create a solid business plan. Teams have to present their proposals before a panel of venture capitalists and angel investors. Older campers between the ages of 13 and 17 can also join the fun through Camp BizSmart’s Accelerator workshop at Santa Clara University. Teams of young entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into reality and showcase their products in a trade show. The end goal of each team is to secure the highest investment from the trade show visitors.
Camp BizSmart at Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), San Mateo, runs from June 15-26 and costs $1,800. Camp BizSmart at Santa Clara University has two program dates, July 5-17 and July 19-31, with tuition-only ($2,480) and tuition-with-housing ($4,690) packages. Camp BizSmart Accelerator’s tuition-only option costs $2,540, while the bundle with housing costs $4,820. The program runs from July 19 to 31. Camp BizSmart offers scholarships that will cover 50-100% of the tuition, but room and board are still each camper’s responsibility.
Recommended for girls ages 10-13; numerous locations in N.C. and across the United States
Camp Girl Boss is a leadership and entrepreneurship camp for girls, ages 10 – 13, that is reinventing the way that young women are taught how to build a business. Combining social entrepreneurship, thought leadership, and digital marketing, the program is introducing girls to leading edge tactics for leveraging their ideas to change the world. Hosting camps in 100 communities across America, Camp Girl Boss is taking applications to host your own camp until April 15th at CampGirlBoss.com.
Fees vary by location. All camps take place between June 6 and August 14, depending on the location.
Recommended for girls ages 6-16; 8 locations in Virginia, 3 in Maryland, and 2 in Texas
SheEO Academy’s three summer camps, The Girl Boss, The Girl Entrepreneur, and Business Girl, empower young girlpreneurs to develop their 21st-century skills through entrepreneurship. The Girl Boss camp encourages girls as young as 6 years old to take action on their entrepreneurial dreams. The Girl Entrepreneur camp provides campers with a hands-on introduction to personal and business finance. The Business Girl camp is for 13 to 16-year-olds who want to become better leaders and flourish in their chosen entrepreneurial or business career.
Tuition starts at $315 per person, and fees vary by location. All three camps take place between June 22 and August 14, depending on the location.
Recommended for ages 8-17; 1-2 locations in Austin, Texas
The Start-up Kids Club’s Entrepreneur + 3D Printing Camp challenges Austin-based campers to think outside the box. The box, in this case, is a 3D printer, and the campers are encouraged to use its wide range of applications to create an original business or enhance existing ones. Campers will also acquire 3D design skills and take a deep dive into product innovation through collaboration and critical thinking.
Tuition is free!
Didn’t spot a camp that’s near you? Check your local community board or Girl Scout chapter for camp news and updates. And don’t forget to ask your girl for her input. She may already have an entrepreneurial summer camp in mind!
