Teen Business Builders Camp

MQ Business Builders Camp Application Form

🚀 A 3-Day Startup Accelerator for High School Founders
📅 1–3 October 2025 | Macquarie University Campus, North Ryde
🎓 For Years 9–11 students with a business idea ready to grow
💲 Cost: $350 ex. GST
🙌Recognition: Macquarie University Microcredential Certificate and Badge for your resume!

Apply now to secure your place in this exciting, hands-on startup accelerator for high school founders.

Interested students should apply here with their parent/guardian.
If selected, the team will be in contact with payment details and permission notes.

Have an idea that could be the next big thing? Whether it’s a product, app, service, or social impact initiative, the MQBS Business Builders Camp will give you the tools, mentorship, and confidence to turn it into something real.

This 3-day, non-residential holiday camp is a mini accelerator program tailored for high school students who already have a business idea and want to test, validate, and build it with expert support. Co-designed and delivered by the Macquarie Business School and MQ Incubator, it’s a unique opportunity to experience real-world entrepreneurship in a fast-paced, highly practical environment.

🔧 What You’ll Learn:

Over three days, you’ll work closely with startup coaches and real founders to:

• Discover how to validate your idea through customer interviews and feedback loops

• Learn Lean Startup principles and build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

• Get hands-on with prototyping, business model design, and pitch development

• Gain insight into real-world startup journeys and what it takes to succeed

• Pitch your idea in front of judges, parents, and invited guests at a closing showcase event

🙌 Who It’s For:

• Students in Years 9–11

• You must have an idea you’re already working on, even if it’s rough!

• You’re curious, motivated, and ready to learn, build and grow

💡 The Experience: What Each Day Looks Like

Day 1 – Validate Your Vision & Chart Your Course

Start strong by digging deep into your idea. What problem are you solving? Who really needs this? You'll learn how to validate your assumptions through practical tools like the Business Model Canvas, customer interviews, and hands-on workshops with MQ Business School academics. You'll hear from real founders and join a panel discussion on what makes a startup succeed or pivot.

Day 2 – Build, Test & Iterate

Now it’s time to make it real. You'll design a prototype, learn how to test it quickly, and get feedback from peers, mentors and simulated users. Whether it’s a physical product, digital idea, or service, we’ll show you how to test early and test often. You’ll also explore how to make your idea sustainable – both financially and ethically – through sessions on revenue models and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles.

Day 3 – Pitch to Launch & Beyond

Bring it all together! You’ll refine your pitch with support from facilitators and mentors, then present your idea at a live pitch event in front of judges, parents, and the MQ community. You’ll walk away with a clearer direction, a stronger idea, and the confidence to take the next step beyond the camp.

🌱 What You’ll Leave With:

• A stronger, more validated business idea

• A business model canvas

• A prototype or detailed concept ready to test

• A pitch you can take into the real world

• Feedback and support from experienced mentors

• New friends, new skills, and a clearer vision for your venture

Whether you're working on a tech solution, a handmade product, or a community-changing service, the Business Builders Camp will give you the skills and mindset to take your idea to the next level.

🧠 Spots are limited. Apply now to secure your place in this exciting, hands-on startup accelerator for high school founders.