Schoolyard Ventures
Schoolyard Ventures is a private US-based education company that delivers selective, college-level entrepreneurship programs to ambitious high school students through partnerships with top universities, combining rigorous curriculum with mentorship from successful entrepreneurs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- Headquarters—
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Schoolyard Ventures does
Schoolyard Ventures is a private, US-based education company that delivers college-level entrepreneurship programs to ambitious high school students (ages 13-19) through partnerships with top universities. The company's single core offering is a selective, non-open-enrollment program that combines rigorous curriculum, real-world problem-solving frameworks, and mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, aiming to help students launch ventures or contribute to existing organizations. There is no proprietary technology underlying the product; the value proposition is built on curriculum quality, mentor access, and a curated peer community. Revenue is generated through program fees from a selective admissions process targeting individual teen consumers and their families, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company has 11-50 employees, is led by founder Rich Sedmak, and shows no disclosed funding rounds, institutional investors, parent company, or financial performance metrics in the available source material. Note: there is a discrepancy in founding year—firmographics state 2009 while another source cites approximately 2019 based on image timestamps—which remains unresolved in the public data.
Schoolyard Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Schoolyard Ventures
- Legal name
- Schoolyard Ventures
- Website
- https://schoolyardventures.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Schoolyard Ventures is a private US-based education company that delivers selective, college-level entrepreneurship programs to ambitious high school students through partnerships with top universities, combining rigorous curriculum with mentorship from successful entrepreneurs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Schoolyard Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Entrepreneurship Education
- NAICS
- All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)
Keywords
Schoolyard Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Educational Programs: Revenue is generated through college-level entrepreneurship programs offered to high school students in partnership with universities. The selective nature of admissions suggests a premium positioning with program fees.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Schoolyard Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Schoolyard Ventures delivers college-level entrepreneurship education programs to ambitious high school students through selective partnerships with top universities. The program provides real-world business experience via mentorship from successful entrepreneurs and supports students in launching ventures of their own or assisting organizations with new initiatives. The company explicitly does not offer open enrollment, positioning its offering as a selective, premium educational experience.
Product overview
Schoolyard Ventures offers a single unified entrepreneurship education program targeting ambitious high school students. The program partners with top universities to deliver rigorous, college-level content and connects students with successful entrepreneur mentors. Students learn problem-solving frameworks fueled by creativity and grit, developing skills to create ventures of their own or help existing organizations launch initiatives. Note: Schoolyard Ventures does not currently offer open enrollment programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Entrepreneurship Education Programs College-level entrepreneurial programs offered to ambitious high school students in partnership with top universities, providing real-world experience through mentorship from successful entrepreneurs and guidance on launching ventures. Programs are selective (no open enrollment).
Quantifiable outcome
- One student launched company Detrapel and sold over $50,000 worth of product within 18 months of joining the program at age 15
Companies that use Schoolyard Ventures
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Schoolyard Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Schoolyard Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Top UniversitiescoreSchoolyard Ventures partners with some of the world's top universities to offer rigorous, college-level entrepreneurial programs to ambitious high school students. These university partnerships provide the academic rigor and credibility for the curriculum while extending the reach to qualified teen participants.
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Schoolyard Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- 4-H Youth Development Program: 4-H is a large, established youth development organization offering career and entrepreneurship tracks among many programs. It is thematically comparable to Schoolyard Ventures as a youth skills and entrepreneurship channel, but operates at vastly broader scale and through extension networks rather than selective premium programs.
Direct peers
- DECA: DECA is a student organization preparing high schoolers for careers in business, marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship through competitions and chapter-based programming. It targets the same ambitious teen demographic via school channels and overlaps heavily on the entrepreneurship and real-world project components.
- Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): NFTE is a long-established nonprofit delivering entrepreneurship education programs to high school students, often through school and community partnerships. It overlaps directly with Schoolyard Ventures on target customer (high schoolers), content (startup foundations and pitching), and channel (institutional partnerships).
- Wharton Global Youth Program: Wharton Global Youth offers college-level business and entrepreneurship programs for high school students through a top-tier university. It mirrors Schoolyard Ventures' university-partnered, college-rigor-for-teens delivery model and targets the same college-application-differentiation use case.
- Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!): YEA! is an after-school program that guides middle and high school students through launching real businesses, with mentoring from local entrepreneurs. It directly competes with Schoolyard Ventures on teen-targeted, mentor-driven venture-launching programs.
- Babson Youth Programs: Babson, a top entrepreneurship university, runs summer and accelerator programs for high school students. The audience, content focus on entrepreneurship, and university-affiliated delivery make it a direct peer to Schoolyard Ventures' model.
- Enactus: Enactus (formerly SIFE) mobilizes university student teams to run entrepreneurial projects that create social impact. It overlaps with Schoolyard Ventures on youth entrepreneurship content and on a partner-network-driven delivery model, though primarily at the college rather than high school level.
- LaunchX: LaunchX runs college-level entrepreneurship summer programs for high school students, often in partnership with universities and alumni mentors. It is the closest direct peer to Schoolyard Ventures in terms of audience (ambitious teens), university-affiliated delivery model, and venture-launching pedagogy.
- Junior Achievement USA: Junior Achievement provides K–12 entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy programs through school and partner networks. It is a broad incumbent competitor addressing the same teen audience and entrepreneurship curriculum area, though at much larger scale and via classroom-based delivery.
Emerging players
- Kairos Society: Kairos Society is a global network identifying and supporting young entrepreneurs, including high schoolers. It is comparable to Schoolyard Ventures on the high-ambition teen audience and venture-launching mission, but functions more as a network/competition than a structured curriculum program.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Schoolyard Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceSchoolyard Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Schoolyard Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Schoolyard Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Schoolyard Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Schoolyard Ventures
What does Schoolyard Ventures do?
Schoolyard Ventures delivers college-level entrepreneurship education programs to ambitious high school students through selective partnerships with top universities. The program provides real-world business experience via mentorship from successful entrepreneurs and supports students in launching ventures of their own or assisting organizations with new initiatives. The company explicitly does not offer open enrollment, positioning its offering as a selective, premium educational experience.
Is Schoolyard Ventures a public or private company?
Schoolyard Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Schoolyard Ventures founded?
Schoolyard Ventures was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
How does Schoolyard Ventures make money?
One revenue line is on record: educational Programs.
Who are Schoolyard Ventures's main competitors?
4-H Youth Development Program is listed as a broad incumbent. Direct peers are DECA, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), Wharton Global Youth Program, Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), Babson Youth Programs, Enactus, LaunchX and Junior Achievement USA. Kairos Society is listed as an emerging player.
Does Schoolyard Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Schoolyard Ventures.
What industry is Schoolyard Ventures in?
Schoolyard Ventures's product category is Youth Entrepreneurship Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAHAA, Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics, with a secondary code of EDAMAKAK, Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs. Its NAICS code is 61169 and its SIC code is 8200.