Talent is everywhere.
Opportunity isn't.
Launch League is a free program that takes young people from an idea, to a one-page business plan, to a first real customer — with feedback from local business people and a province-wide competition at the end.
Free for students · Ontario · From age 12 · Built in Chatham-Kent
Written feedback on every complete entry
Flagship program
Turn an idea into something real
Free entrepreneurship for students and schools: eight practical modules, a one-page plan, and a provincial pitch competition where every complete entry gets written feedback. Entries close March 31, 2027.
Serve First
Use what you're building to help someone else
Nominate a neighbour, a veteran, or someone in cancer treatment for a free yard cleanup, done by a local crew. Service isn't a side project bolted onto business — it's what business is for.
Start where you are
Who is Launch League for?
- Students & schoolsTurn an idea into something real.
- Workers & job seekersBuild your next chapter.
- Business ownersBuild a stronger business.
- Employers & leadersDevelop the people who will lead next.
- Parents & guardiansHelp your teenager work out what's next.
- People & familiesLearn something useful.
- Communities & organizationsBring practical opportunities to your community.
- Sponsors & partnersHelp people build something that matters.
How it fits together
Learn. Build. Serve.
People become stronger when they learn, build and serve — and stronger people build stronger communities.
- Learn.Practical workshops, courses, boot camps and mentorship that teach something useful — taught by people who have actually done it.What you can learn
- Build.Turn what you know into something real: a business, a career, a project, a team, a next chapter.What you can build
- Serve.Point your skills, time and energy at the people around you. Service isn't a side project; it's what the rest is for.Serve First
Open right now
You can start today
- FreeBusiness 101Eight practical modules from a real problem to a pitch. Every module ends with something to go and do.Open it
- FreeOne-page business planA guided plan you can finish in an evening, built from your own answers, ready to show anyone.Open it
- FreeLaunch SprintSeven stages from a plan to a first paying customer, with the paperwork Ontario actually requires.Open it
- Free, sponsor-fundedEntries close March 31, 2027Provincial pitch competitionA written pitch and three short videos, scored on a published rubric. Every complete entry gets written feedback.Open it
- Free for schoolsEntrepreneurship for your classUse it with the business course you already teach, or run the whole program: lesson plans, slides, printables and a class report.Open it
- Free for schoolsCo-op OSFree co-op management for schools and employers: placements, hours, weekly logs and the board paperwork.Open it
A good idea shouldn't depend on
who you know.
Some young people grow up around entrepreneurs, mentors and business connections. Others have equally good ideas but no idea where to start or who to ask.
A good idea shouldn't depend on having the right parents, the right school or the right connections before someone takes it seriously.
Launch League gives people a place to learn, build, test and pitch something of their own.
You shouldn't have to leave your hometown to build something big.
Build something real
8 practical modules. Every one ends with something to go and do.
Get taken seriously
Experienced businesspeople who will look at your idea and tell you what they think.
Learn from experts
Every entrant gets written feedback from working business people.
Create impact
12 award categories, for businesses and non-profits. Each award is $500–$2,500, funded by its own sponsor — and every new community adds more.
From idea
to something real
The competition is the catalyst. The business is the point.
Stage 1 · Learn
Business 101
8 practical modules: problem, customer, offer, customers, sales, numbers, systems and pitch.
Stage 2 · Plan
Build the business plan
Turn the work into a real plan, with a free builder and an AI-assisted option.
Stage 3 · Connect
Advisors & business community
Experienced businesspeople as advisors and judges. Founding advisors are being recruited now.
Stage 4 · Pitch
Competition & judging
A written pitch and three short videos, scored on a published rubric.
Stage 5 · Launch
Launch Sprint
Feedback, then 30–60 days of practical steps to a first customer — and on to growth.
After the pitch: the Launch Sprint Businesses our founders started What is actually being built
Built in Chatham-Kent
Looking for more individual help for your teenager?
Everything above is free and open across Ontario. Families who want more can add the Future Ready Sprint: six weeks one-to-one for a teenager — working out what they're good at, meeting people who actually do the work, and leaving with a plan they chose. It runs over video anywhere in Ontario, with a hybrid version here in Chatham-Kent. A paid service, and it changes nothing about the free program.
Same curiosity.
Bigger possibilities.
Real judges. Real feedback.
Our storyEvery entrant
gets read.
100-point rubric
Published before anyone enters. Judges score exactly what entrants can read on the rules page.
Read the rubricWritten feedback, every entrant
Winner or not, you receive your judges' notes — the most useful thing anyone takes from the competition.
How judging worksJudges who run businesses
Volunteers from Ontario's business and non-profit community, two to four hours each, once.
Judge with us
“The biggest barrier usually isn't talent. It's not knowing where to start, or having someone take your idea seriously. Launch League is my way of building that opportunity for Ontario, at scale.”
- 12
- Award categories, from tech to agriculture
- $500–$2,500
- Per award, raised from its own sponsor. More communities, more awards
- 100
- Point rubric, published before you enter
- 12+
- Age to enter. No fees, no equity
Ideas
opportunity
community
a brighter tomorrow
Real communities. Real opportunity.
Where Launch League intends to be
The communities Launch League intends to reach — some already taking part, the rest places where the conversation has started. Every one of them is somewhere a young person should be able to learn, build and pitch an idea of their own.
- Communitiesintended or under way
- 13
- Schools & boardsinvolved or in conversation
- 12
- Ontario regionsreached so far
- 4 of 5
Launch League
Students. Ideas.
Stronger communities.
Big ideas happen everywhere
13 communities
For schoolsThese are communities Launch League intends to be in. Some are already taking part; others are places the conversation has started, and saying so is more honest than implying every pin is a running program. We name the community, not the school.
Same mission. More communities.
Bring Launch League to your community.
A school, a board or a whole region — it costs nothing to take part, and we do the heavy lifting.
Start the conversationBe part of what's next
Your ideas belong here.
Entries for the 2027 competition are open until March 31, 2027. Start with Business 101, or go straight to your pitch.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Free to enter. No equity.
For businesses and organizations
Help build Ontario's next generation of entrepreneurs.
Companies support Launch League through student awards, regional programming, industry partnerships, judging and mentorship. Your future employees, customers and business owners are sitting in classrooms today.