The academy for unusually ambitious high school founders.
One year. Four belts. One real startup before 18. Taught by founders who have shipped, raised, and sold.
Our mentors from
20+
founders and operators from these companies, and more
ThinkHive
The world stopped grading on grades
Every month a working founder joins live. From Brown belt, one of them is your founder’s mentor for an hour a week.
Proof of work is the new transcript
Selective programmes ask what you built, not what you scored.
Building got cheap. Judgment did not.
Tools are not the bottleneck. Noticing and deciding are.
Slope beats
résumé
We look at how fast you are getting better.
The new economy
A new economy, run by value creators
A laptop and a weekend now get you what used to take a team. What is scarce is the person who notices a real problem, makes something for it, and gets a stranger to say yes. We call them value creators. Growing them early, alongside school, is the whole point of Buildojo.
- 01
Notice a problem worth solving
Value starts with a gap other people walk past. Specific, local, real.
- 02
Make something that works
Rough is fine. A thing that exists and gets used beats a plan that gets admired.
- 03
Earn the exchange
Someone pays, signs up, or comes back. That is the proof the new economy reads.
- 04
Carry it forward
Value creators keep the upside and the lessons, and start the next one faster.
The mindset
High agency is not a personality. It is a habit.
Notice the gap before anyone names it
Make something rough is fine, existing is the point
Put it in front of strangers who have no reason to be polite
47 COMMENTS
Ask for value back the exchange is the proof
Own the result wins and misses are both evidence
The program
Four belts. One year. One real startup.
Stop at Green and you stop paying. Every mentor and founder who teaches is paid.
DiscoverM1–M3Notice problems worth solving. Interview strangers, not friends, and write the one-page brief that earns your place on a team.
BuildM4–M6Your first user is a stranger. Then ask for money, five more users on zero budget, and read what retention is telling you. A working founder joins you weekly from here.
Go to marketM7–M9Launch to people who have no reason to be polite. Five more users on zero budget, a price on the table, and your founder mentor in your corner every week.
ScaleM10–M12Read the numbers, keep what works, and make the honest call. Finish with a working product, paying users and a Demo Day in front of real founders.
Founders Circle
Taught by people who build, not people who talk about building.
Every month a working founder joins live. From Brown belt, one of them is your founder’s mentor for an hour a week.
View all mentors →
Benefits
The support grows with the stakes
Your team starts with the cohort. A 1:1 founder mentor is earned after the Green belt test.
Cohort sessions
Weekly live sessions and monthly Founders Circle in Toronto.
1:1 Founder mentor
Earned by passing the Green belt test.
Teams first
Teams of two to four. Solo founders are placed in a team during White belt.
Cost
Program Investment
Stop at Green and you stop paying. Every mentor and founder who teaches is paid.
Full year $3,600
AID on merit
January 2027 cohort • Application open
Admission on slope, not grades.
We do not ask for a transcript. We ask your founder for a problem they noticed and how they think about it. Ages 13 to 17. 25 spots. January 2027.
FAQ
Questions parents and young founders ask.
Anything not covered here? Write to nour@buildojo.ai.
Anyone aged 13 to 17 who wants to build something. No prior business or tech experience needed. Curiosity and follow-through are what we look for.
Still deciding? Talk to us
Anything not covered here? Write to nour@buildojo.ai.
