Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build and pitch a startup concept in this 2-week program for high school students on Georgetown University’s campus.
Course Description
What turns an interesting idea into a venture worth pursuing? Students enter a fast-moving startup studio and begin with opportunity recognition. In small teams, they identify a real problem, define the customer affected by it, and refine a concept through research, discussion, and feedback.
The venture takes shape through the five Ps of business: product, price, promotion, place, and people. Students create a value proposition and logo, practice a speed pitch, explore marketing and sales, and consider how relationships, negotiation, culture, and international markets can affect execution. A simple financial snapshot asks teams to estimate startup costs, pricing, revenue, and feasibility.
Teams also compare basic legal and business structures before preparing a one-page business summary and pitch deck. Each student speaks during the final presentation, explaining the problem, customer, solution, business logic, and changes made after feedback. The result is a practical introduction to iteration, teamwork, and the discipline behind entrepreneurial storytelling.
This two-week course takes place at Georgetown University. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next. The program is developed by Georgetown University and offered in partnership with Summer Discovery.
What Will You Do?
• Identify a customer problem or market opportunity
• Develop a value proposition and refine a business concept
• Map product, price, promotion, place, and people
• Create a logo, speed pitch, and one-page business summary
• Estimate startup costs, pricing, revenue, and feasibility
• Build and deliver a collaborative investor-style pitch
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Define a customer problem and develop a focused value proposition
• Evaluate a venture using marketing, financial, and organizational considerations
• Present and defend a refined business concept with a team
Students leave with a pitch deck, business one-pager, financial snapshot, and experience turning feedback into a stronger venture.
Why Entrepreneurship Skills Matter
Entrepreneurship teaches students to connect creativity with evidence. A promising idea must address a specific problem for a defined customer, and a compelling pitch must explain how the solution can operate. Testing assumptions early helps teams learn before committing time and resources.
Financial estimates, business structures, and negotiation add realism to the creative process. Students practice making decisions with incomplete information, responding to feedback, and communicating across roles. Those habits support innovation projects, leadership, and future study in business, design, technology, or social impact.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and want to build ideas, solve problems, or understand how startups move from concept to pitch. It fits interests in entrepreneurship, business, design, technology, marketing, finance, or social innovation.
Participants should be ready to collaborate intensively, make assumptions visible, use basic spreadsheets and presentation tools, and speak during a final pitch. Students who are comfortable testing an idea, hearing feedback, and revising quickly will gain the most.
Recommended by More Than 4 out of 5 Students
Based on students surveyed in 2026 about Summer Discovery High School programs at Georgetown University campus.
Why Georgetown University?
Studying on Georgetown University’s campus gives high-school students the opportunity to explore an academic interest while experiencing campus life in Washington, D.C. Its historic campus and surrounding neighborhood sit near embassies, institutions, and organizations that shape national and international conversations, giving the summer a distinctive sense of place.
Students learn alongside peers with similar interests, navigate a new environment, and gain independence through everyday choices and responsibilities. Time outside class helps students experience the broader rhythm of university life while considering what subjects, communities, and possible directions feel right for them. For families, the program offers a combination of substantive academic exploration, personal growth, and clearer insight into what a student may want to study or pursue next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive