Five Steps to Launch a Student-Run Business on Your Campus

One of the biggest misconceptions schools have about entrepreneurship is that launching a student-run business has to be complicated, expensive, or disruptive. It doesn’t.

In fact, when done well, it follows a clear, repeatable pathway—and most schools already have everything they need to get started.

Here’s what it actually looks like.

Step One: Start with a Small, Committed Team
Identify a group of 8–12 juniors and seniors and place them into a year-long entrepreneurship course for the coming school year. This is not a club or an after-school activity. It’s a leadership-level course where students take real ownership, make real decisions, and build something that will outlast them.

Step Two: Equip the Teacher for the Launch
Send the teacher leading the course to Seed Tree Entrepreneurship Training this June. This is where the full plan comes together: curriculum, timelines, launch strategy, operational guardrails, and all the resources needed to guide students from idea to execution with confidence.

Step Three: Build the Mindset Before the Business
During the first semester, students focus on developing the entrepreneurial mindset through hands-on projects using the Seed Tree curriculum. They learn growth mindset, grit, redefining failure, and opportunity seeking; not in theory, but through action. By the end of the semester, students pitch a business grounded in a real problem they are solving for your school community.

Step Four: Fund a Minimum Viable Product

Based on the student pitch, the school provides a small, interest-free loan to launch a minimum viable version of the business. This creates real stakes without unnecessary risk. Students now move from planning to execution by testing assumptions, serving customers, and learning quickly.

Step Five: Soft Launch, Then Scale
Students conduct a soft launch to test the waters, gather feedback, and refine operations. Once the model is proven, the business is ready for a full launch which happens typically between January and February of the same school year. The remaining months are spent fine-tuning systems so the business is sustainable and ready to be handed off to the next cohort.

Here’s the part most schools miss: you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

You already have spaces that work perfectly for student-run businesses—vending machines, innovation labs, concession stands, outdoor facilities, coffee carts, school stores, and more. Entrepreneurship doesn’t require new buildings. It requires intentional design.

When done well, a student-run business becomes a living laboratory—one that forms courageous leaders, develops real-world skills, and transforms school culture.

If you’re ready to launch, Seed Tree Group can help you take the first step.

Connect with Seed Tree today and let’s get started.

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