Launchpad.Founding partnership · 2026–27

Bay Area founding pilot

Help high school builders turn prototypes into products people use.

Launchpad gives student teams the structure, mentorship, and milestone funding to keep going after the demo.

1active founding chapter at American High School in Fremont

20+students at monthly open meetings

Fall ’26founding cohort launch

Spring ’27inaugural Bay Area Shipathon

The gapWhat happens after the prototype?

Students learn to build. Few get the support to carry an idea beyond the demo.

Classes and hackathons create a powerful start. Launchpad is the continuation: time, accountability, mentors, small grants, and real users.

The usual finish line

The presentation ends.

The project reaches GitHub, a classroom, or a judging table—and often stops there.

The missing work

Users change the product.

Testing, distribution, iteration, and sustained use are where product judgment develops.

Launchpad’s role

Make shipping the start.

Teams stay together, earn resources at real milestones, and learn from what people actually do.

Evidence → pilotActuals and proposed scope stay separate

Small enough to measure. Useful enough to matter.

● Active today

01

American High School Chapter Zero

Launchpad’s founding school chapter in Fremont, California.

02

Monthly open meetings

20+ students gather to learn, meet builders, and begin work together.

03

Pre-cohort stage

No completed cohort or shipped-product outcomes are claimed yet. This partnership funds the first measured cycle.

Proposed founding-pilot scope

20

Up to 20 builders

A supervised founding cohort, drawn from the existing school community.

4–6

Teams through four gates

Problem evidence, working build, safe launch, and user-learning review.

1

Public outcome report

Enrollment, retention, grants, launches, user evidence, safety exceptions, and lessons published after the cycle.

The cohortTeams of 2–5 · four milestone sprints

Progress unlocks resources.

Students are rewarded for evidence—not attendance. Safety, accessibility, and learning quality sit alongside product milestones.

01 · BUILD

Make it work.

A working prototype, peer review, and a documented problem.

Unlock · builder resources

02 · SHIP

Launch safely.

A public product, real users, and a completed launch review.

Unlock · $100 micro-grant

03 · VALIDATE

Learn from use.

Repeat use, community impact, or first revenue—backed by evidence.

Unlock · founder mentor

04 · GROW

Improve with intent.

A measured next-step plan and a clear reflection on what changed.

Unlock · $1,000 grant review

Milestones reviewed against documented evidence

Commercial and non-commercial work both count

Grant awards remain subject to program and safety review

The flagshipInaugural Bay Area Shipathon · Spring 2027

Two months to ship. One room to prove it.

Teams define a real problem, create a solution, launch it safely, and learn from real users—then present the evidence in person. Revenue is one possible path, not a requirement.

Five tracks

01

Digital

02

Physical

03

Service

04

Social impact

05

Open

The two-month arc

WKS 1–2

Define the problem

Talk to potential users and choose a problem worth solving.

WKS 3–5

Create the solution

Build a service, app, website, physical device, or another usable product.

WKS 6–8

Launch and learn

Reach real users, iterate from evidence, and test sustainability or monetization where appropriate.

FINALE

Product fair meets pitch day

Demo and pitch to experienced judges for grand prizes and possible introductions to relevant mentors or partners.

Trust by designStudent-led does not mean unsupervised

Rishaan Jain · Founder

Student founder building Launchpad and operating its first chapter at American High School in Fremont.

Funding begins only when the operating conditions are real.

Verified now

Fiscal sponsorship
Funds flow through The Hack Foundation, a 501(c)(3), via Hack Club Bank.

Verified now

Early demand
One active school chapter and 20+ students at monthly open meetings.

Required before funding

Named adult operator, school authorization, safeguarding owner, guardian consent, mentor screening, and incident path.

Required before launch

Privacy, security, accessibility, IP, payments, responsible technology, and product-safety review.

If a required condition is not complete, restricted program funds are not released. The diligence packet records each owner and status.

Proposed full-goal allocation$40,000 · finalized during partner diligence

Every dollar has a job.

Shipathon delivery

$16K

Milestone grants

$10K

Access + safety

$5K

Curriculum + chapters

$4K

Operations + fiscal

$3K

Contingency

$2K

Funding controls

Minimum viable pilot: $5K restricted scope

Cash and in-kind support scoped separately

Material changes require partner agreement

Fiscal fees and full line items shared before signature

Unused restricted funds follow the signed agreement

The $40K allocation is the full-year planning case. Each partnership receives its own scoped budget and stop conditions.

The recommended partnership$5,000 restricted founding pilot

Know what the first check buys.

Proposed allocation

$1,000Up to ten earned $100 milestone grants

$1,250Supervised program delivery and mentor coordination

$1,000Shipathon access, venue, food, and participant support

$750Safety, screening, consent, and launch review

$500Measurement, documentation, and partner report

$500Fiscal, administration, and contingency

Proposed pilot scorecard

≤20builders enrolled, with participation reported

4–6teams entering the milestone cycle

10micro-grants available when evidence gates are met

4gates: problem, build, safe launch, user learning

1 + 2company workshop plus supervised office hours

1post-pilot report with targets and actuals

Final cohort size, dates, staff time, activation, data access, brand use, and stop conditions are agreed before funding. Monetization is reported only where appropriate.

Next stepLaunchpad · Founding partnership

Let’s scope a founding pilot.

Start with the program review. Then shape an activation that is safe, measurable, and genuinely useful to students.

01

20-minute program conversation

Mission, current chapter, and company fit.

02

Diligence packet

Budget, operating plan, safety requirements, fiscal route, and measurement.

03

Custom pilot scope

Deliverables, approvals, timing, and reporting—agreed before funding.

Rishaan Jain · Founder

hello@buildlaunchpad.org

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