FREE ACCELERATOR / GRADES 5 THROUGH 8 / BRAMBLETON VA
Matchstick
One small thing starts everything.
A six week accelerator for middle school founders, working in five teams with real money on the line at Demo Day.
It is free for every founder we accept.
- 06 WEEKS
- 30 FOUNDERS
- 05 TEAMS
- 01 DEMO DAY
- $0 TO JOIN
MANIFESTO
Most people wait until college to take their first real shot, which is about eight years too late.
We give middle schoolers a real budget, a real deadline, and adults who tell them the truth about their idea.
Small is fine, as long as it is real.
DIFFERENT
What makes this different
01
Real money, not a certificate
Clear Demo Day and your team can win a grant from our sponsor pool, with no strings and no equity. You keep everything you build.
02
The Kill File
In week four we write a memo on your startup arguing why it will fail, and your job is to answer it in writing. Founders grow from hard questions, not applause.
03
Money you can actually use
Pricing, margins, and what a budget actually is. Most people pick this up as adults with real money on the line, while our founders learn it at eleven.
04
A Demo Day that counts
Final pitches go to local business owners and investors, so it is a real room rather than a classroom presentation.
PROGRAM
Six weeks, six deliverables
- 06 WEEKS
- 01 SESSION PER WEEK
- 01 DELIVERABLE PER WEEK
- FREE
Find the problem
A problem statement and five customer interviews
Build the thing
A working prototype, product, or service
Find your first customer
First dollar earned or first signed user
Diligence Week
Your written answer to the Kill File
Numbers and the ask
A budget, a price, and a grant request
Demo Day
A five minute pitch to the outside panel
Thirty founders work in five teams of six, with one session a week and one deliverable before the next. Everything is built in the open, so every team can see what the others are doing.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Apply if you
- Are in grades 5 through 8 this fall
- Have an idea, half an idea, or just the itch to build something
- Can give a few hours a week for six weeks
- Can hear what is wrong with your idea and then fix it
You do not need
- A finished idea
- A team, we place you
- Any code
- Any money, it is free
FOUNDERS
Built by students who got tired of waiting.
Anay Gathani
CO-FOUNDER
Junior at Independence High School.
Jonathan Abraham
CO-FOUNDER
Junior at John Champe High School and the Academies of Loudoun.
Matchstick is student founded and student led, with adult mentors and Demo Day judges behind us.
SPONSORS
Coming soon
We are putting the sponsor program together now. Sponsor money goes to the founders, and we will show you where all of it went.
Want in early? Reach out using the numbers below.
FAQ