7 Steps to Get Investors for Your High School Startup

Most advice about raising money for a startup assumes you're pitching venture capitalists in a conference room, and almost none of it applies to a 16-year-old trying to fund a real business. The good news is that you don't need a venture capitalist; you need a small amount of money from the right sources, structured in a way that doesn't create legal or financial problems for you or your family. Here's what that actually looks like.

None of this happens in a vacuum, though. The founders who raise money and pitch well are almost always the ones who've had someone experienced looking over their shoulder along the way. SCORE reports that entrepreneurs who work with a mentor are five times more likely to actually start their business, and a global study of young entrepreneurs by Youth Business International found that 74 percent felt more confident running their business and 72 percent developed stronger decision-making skills through mentor support. If you want that kind of structured guidance on building the business itself and on pitching it once you're ready to raise money, Young Founders Lab pairs teen founders with mentors who've done exactly this before.

Key Takeaways

• Real investors, in the traditional sense, essentially never fund high school businesses. Almost every teen founder who raises money does it through friends and family, pitch competitions, or small grants, not venture capital.

• You need something worth investing in before you ask anyone for money: a working prototype, a few paying customers, or clear evidence people want what you're building.

• Youth pitch competitions are often a better first move than asking for cash directly, since many pay out real prize money with no equity given up in return.

• Because you're a minor, contracts you sign can generally be voided by you later, which changes how any investment should be structured. Get an adult, ideally a parent, involved in anything formal.

• Young Founders Lab can help you get investor-ready, from tightening your pitch to understanding what a fair deal actually looks like.

7 Steps to Get Investors for Your High School Startup

Step 1: Get realistic about what you can actually raise

Almost no professional investor, angel, or venture capital firm will fund a business run by a minor, and that's not really a knock on your idea. It's a legal and practical reality: most institutional investors need an enforceable contract, and as you'll see in Step 6, that's complicated when one party is under 18. Nearly all funding that reaches teen founders comes from three places instead: people who already know and trust you, competitions that pay out prize money for a pitch, and small grants or fellowships built specifically for young founders. Knowing that upfront saves you from spending months chasing investors who were never going to say yes.

Step 2: Build something worth investing in before you ask

Nobody, not a family member and not a competition judge, invests in an idea alone if they can help it. This matters more than it might seem. CB Insights' research on startup failure found that a lack of proven demand is cited in 42 percent of startup post-mortems, the single most common reason a business doesn't work out. Before asking anyone for money, get to a working prototype, a small batch of real customers, or at least evidence that people want what you're building. Young Founders Lab has more on picking and testing a business idea if you're not there yet. The stronger your proof, the smaller the ask needs to be, and the more comfortable people will feel saying yes.

Step 3: Start with friends and family, the way most founders do

This isn't a consolation prize; it's how the large majority of early-stage businesses actually get their first outside money. Industry data on startup funding puts the share of founders who raise some money from friends and family at around 38 to 40 percent, and most of those rounds are small, often somewhere between a few thousand dollars and $150,000 for adult founders, with teen founders typically raising far less. Approach this the same way you would any investor: explain the idea clearly, be honest about the risk that the money could be lost, and put the terms in writing, even if it's informal. A parent or guardian should be involved in structuring anything beyond a small, informal gift.

Step 4: Enter youth pitch competitions instead of chasing investors directly

For a high schooler, a pitch competition is often a better use of time than cold emailing investors. These competitions give you real prize money with no equity given up, plus feedback, mentorship, and something concrete for a resume or college application. The Diamond Challenge, for example, awards up to $12,000 for first place, and the Blue Ocean Competition drew more than 23,000 student entrants in 2026, competing for cash prizes. Young Founders Lab's own roundup of pitch competitions breaks down more options, including several that are fully virtual.

Step 5: Write a one-page pitch, not a full deck

You don't need a 20-slide investor deck to ask a relative for $500 or to apply to most youth competitions. Get one page down first: what the business does, who it's for, what you've built or sold so far, and exactly how much you're asking for and why. If a competition or investor specifically requires a slide deck or video pitch, expand from that one page rather than starting from scratch. A pitch that's clear on one page is almost always stronger than one padded out to look more impressive.

Step 6: Understand the legal basics before you take anyone's money

Because you're under 18, contracts you sign are generally voidable, meaning you can typically choose to cancel them later, and the other party usually can't force you to honor the deal in the meantime. That protection exists for good reason, but it also means a serious investor, or even a well-meaning family member, will usually want a parent or guardian to be part of any formal agreement. For a friend and family round, this might just mean a simple written agreement that your parents also sign. For anything larger, like a pitch competition prize with strings attached or an actual investment offer, it's worth a conversation with a parent and, if the amount is significant, a lawyer before you agree to anything.

Step 7: Keep whoever invests in you updated

Once someone has put money into your business, whether it's $200 from a grandparent or a $2,500 competition prize, treat it like they're a real stakeholder. A short update every month or two, what's working, what changed, what you're doing next- costs you almost nothing and makes a real difference. It's also what separates someone who might invest in your next idea from someone who won't.

If you’re looking for an incubator program that helps you get investors, consider the Young Founders Lab!

If you want mentorship from successful entrepreneurs in building your business, the Young Founders Lab is one of the strongest programs you can join in high school. It’s a 100% virtual start-up boot camp run by Harvard entrepreneurs, designed specifically for students who want to launch a company or non-profit.

In this program, you’ll get hands-on mentorship from founders and professionals from Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, and YC-backed companies, while building a venture that solves a real-world problem. You’ll attend live workshops, explore business fundamentals, refine your idea, and work toward a fully developed MVP and pitch.

Multiple cohorts run throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring, so you can join whenever it fits your schedule. Financial aid is available, and the program is open to all high school students, with no prior experience required.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can a high schooler actually get investors for a business?

Traditional venture capital and angel investment almost never fund businesses run by minors, largely for legal reasons. Most teen founders instead raise smaller amounts from friends and family, or win money through pitch competitions built specifically for students.

2. Is it legal for a minor to accept investment money?

It's legal, but contracts signed by a minor can generally be voided by that minor later, which makes formal investment agreements more complicated. A parent or guardian should be involved in anything beyond a small, informal gift.

3. What's the best way to fund a high school business without giving up equity?

Pitch competitions are the clearest option. Many pay out cash prizes for a strong pitch with no ownership stake given up in return, and some come with mentorship on top of the prize money.

4. How much money can a teen realistically raise for a business?

Most teen founders raise a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, usually from family or a competition prize, rather than the tens of thousands of dollars associated with adult startup fundraising. A smaller ask backed by real proof is usually easier to raise than a larger one based only on an idea.

5. Is there a way to get guidance on building a business as a teen, not just funding it?

Yes, mentorship tends to matter more than most first-time founders expect; entrepreneurs who work with a mentor are significantly more likely to actually get their business off the ground. Young Founders Lab offers structured mentorship on both building the business itself and developing the pitch, so you're not figuring out fundraising completely on your own.

P.S. If you're not sure your idea is ready to pitch to anyone yet, our guides on business programs for high schoolers and ways to get a high school business education are a good place to build the fundamentals first.