Camp Start-Up is a residential program designed to give teens the skills they need to start something great. Through a fun, fast, interactive curriculum, campers learn the basics of entrepreneurship, budgeting, investing, and saving. Working in teams, they form a mock startup, produce a business plan, create a stock portfolio, and acquire skills for independence and self-confidence. Participants enjoy field trips to innovative businesses and meet mentors and role models who open their eyes to greater possibilities.


Past participants tell us the whole camp is fun, but we make sure to have room for plenty of extras, including a pool for hot afternoons; an impromptu kickball game before bed; a Jeopardy-style tournament; a visit to Six Flags New England; field trips to green, leading-edge companies; sports arenas; museums; and time to just hang out with new friends.

Independent Means will be offering two sessions of Camp Start-Up 2012. The first, 7-day session will be held on the campus of Paul Smiths College in the heart of the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The dates for this session, which will focus on local, sustainable business models, are June 24 - June 30th. The second, 10-day session at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Wilbraham, MA) will include an extended curriculum focusing on savings and investment skills. Campers at this session will have the opportunity to experience the excitement of trading stocks in real time on the Academy's state-of-the-art Stock Trading Floor. The dates are July 27 - August 5, 2012.