15 Internships Where You'll Work Directly With a Startup Founder as a High School Student
Working alongside a startup founder as a high school student is one of the best ways to gain firsthand experience in entrepreneurship and innovation. Unlike traditional internships, these opportunities often place you in fast-paced environments where you'll contribute to real projects, observe how key business decisions are made, and learn directly from the people building companies from the ground up.
Why should you do a business internship in high school?
Whether you're interested in business, technology, marketing, product development, operations, or design, working closely with founders can help you develop practical skills, strengthen your resume, enhance your college applications, and build meaningful professional connections, all while gaining valuable insight into the startup ecosystem without a significant financial investment. Some focus on observation, while others offer opportunities to contribute to real projects, receive personalized mentorship, and develop skills that carry beyond the internship.
Below are 15 internships where you’ll work directly with a startup cofounder as a high school student.
Key takeaways
This list gathers 15 programs that connect high school students directly with startup founders, spanning virtual internship-matching services, entrepreneurship bootcamps, and structured mentorship programs.
Most of these charge a program fee ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, with financial aid or scholarships available at many, while a couple, including performance-based content roles, pay students directly instead.
This category is dominated by newer, fee-based startup-matching services rather than traditional corporate internships, so it's worth comparing program length, cost, and the level of founder access each one actually promises before choosing.
Nearly all of these are fully virtual and open regardless of location, with a couple based in specific cities like Kansas City and Taipei for students who prefer an in-person or hybrid component.
Most of these run on rolling admissions, so applying as early as possible tends to secure the best startup matches, though one Kansas City-based program has a fixed February 1 deadline.
1. Nova School – LEAD Internship (Startup Internship)
Location: Virtual; worldwide
Cost/Stipend: $2,490; need-based partial and full scholarships available / No stipend
Dates: June 15 – July 25
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: High school students; between ages 14–18
In the LEAD Internship program, you join a virtual startup or forward-thinking company team for six weeks and complete a scoped business or technology project. You work in a squad of two to four students, meet with your employer, define the project scope, and deliver the project through weekly check-ins and mentorship. You work on startup projects alongside founders and professionals, and depending on your track, you may conduct market research, develop go-to-market or social-media strategies, or build websites, AI agents, automations, dashboards, and prototypes. You strengthen entrepreneurship, collaboration, project execution, AI, communication, and presentation skills before presenting your results to executives at the LEAD Summit.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote (you can work from anywhere in the world)
Cost/Stipend: Cost varies depending on the program type; 100 % financial aid is available / No stipend
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort – spring (January), summer (May), fall (September), and winter (November).
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students who can work for 8 - 12 weeks, committing 10 - 20 hours/week
The Ladder Internship Program is an eight-week virtual experience matching you directly with startup founders for real-world professional exposure. Throughout the program, you will explore topics spanning artificial intelligence, software engineering, finance, media, health tech, and environmental science. Your core activities include meeting weekly with a CEO mentor, analyzing industry data, building tangible prototypes, and delivering a final professional presentation. A uniquely standout feature is the direct access to elite founders from organizations like Y-Combinator and Google, allowing you to bypass simulated case studies for authentic startup work. By executing these deliverables, you will build crucial skills in remote workplace communication, strategic market analysis, and specialized technical abilities. Ultimately, you walk away with a portfolio-ready project and a professional network that elevates your future college applications. Apply now!
3. Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP)
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Stipend: $12–$14/hour stipend; $2,500 scholarship upon completion
Dates: Session 1: June 1–26; Session 2: July 6–31
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: Open to rising high school juniors and seniors from the Kansas City metro area
In the Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP), you will dive into the startup ecosystem through an intensive bootcamp where you work directly alongside successful founders. Throughout the program, you will explore essential topics like opportunity identification, minimum viable product (MVP) design, financial costing, and marketing strategy. As a participant, you will actively engage in building a functional business model, receive personalized mentorship from industry experts, and present your venture to judges at a live Pitch Night. A uniquely defining feature of this experience is its provision of completely free, real-world incubation support for high schoolers without requiring any prior business knowledge. Ultimately, you will cultivate a resilient entrepreneurial mindset while developing problem-solving, financial literacy, and persuasive public speaking skills.
4. DreamCollege.ai – AI Prompt Engineer Internship
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Flexible dates; 10–20 hours per week
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
In this internship, you will explore the emerging artificial intelligence field by developing inputs for large language models. You will design text prompts, test AI-generated responses for accuracy, and document system behaviors to improve educational outputs. Throughout the experience, you will work directly with the startup founder, gaining unique insights into early-stage product development. This environment allows you to apply computational workflows and analytical skills to real-world technology challenges. You will utilize cloud-based AI tools to coordinate daily tasks and present your findings. By iterating on complex prompt structures, you will build specialized technical skills critical to the software industry.
5. 1 Million Founders – Founder’s Internship
Location: Gurugram, Haryana
Cost/Stipend: ₹6,400–₹8,000 program fee / No stipend stated
Dates: June 22–26
Application Deadline: School-submission window with deadlines set by partnering schools
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12 enrolled at partnering schools
In the 1 Million Founders Entrepreneurship Internship Program, you engage in a one-week immersive experience to build practical business skills. Partnering directly with active entrepreneurs, you dive into the realities of ideation, product prototyping, and financial forecasting. You actively design wireframes, build minimum viable products, and create digital prototypes using tools like Figma. Mentorship from experienced Orahi startup founders ensures you gain authentic, real-world guidance while crafting your venture's blueprint. You also develop the art of storytelling through digital marketing strategies using platforms like Canva and LinkedIn. Finally, you conclude the week by delivering a polished startup pitch to real investors in a Shark Tank-style showdown.
6. VTSP (Venture & Tech Summer Program)
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $4,750 + $35 application fee; need-based and merit-based scholarships are available / No stipend
Dates: Session I: June 8 – July 17 | Session II: July 6 – August 14
Application Deadline: Final Application Round: May 24; Rolling Admissions: June 30
Eligibility: High school students worldwide who are interested in technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup environments
In this selective entrepreneurship and technology program, you'll work directly with venture-backed startups on real projects while learning from founders, investors, and industry leaders. Throughout the six-week experience, you'll collaborate with a startup on projects related to business strategy, product development, market research, innovation, or technology while participating in workshops, mentorship sessions, networking events, and talks led by experienced entrepreneurs and executives. By the end of the program, you'll have gained hands-on startup experience, strengthened your leadership and problem-solving skills, and developed a deeper understanding of how high-growth companies are built and scaled.
7. Callus Company Inc. – SPRINT Internship
Location: Remote worldwide
Cost/Stipend: One-time program fee required; exact amount not publicly stated / No stipend stated
Dates: July 13 – August 6 or 7; July 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: First-paid, first-served until each limited-capacity startup program is filled
Eligibility: High school students; remote participation worldwide; guardian consent required for minors under applicable payment rules
In the SPRINT Internship program, you join a four-week remote placement with an early-stage startup and complete structured work under the direct supervision of its founder. The defining feature is that the startup founder leads your internship and provides guidance on the project. Depending on your selected placement, you may research customers, develop a business model, create AI-assisted content, design a product workflow, or prepare a final presentation. Current published placements generally use live sessions and assignments to move from introductory concepts to practical deliverables. You develop startup literacy, research, communication, presentation, and project-execution skills while observing how founders approach product, marketing, technology, and business decisions.
8. GoodGoblin.ai – High School Social Media Intern
Location: Remote worldwide; San Francisco, California
Stipend: $75 performance bounty per successful video
Dates: No dates stated; preference is to work Pacific Time zones
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
In this internship, you create short-form videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts about college essays, application stress, and finding suitable schools. You use GoodGoblin’s AI tools to brainstorm hooks, draft scripts, and iterate on content, while tracking trends and turning student pain points into useful posts. You work directly with the startup’s founders and marketing professionals to learn how an early-stage company approaches audience growth. The role builds storytelling, social-media strategy, content planning, generative-AI, and growth-marketing skills through real brand work. Successful videos can earn performance bounties, and participants may receive verified volunteer hours and a completion certificate.
9. CollegeLift – Venture-Backed Startup Internship Placement
Location: Remote / Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Program fee is risk-free and only invoiced after a student is successfully placed and signs an internship contract / No stipend
Dates: Summer; one-week bootcamp and minimum three-month placement
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: High-achieving high school students
In this internship, you are matched with a venture-backed startup for a placement lasting at least three months. Before starting, you complete a five-day, approximately 30-hour bootcamp covering Git, the command line, company-specific tools, Slack communication, standups, pull-request reviews, fundraising stages, and startup operations. You are expected to produce real work, which may include a pull request, business deck, customer call, product feature, marketing campaign, data model, or operations improvement. CollegeLift states that students receive a reference letter carrying a founder’s name, but it does not explicitly guarantee daily one-to-one work with the founder. The placement develops practical execution, communication, ownership, and startup-context skills through deliverables tied to an operating company.
10. LaunchBase – Founder-Led Startup Work
Location: Remote / Virtual
Cost/Stipend: ₹10,000 INR (LaunchBase Program); ₹6,999 INR (LaunchBase Fellowship); 100% financial aid available for qualified candidates / No stipend
Dates: 4-week flexible program
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students; passionate learners and doers; strong work ethic and reliability; proof of work; commitment to excellence
In the LaunchBase Program, you apply with proof of prior work and are matched with an early-stage startup founder for a four-week project. You contribute to actual founder problems through defined milestones and deliverables rather than completing classroom exercises or generic busywork. You work directly with a founder while developing product thinking, execution skills, and an understanding of startup fundraising. The experience is designed to help you produce credible proof of work, receive feedback, and potentially earn a founder reference based on your contribution. Flexible hours accommodate different schedules, but the organization does not publicly specify particular startup assignments, delivery location, fixed session dates, or guaranteed outcomes.
11. The Tomorrow School – Entrepreneurship Program
Location: Online
Cost: 100% tuition-free for accepted students
Dates: Summer, Fall, and Spring cohorts
Application Deadline: Summer Cohort: Mid-May; Fall Cohort: Mid-August; Spring Cohort: Mid-January
Eligibility: High school students worldwide who are interested in entrepreneurship, innovation, and building startups
In this online entrepreneurship program, you'll learn how to think and build like a startup founder while turning an idea into a real venture. Throughout the program, you'll identify real-world problems, develop and validate a business idea, build and test a product, and refine your business model through hands-on projects and interactive workshops. You'll also receive mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs, collaborate with ambitious peers, and develop practical skills in customer discovery, product development, marketing, and business strategy while creating a portfolio that showcases your entrepreneurial experience.
12. Admitpro.ai – High School Social Media Intern
Location: Remote
Stipend: $8 per hour
Dates: July 6 – August 28
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Eligibility: Current high school students; social media management experience; short-form video portfolio or feed; independent remote-work ability
In this internship, you work directly with Admitpro.ai’s founder to build the startup’s social media voice and support product-launch marketing. You create and repurpose short-form videos for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, handling work from scripting through publication. You collaborate with the founder on brand voice, campaign concepts, content calendars, and launch content while helping build the company’s audience from scratch. You also engage with users, test formats, track views and engagement, and report weekly insights on what performed and what should change. The role develops content strategy, video editing, analytics, audience engagement, experimentation, and founder-level startup communication skills.
13. Menty Education – Entrepreneurial Mentorship Program
Location: Taipei, Taiwan; remote options available
Cost/Stipend: Pricing is customized; students must first consult with the Menty team, meet with a coach, and assess mutual fit before signing an agreement and submitting payment
Dates: Rolling / Custom. The program lasts for 2 to 3 months, and the exact start date is determined individually once the student is matched with a startup CEO/founder and finalizes their proposal
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students seeking hands-on startup experience, leadership skill development, and resume building for U.S. college applications
In this internship, you will explore career paths by working directly with emerging startup companies. You will receive personal coaching from a CEO, founder, or manager, gaining a deep understanding of how tech, biotech, or aerospace businesses operate. During the program, you will manage flexible workflows and learn to navigate the uncertainty inherent in an innovative corporate environment. This immersive two-to-three-month experience requires you to launch a personal entrepreneurial project from zero to one under the direct guidance of a startup founder. Along the way, you will cultivate essential leadership abilities, problem-solving skills, and a professional network. Ultimately, this hands-on setup builds tangible workplace confidence while strengthening your university applications.
14. StandOut Connect
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: $2,950; scholarships are available / No stipend
Dates: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students who will be 15 or older by the start of the program
In this program, you'll first complete a structured training phase designed to prepare you for a professional internship by developing skills in resume writing, networking, interviewing, Excel, and AI tools. Once you've finished the training, you'll be placed in a two-month remote internship with an innovative company, frequently a startup, where you'll work on real-world projects that match your interests. Throughout the experience, you'll collaborate with professionals, receive mentorship from founders and industry experts, and gain practical exposure to sectors such as business, technology, and healthcare.
15. Capstone – Project-Based High School Startup Internship
Location: Remote; hybrid placements available
Cost/Stipend: Paid program; fee disclosed during consultation / No stipend stated
Dates: Flexible scheduling: 4–8 weeks in summer or semester-long
Application Deadline: Applications open through consultation; no official closing date or closure rule published
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; no prior technical experience required
In this internship, you join a VC-backed startup for project-based work that contributes to genuine business decisions. Depending on your placement, you may conduct competitive research, build financial models, support product development and user research, or create measurable marketing content. You work alongside startup founders and professional teams, producing deliverables such as market reports, prototypes, code, UI mockups, or campaign assets rather than merely observing. The experience develops analytical thinking, collaboration, communication, business judgment, and practical execution within a fast-moving startup environment. A Student Success Manager coordinates your placement and progress, while founder mentorship and a professional recommendation help document your contribution.
Questions students often ask about these internships
1. Do I need prior business or coding experience to apply to these internships?
No, most of these are designed to welcome students without a background in business or technology, teaching relevant skills as you go. A few of the more technical roles do expect some familiarity with coding or content creation tools, so check eligibility closely.
2. A couple of these programs charge a fee. How do I know if the cost is worth it?
Look at what's actually included, like mentorship quality, project scope, and whether direct founder access is genuinely guaranteed rather than just implied. Comparing a few options side by side can help you figure out which fee-based program offers the strongest value for your goals.
3. Am I guaranteed to work directly with the founder in all of these programs?
Not always. Most explicitly promise founder-level mentorship, but a couple are less specific about who you'll actually work with day-to-day. Read each program's description closely if direct founder access is your main priority.