If you’re reading this, it's because you (or someone you know) are preparing for a summer that will mark a before and after in your life. Choosing the right entrepreneurship program could be the beginning of a successful journey as a teen and future college student.
The biggest programs worldwide in this field are LaunchX and Leangap. Both offer immersive experiences designed to help teens build businesses, but which one provides the greatest impact?
We’ll compare these programs based on their ability to develop:
- Public speaking performance
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Traction
- Mentor relations
To ensure an accurate comparison, we’ll use concrete evidence and publicly available information to support our analysis.
What Do These Programs Offer?
- LaunchX is a highly regarded entrepreneurial program that teaches teens the fundamentals of launching a business. It focuses on providing academic concepts and frameworks inspired by top business schools. The program aims to help students translate their business ideas into actionable plans supported by a team of former alumni and experienced college professors.
- Leangap, on the other hand, is an incubator-like experience that emphasizes a “learn by doing” philosophy. It pushes students to transform their ideas into tangible outcomes, driving them to achieve meaningful traction within a single summer. Leangap mentors are experienced entrepreneurs who have successfully launched their own companies and provide personalized guidance throughout the program.
Both programs have unique features, but their true value comes down to the student outcomes. Let's see how each program stacks up.
1. 🎤 Public Speaking Performance
Whether you're job hunting, selling a product, or in a social group, a strong voice will set you apart. Top colleges look for students who can express themselves clearly and persuasively, whether in interviews, essays, or presentations, as these skills show leadership and impact.
- LaunchX students present their ideas in structured classroom-like settings. The focus is on introducing students to tools and techniques to improve their delivery. However, LaunchX falls short in encouraging students to develop strong communication skills. Even in their online programs, students are required to pre-record their pitches, depriving them of the opportunity to deliver live presentations.
- Leangap students don’t just learn to present slides—they’re taught how to grab attention, tell powerful stories, and connect with people using expressive body language and confident vocal skills. The focus isn’t just on preparing students for pitches—it’s about helping them become their best in all forms of communication. Whether presenting in person or online, students are taught to show confidence, clarity, and charisma.
👀 Here's the evidence: The following videos highlight the public speaking skills students demonstrated during each program's Demo Day.
Beyond the higher production quality of Leangap's Demo Day, pay attention to the differences in body language, speaking cadence, the use of filler words (uhh's, umm's), stuttering, the emotional drive of each sentence, and the use of storytelling.
Pitch extract from LaunchX's Bay Area Demo Day
Pitch extract from Leangap's San Francisco Demo Day
Winner: Leangap ✅
Why? Leangap students excel in public speaking through immersive, hands-on training by professional public speakers that extends far beyond traditional classroom methods. This approach enables them to refine their skills during the duration of the program.
2. 👑 Leadership
Great leaders know failure isn’t the end—it’s part of the journey. The best lessons come from mistakes, but there’s a right way to fail: own it and use those lessons to succeed next time. These programs take unique approaches to teaching students how to handle failure and turn it into growth:
- LaunchX sets students up for success from the start. Through structured workshops and team-based activities, they provide a supportive environment where students can apply leadership and entrepreneurial skills with guidance every step of the way. The goal is to give participants the tools they need to avoid common pitfalls and grow with confidence.
- Leangap embraces failure as a critical part of the learning process. Students are thrown into real-world scenarios where they are expected to take risks, make decisions by themselves, and, inevitably, fail fast and fail smart. With mentorship and guidance, students analyze their failures, learn from them, and use those lessons to build stronger, more sustainable startups.
👀 Here's the evidence: Listed below are two of the many successful alumni from each program.
Winner: Both ⚠️
Why? The best approach depends on how you prefer to learn. For those who may struggle with failure, a gentle and gradual method, like the one offered by LaunchX, can be more effective. On the other hand, Leangap is better suited for individuals who thrive on taking risks and embracing challenges head-on.
3. 🤝 Teamwork
Every great founder understands the value of collaboration. Successful startups thrive when teams work together seamlessly.
- LaunchX offers structured opportunities for students to collaborate on business ideas. However, teams are pre-assigned, so students don’t have the option to select their own teammates. As a result, students miss out on the experience of selecting their own team members, learning who they work best with, and developing skills in communication and team dynamics through that process. It's more of a controlled, academic setting.
- Leangap pushes students to make their first big decision in the program: choosing their own teammates. Right from the start, they’re learning how to pick the right people, work together, and deal with disagreements in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment. It’s as close to running a real business as it gets, giving students a solid taste of what being an entrepreneur is really like.
👀 Here's the evidence: Asking a LaunchX alumni how teams are formed, and showing what happens when Leangap students build their teams.
Winner: Leangap ✅
Why? Leangap lets students choose their own teammates and teaches real-world collaboration, conflict resolution, and decision-making—key skills for entrepreneurial success.
4. 📈 Traction Achieved
One of the clearest metrics of success is the traction students achieve with their startups during the program.
However, it’s important to define what “traction” really means. Traction isn’t about “would-be” promises, hypothetical pre-sales, or survey results—it’s about real progress that drives your business forward, like sales, sign-ups, or downloads. These show real demand for your product or service. On the other hand, metrics like Instagram followers, video views, or website visitors might look good but are, in reality, just vanity metrics. They don’t actually push your startup forward. The key is focusing on signals that matter, not the noise.
The ability to gain real customers validates your product and proves your entrepreneurial courage.
- LaunchX emphasizes foundational business concepts, such as business planning, market research, and financial projections. While these exercises are valuable for building theoretical knowledge, they often do not lead to significant real-world traction during the 4 weeks of the program. LaunchX allows and encourages the use of vanity metrics.
- Leangap prioritizes early customer interaction. From day one, students are pushed to engage directly with real users and develop solutions that genuinely address their needs. This approach gets students moving fast, so by the end of the 4-week program, they’ve often landed real users, real customers, and even started making money.
👀 Here's the evidence: An analysis of every team's performance for each program, using Demo Day data as the primary source. From this, we compiled a list highlighting the highest and lowest-performing teams in each program, based on sales, sign-ups, or downloads.
For LaunchX, we tracked the Ann Arbor, Bay Area, and Online programs for 2024 and 2023 (125 teams).
For Leangap, we tracked the San Francisco and Online programs for 2024 and 2023 (24 teams).
Actual traction achieved by each program:
You can confirm this information by watching the Demo Days of each respective program:
LaunchX:
Bay Area 2024, Ann Arbor 2024, Ann Arbor 2023 Part 1, Ann Arbor 2023 Part 2., Online 2024 Part 1, Online 2024 Part 2, Online 2024 Part 3, Online 2023 Part 1, Online 2023 Part 2, Online 2023 Part 3, Online 2023 Part 4, Online 2023 Part 5.
Leangap:
San Francisco 2024, San Francisco 2023, Online 2024, Online 2023.
Winner: Leangap ✅
Why? The only difference between a high school project and an actual company is real traction. Leangap pushes students to make meaningful progress in a short amount of time, setting them apart from programs like LaunchX that focus on theoretical exercises or vanity metrics.
5. 🌟 Mentorship quality
Mentorship is key when starting out, but it all comes down to the right mentor. The best advice comes from people who’ve been in your shoes—entrepreneurs and leaders who’ve faced the highs and lows of your industry. Sure, alumni or professors can share theory or general tips, but without real-world experience, they will fall short of expectations. You need someone who’s lived it, knows the challenges, and can share practical, no-nonsense advice to help you succeed.
Class size heavily affects mentorship quality too. Larger classes limit one-on-one interactions, making it harder for mentors to connect with students. Smaller classes are key to building strong mentor-student relationships.
- LaunchX doesn’t require any actual entrepreneurial experience when recruiting mentors. Instead, the qualifications include entry-level requirements like a bachelor's degree, basic computer literacy skills with Microsoft Suite and Google Drive, and "a strong belief in the potential of high school students". For a program of this scale and cost, these requirements feel completely out of touch with the level of expertise such a program should demand. Each LaunchX class typically consists of approximately 80 students.
- Leangap mentors are required to have extensive tech industry experience, ensuring students get guidance from seasoned professionals. They include entrepreneurs with millions of dollars in revenue, TEDx speakers, and experts in marketing, software engineering, and product design. Leangap prioritizes quality mentorship to give students the insights and support they need to succeed in their journeys. Leangap maintains a small class size of approximately 40 students.
👀 Here's the evidence: LaunchX's staff and mentor job listings, and Leangap mentor descriptions.
The requirements to be LaunchX's Academic Director
Leangap mentors are renowned in their industry
You can read LaunchX's 2024 job listings here: Academic Director, Support Intern.
You can also visit their current job listing site in this link.
Leangap mentors, however, are not hired through traditional methods—they are handpicked and personally invited.
Winner: Leangap ✅
Why? As a high-stakes program, Leangap demands the best from everyone involved—including its mentors. With small class sizes, Leangap offers mentorship that is personal, meaningful, and lasting, leaving a profound impact on students.
6. BONUS: 🧠 Mental and 🏃 Physical Health
In today’s world, teen mental health is often neglected. With teenagers spending more time on their computers, it’s crucial to equip them with strategies to develop strong emotional intelligence while encouraging engaging physical activities that keep them moving. Good health is the cornerstone on which every successful entrepreneur builds their future.
- We couldn't find any mention on LaunchX's website or social media indicating a focus on mental health or the inclusion of physical activities in their programming.
- Leangap integrates weekly therapy sessions and on-demand 1:1 meetings with an in-house psychotherapist, in both online and in-person programs. Leangap mentors also organize engaging activities such as climbing, circuit training competitions, and yoga, adding an element of fun and variety to the experience.
Winner: Leangap ✅
Why? Teens experience stress, depression, and anxiety just as adults do. By teaching effective coping mechanisms, we can help them manage their worries, build resilience, boost self-confidence, and develop healthy strategies to face life’s challenges.
Which Program is Right for You?
At the end of the day, the better program depends on the goals of the participant.
Choose LaunchX if:
- You’re looking for a highly structured, academic approach to entrepreneurship.
- You want to focus on understanding the foundational concepts before putting them into practice.
- You prefer a larger class size with more peers to collaborate with.
- You excel in structured environments and may not yet feel prepared to make major decisions independently.
- You're looking for a relaxed and easygoing summer experience.
Choose Leangap if:
- You want a fast-paced, immersive experience that mirrors real-world startup environments.
- You learn by doing, and welcome all the risks and possible failures associated with doing something for the first time.
- You value small class sizes to get to know everyone on a deep level.
- You’re committed to putting in the effort required to achieve meaningful transformation.
- You value connecting with industry-experts and actively seek their feedback.
Take the Leap
Programs like LaunchX and Leangap are incredible springboards for ambitious teens with big ideas. They both offer unique ways to learn, grow, and thrive in entrepreneurship.
However, if you’re looking to grow into a resilient, adaptable person who can thrive beyond the world of entrepreneurship, 👉 Leangap is the program for you.
With amazing mentorship, hands-on experience, and a focus on real results, Leangap isn’t just about boosting your startup’s success—it’s about helping you become a confident, capable go-getter ready to tackle anything.
❗Applications to Leangap fill up fast—don’t miss out! Programs are usually full by March or April each year.
Join an info session to learn more, or if you're ready to take the next step, submit your application today. It’s quick and easy—no transcripts or recommendation letters needed, and it takes less than 30 minutes to complete.
