Build.
Identify meaningful problems and create thoughtful solutions.
Whether software, hardware, AI, consumer products, or services, every great company begins with building.
Back to Launchpad
Our story.
Every year, thousands of high school students spend weekends building incredible projects at hackathons, coding clubs, robotics competitions, and personal projects.
Then Monday comes.
The project gets pushed to GitHub.
The presentation ends.
The users never come.
The product never grows.
We believe learning shouldn’t stop once the prototype works. The hardest — and most valuable — part of building something isn’t writing the first line of code.
It’s finding users.
It’s talking to customers.
It’s improving after launch.
It’s learning why people buy, share, recommend, or ignore what you create.
Launchpad exists to teach that missing half.
A note from the founder
I started Launchpad because the program I wanted in high school didn’t exist yet. So I’m building it.
You learn to code by writing code. You learn to build a company by building one. Every weekend, every chapter meeting, every Shipathon — that’s the lesson plan.
— Rishaan · Launchpad · AHS, Fremont
hi, that’s me Rishaan
Mission
Build the next generation of builders.
Our mission is to build the next generation of builders by giving high school students the community, mentorship, and opportunities to create products that solve real problems.
We believe students are capable of far more than classroom assignments, hypothetical business plans, or one-weekend hackathon projects.
They deserve the opportunity to build something that lasts.
What makes us different
Most organizations focus on one piece of the puzzle.
Launchpad combines engineering, design, product thinking, marketing, and entrepreneurship into one experience — because building something people love requires all of them.
Traditional programs
Launchpad
Learn to code
Build complete products
Pitch ideas
Launch real products
Win competitions
Grow users and impact
Finish projects
Continue improving them
Learn one discipline
Learn the full product lifecycle
The Launchpad Framework
Four stages. In order. Always.
Ship.
Ideas don't change the world. Launched products do.
Students learn how to publish, launch, gather feedback, and iterate quickly.
Sell.
A great product nobody knows about isn't enough.
Launchpad teaches branding, storytelling, marketing, customer discovery, and distribution so products reach the people they're meant to help.
Scale.
Launching isn't the finish line.
Students learn how to improve products through user feedback, analytics, iteration, partnerships, and long-term thinking.
What we do
Four programs. One mission.
Photo slotFirst AHS chapter meeting/public/photos/chapter.jpg
01 · Chapters
Chapters.
Student-led communities where builders collaborate on products, host workshops, invite founders, and learn together.
Photo slotShipathon teams in build mode/public/photos/shipathon.jpg
02 · Shipathons
Shipathons.
Launchpad's flagship event. Instead of building prototypes for judges alone, teams create products designed to be used by real people — building, validating, launching, and presenting products that continue beyond the competition.
Photo slotFounder talk · Q&A/public/photos/founder-session.jpg
03 · Founder Sessions
Founder Sessions.
Hear directly from founders, engineers, designers, marketers, investors, and creators about what it actually takes to build products that matter.
Photo slotPlaybook spread/public/photos/resources.jpg
04 · Builder Resources
Builder Resources.
Members gain access to guides, playbooks, workshops, templates, and open-source curriculum covering every stage of product development.
The first cohort
The names that will be on the page forever.
Photo slotFirst cohort group photo/public/photos/first-cohort.jpg
the og crew. everything starts here.
12Founding members
01Active chapter
04Workshops shipped
Will-build energy
Vision
Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn't.
We imagine a future where every ambitious student has access to opportunities that currently exist only in a handful of schools and communities.
Launchpad is working to change that.
Through local chapters, online resources, mentorship, and global initiatives, we’re building an ecosystem where students can learn, collaborate, and launch products regardless of where they live.
Launchpad Atlas
Expanding opportunity beyond geography.
Some students grow up surrounded by startup founders, engineering clubs, hackathons, and mentors. Others have none of those opportunities. Launchpad Atlas exists to close that gap.
Atlas is our long-term initiative dedicated to bringing product education to underserved students around the world. Talent shouldn’t depend on your ZIP code.
- 01Open-source curriculum
- 02Remote mentorship
- 03Regional partnerships
- 04Micro-grants
- 05Community-led chapters
Long-term vision
We’re just getting started.
Over the coming years, we’re working toward:
- 01 / 06Now · FALL 2026
Roots in the Bay Area
AHS chapter plus the founding cohort, monthly meetings, founder talks, the first chapter-led builds.
- 02 / 06Soon · SPRING 2027
Annual Shipathons
The first Bay Area Shipathon. Teams ship real products in 2 weeks, in front of working founders and operators. Hybrid Event
- 03 / 06Year 2 · WINTER 2027
A nationwide chapter network
4+ chapters across the country, each running monthly meetings, founder sessions, and chapter-led events.
- 04 / 06Year 3 · SPRING 2028
Open-source curriculum
The full Launchpad playbook published freely. Educators, clubs, and partner orgs adopt and translate it.
- 05 / 06Year 3 · SUMMER 2028
Launchpad Atlas
Launchpad Atlas operating in multiple regions outside the US, putting builder tools in underserved hands.
- 06 / 06Long-term ·
A generation of builders
Launchpad alumni founding companies, nonprofits, open-source projects, and technology that improves people's lives.
Join the movement
Launchpad isn’t a club you attend once a month.
It’s a community for students who want to build things that matter. Whether you’re an engineer, designer, marketer, founder, writer, artist, or simply someone with ideas worth pursuing, there’s a place for you here.
Build.
Ship.
Sell.
Scale.
The next generation of builders starts here.