SOCIAL INNOVATION IN EDUCATION
Cambio Labs™ creates educational technology and curricular programs that transform community members into social entrepreneurs, designers for impact, and community activists.
The Kauffman Foundation found that entrepreneurial thinking boosts personal agency, resilience, and innovation — skills that are critical in all areas of life, not just business.
Real world employability skills are not being taught in most schools. According to industry recruitment data, less than 25% of high school graduates are employable.
The tech and innovation sectors increasingly struggle to recruit qualified candidates, especially from low income, Black & Latinx
communities. Less than 2% of VC-backed startups have founders of color.
Why now?
the Cambio Labs™ social entrepreneurship INCUBATOR is not just a course, but a REAL WORLD incubator for INNOVATORS TO LAUNCH & RUN social startups.
What is the Social Entrepreneurship Incubator?
In the Cambio Labs Social Entrepreneurship Incubator, students become real-world innovators. Working in startup teams, they will identify social or environmental challenges, ideate solutions, and launch their own mission-driven ventures.
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Throughout the program, high school students collaborate with co-founders to:
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Ideate, pitch, prototype, and launch a startup
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Solve real problems in their communities
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Engage with mentors and pitch to real entrepreneurs
They’ll build both an entrepreneurial and designer’s mindset, while gaining hands-on experience in:
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Communication & collaboration
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Design thinking & prototyping
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Financial literacy & business strategy
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Community engagement & user feedback
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Public speaking, pitching, and leadership
This is a deeply practical, project-based experience rarely offered in high school — even at the college level.
Two Flexible Program Formats
FULL SERVICE PROGRAM
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Cambio Labs instructors lead the course
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Includes mentorship, coaching, and partner connections
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Internship, pitch day, and real startup assets delivered
CURRICULUM + TRAIN-THE-TRAINER
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License our curriculum + toolkits
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Online access for up to 30 students or teachers
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Teacher onboarding & training provided
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Ideal for in-school, after-school, or summer programs
THE course
​Throughout the program, students engage in entrepreneurial coaching from industry professionals, and are exposed to internship and job opportunities from partner organizations in the fields of tech, sustainability, design, and innovation.​
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Program includes:
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The Journey Platform (video lessons, challenges, collaboration tools)
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Gamified learning with virtual rewards (Cambio Coin)
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Entrepreneurial coaching from industry pros
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Mentorship and internship opportunities
Breakdown of a Typical 60 Minute Class
10 minutes
of video or live lecture
30 minutes
Group work to complete entrepreneurial challenge
10 minutes
Discussion / Q&A
10 minutes
Closing Discussion / Updates
What Participants Should Expect
The course will be instructed through a variety of media, including video lectures, video case studies, slideshows, virtual whiteboards, and the usage of our online learning platform, Journey, that all students will have access to.
Program participants, prepare to team up with 2-3 other co-founders who will join your entrepreneurial team! In this course, you will meet and work with new friends, creative teammates, and business partners.
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Incubator Environment
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Interactive sessions with rich and targeted discussions
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Collaboration and extensive team work
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Discovering new skills and sometimes working outside of your comfort zone
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Embracing the iterative (and sometimes messy!) design and business testing process
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Embracing your inner creative
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Becoming comfortable with uncertainty and "failing forward"
Modes of Learning
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Frequent Teamwork
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Discussions
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Presentations & Pitching
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Coaching & Mentorship
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Meeting Real Entrepreneurs that will Judge the Pitches
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Completing Entrepreneurial Challenges
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Creating Startup Assets for your Company
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Interviewing Customers and Users
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Community Engagement
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Interpreting Feedback from Users & Experts
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The Platform
Program participants will also receive accounts for the Journey platform, an online innovation learning platform developed by the Cambio Labs™ team. By using the Journey portal and software, students can rewatch video lessons, engage in project-based challenges, collaborate with their startup team members, and submit their assignments online. By completing challenges, teams can also earn Cambio Coin - virtual currency that can be used to claim real world rewards and professional services from the Perks & Rewards page.
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Journey is an innovation learning platform, and a gamified learning solution that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere
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The Journey platform could be the solution for training and fostering innovation in your organization. Find out how we are partnering with other companies to make that a reality.
Benefits for Participants
Stand Out
to colleges in your upcoming applications as you speak about the startup that you created in high school.
Network
with other entrepreneurial teens, community members, and industry professionals.
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learn
the business and project management skills that hiring managers love.
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Launch
your own company that could potentially become a source of income for you and your teammates​.
What ADMINISTRATORS need to know
Instructors and learners do not need previous knowledge about business or entrepreneurship to engage in this course.
The Cambio Labs™ Social Entrepreneurship Incubator is typically offered as an elective, after school, or summer course.​
Our team has designed a curriculum and easy-to-use teaching toolkits for instructors to deliver the course as an in-person, blended, or fully virtual program. ​
We provide a variety of media and learning experiences, including live lectures, video case studies, slideshows and activities, fieldwork, site visits, and the usage of Journey - our gamified, innovation learning platform