For Teens 13-17 Years
Build Before 18
Career and Startup Builder Program for Teens
Built for How Teenage Founders Actually Learn.
Build Yourself
Build Skills
Build Projects
Build Ventures
Build Your Career
Classes 8–12 | Selection-Based | Limited Seats
Ideate
Innovate
Build
What Happens
Over the Next Few Months
A complete journey
Strengths-Based Career Planning
Discover your natural strengths, explore career options, and choose the right stream and subjects with confidence.
Start up Builder Internship to create Startups & Growth Companies
Work on real startup projects, get mentored by founders who have raised funding and built successful businesses, and gain hands-on entrepreneurial experience with innovative startups and growth-stage companies.
1:1 Mentorship from Top Founders & Professionals
Learn directly from experienced founders, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals who have built successful careers.
Learn Entrepreneurship Through Real Exposure
Understand how startups are built, solve real-world problems, and develop an entrepreneurial mindset through founder interactions and live sessions.
Build a Strong Profile for College & Career
Build a standout profile with internships, projects, certifications, and experiences that help you stand out for college admissions and future opportunities.
Build a Powerful Network
Meet, learn, collaborate, and grow with ambitious students, founders, and professionals who open doors to new opportunities.
Earn an Industry-Recognised Certificate
Complete the program and receive an industry-recognised certificate to strengthen your student profile.
Classes 8–12 | Selection-Based | Limited Seats
The Impact
Before
After
I don’t know what I’m good at
Textbook knowledge only
No proof of initiative
Career decisions based on guesswork or peer pressure
Passive student
A Gallup-backed understanding of their actual strengths
Real-world exposure through internships and founder interaction
A built profile and portfolio they can show colleges or recruiters
Career decisions based on evidence, what they’re actually good at and enjoy
Someone who’s exercised ideation, problem-solving, and ownership on real work
Classes 8–12 | Selection-Based | Limited Seats
Recognised by Industry Leaders and Experts
Saurabh Arora
CEO & Founder, University Living
They think like people twice their age.
I walked into the session expecting curious students. I walked out having conversations I’d normally have with founders and young professionals. Their depth of thinking genuinely surprised me.
Mayank Maheshwari
COO & Co-Founder, University Living
I’d hire this mindset any day.
Skills can be taught. Curiosity, ownership, and the willingness to solve hard problems are much harder to find. That’s exactly what I saw in these students.
Arjun Vajpai
1st Indian to summit 8x8000m | Mountaineer, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author
They’re far more ready than they realize.
They already have the confidence, problem-solving ability, and drive that many people don’t develop until much later. They just need opportunities to put it into action.
Nikhil Aggarwal
Director, Signature Global
Ambition is contagious.
Their energy made me think bigger. When you meet teenagers who are genuinely excited to build, experiment, and create impact, it’s impossible not to be inspired.
Mohit Gupta
Founder, Frob
They’re already thinking like founders.
They weren’t waiting for answers, they were asking better questions, spotting opportunities, and figuring out how to make ideas happen.
Abhishek Joshhi
Founder & Program Director, Venture Ready School
They constantly raise the bar.
I’ve worked with thousands of teenagers, and they still find ways to surprise me. Their ability to connect ideas, challenge assumptions, and think independently is remarkable.
Shaila Prabhu
Associate Director, TiE Delhi NCR
Founding Advisor – Entrepreneurship & Venture Ecosystem
I expected curiosity. I found conviction.
The confidence with which they defended their ideas, accepted feedback, and refined their thinking was incredibly refreshing. They’re far ahead of where I expected them to be.
Neelam Rawat
Co-Founder & Head – Student Growth & Partnerships
I kept forgetting their age.
There were moments when I had to remind myself I was speaking to teenagers. Their maturity, self-awareness, and depth of thought genuinely caught me off guard.
Paresh Pradhan
Gallup Global Strengths Coach
Director, Board of Directors – Livguard | Livpure | Livegreen
Their thinking is refreshingly original.
What impressed me wasn’t what they knew, it was how they thought. They looked at problems from angles many experienced professionals would miss.
Gagan Deep Singh Bath
Gallup Global Strengths Coach
Ex – KPMG, Xerox, Aon, HCL
They made me rethink what’s possible at this age.
I wasn’t expecting this level of ownership, curiosity, and clarity. Their questions sparked conversations I would happily have with senior professionals.
Learn
Have Fun
Create Impact
A structured journey for students in Classes 8-12 that brings everything together in one place.
Strengths
Stream
Subjects
Career Direction
Profile Building
Internships & Certifications
Mentorship
Entrepreneurship Exposure
College Admission Guidance
Classes 8–12 | Selection-Based | Limited Seats
Program by
Strengths Masters
Combining strengths-based career development with startup ecosystem exposure to prepare students for real-world readiness.
Strengths Masters
A strengths-based career development organisation that has guided thousands of students and worked with leading institutions to build career clarity, confidence, and direction using evidence-based strengths psychology frameworks.
Stories of Clarity, Confidence, and Readiness
Our Team
Program Leadership Team
Abhishek Joshhi
Founder & Program Director: Venture Ready School
Neelam Rawat
Co-Founder & Head – Student Growth & Partnerships
Shaila Prabhu
Associate Director: TiE Delhi NCR
Founding Advisor – Entrepreneurship & Venture Ecosystem
Class 8–12 · Limited Seats
Start Building Before 18
Apply for the program now
1-to-1 Mentorship
Class 8 -12
FAQs
Build Before 18 Program is designed for students in Classes 8 to 12 who want to go beyond academics and start building real-world readiness early.
The program is ideal for students who want to discover their strengths, gain clarity about future opportunities, build meaningful portfolios, complete internships, interact with entrepreneurs and mentors, earn industry-recognised certification, and develop experiences that support their long-term goals.
It is particularly valuable for families who are looking for a structured pathway instead of piecing together multiple courses, counsellors, internships, and profile-building activities separately.
Every student is assigned one dedicated mentor who stays with them throughout the complete six-month program.
Students receive up to 12 personalised mentor sessions and founder sessions, with up to two dedicated mentoring days every month. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour and focuses on reviewing progress, solving challenges, refining ideas, and helping the student.
In addition to founder-led learning, every important lesson is followed by an individual follow-up with the student’s own mentor.
At the end of the program, students don’t just walk away with a certificate; they walk away with proof of growth.
Each student builds a portfolio of experiences, gains exposure to entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem, develops a better understanding of their strengths, completes internship and project-based learning opportunities, and earns industry-recognised certification.
The result is a student who is more self-aware, more confident, and better prepared to make informed decisions about streams, careers, college applications, and future opportunities.
Students are trained by two sets of coaches
1) Elite Coaches Certified by Gallup USA, who are experienced in Strengths-Based Career Planning, have global exposure, and have worked with 100 + organisations and 4000 + students.
2) Founders who have done it all: started with nothing, built multi-million-dollar companies, raised venture funding, created profitable businesses, and still stay close to customers, products, and execution.
The cohort is kept small deliberately, fewer than 25 students, so every student gets meaningful coaching attention, the right peer group, and genuine ecosystem access. A larger batch would dilute all three.
