Michael Gibbs, founder of Camp BizSmart, describes it as the only camp of its kind focused on finding and fostering the next crop of "tweenpreneurs."
Gibbs, a former Fortune 500 executive, and his wife, Peggy, an executive with nonprofits, started the camp in 2008.
"It was the beginning of the economic downturn," said Gibbs. "We thought it was the best time to find and educate the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders who someday could reenergize the economy."
The camps are held at Stanford, Santa Clara University, Honolulu's Punahou School (whose famous alumni include President Obama and AOL co-founder Steve Case) and Hyderabad, India. They attract more than 300 students each summer.
Gibbs said executives from Apple, Google and Cisco come and mentor the kids in this mini-MBA like program, which teaches them about teamwork, problem solving, cost analysis and how to put together a business plan.
Each year, kids at the Stanford camp also participate in a one-day, Microsoft-hosted competition where they get 10 minutes to pitch their business idea to industry executives and learn about raising financing.
Since it opened in 2008, enrollment has doubled every year, said Gibbs. And today, the nonprofit -- which will make $150,000 in revenue this year -- has expanded to 11 camps.
Successful graduates include a group of kids who are working with nonprofit HopeLab to develop a fitness monitor that encourages teens to be more active.
Ken Stamps' belief that more Americans want to do zip-lining in the states has paid off. His U.S. company made a million bucks.
