Parents and guardians
Your child is building something. Here's how we keep it safe.
Launch League is a free, practical entrepreneurship program for Ontario, open from age 12. For anyone under 18, you stay in the loop: nothing opens without your consent, and you can see and manage their account. Families in Chatham-Kent can also book one-to-one career coaching.
Start here
What's actually on offer
Almost all of it is free, and none of it requires you to buy anything.
The free program
8 modules on how business really works, a one-page plan, a province-wide competition with written feedback from real businesspeople, and help getting a first customer. Free for every young person in Ontario from age 12, and free for schools.See Business 101Future Finder
A ten-minute career snapshot for 12 to 17: fifty-six quick questions, no account, and nothing stored. It will not tell them what to be, but it is a good way to start the conversation.Try it freeWays to earn now
Practical, legal ways for a teenager in Ontario to make money, with the tax, contracts and getting-paid parts explained in plain language.See the guideCareers guides
What to do after high school in Ontario, how apprenticeships and OYAP work, how to become an electrician, what a career quiz can and can't tell you, and how to help without choosing for them.Read the guidesCareer coaching for teens
One-to-one career exploration for teenagers aged 12–17: what they’re good at, careers they’ve never heard of, conversations with people doing the work, and a plan they chose. This one is paid, and it is local only.How coaching works
Your teenager does not have to want to start a business. Entrepreneurship is what we teach and what we are known for — but plenty of the young people here are heading for a trade, a college program or a job, and everything free on this site is useful either way.
We are also building a student community where young people can keep learning and exploring careers together after the program. It is not open yet, there is no date, and there is nothing to sign up for — when there is, it will be explained here first, including how consent and moderation will work.
Three promises
You stay in the loop.
You give consent
When a young person under 18 sets up their profile, we email the parent or guardian they name. Their Business Dashboard and any competition entry wait for your answer.Business numbers stay private
Sales, expenses and customers are visible to your child and to you. Teachers, judges, mentors and sponsors never see them.Optional means optional
Marketing emails and photo or video permission are separate questions that start unticked. Saying no changes nothing.
What your child does here
Real work, not busywork.
Go talk to a real customer
Business 101 is 8 self-paced modules on a real problem, customers, an offer, pricing, sales and the numbers. Each module ends with something to go and do, like talking to potential customers. After that, they can build a one-page plan, enter the competition for written feedback from experienced businesspeople, and use the Business Dashboard to track a real small business.
What we collect: name, email, birth month and year (not the full date), country, optionally school, grade and town, your name and email, their Business 101 answers, and the business information they enter. We never ask for a SIN, government ID, bank logins, card numbers, health information or precise location. Details are in the Privacy Policy.
Out in the world
The safety rules we teach
Every Business 101 module and Launch Sprint stage that sends a young person out into the world repeats these.
A note for parents
Launch League doesn't supervise participants' businesses. Please help your child decide what work is safe and appropriate for their age.
- Talk to people you know, or have a parent, guardian or teacher with you. Meet in public places or at school, never in a stranger's home or car.
- Keep your home address, personal phone number and school off flyers, posts and messages. Use a contact a parent or guardian can see.
- Only sell door to door or make deliveries with an adult who knows where you are.
- Most social media and video platforms require users to be at least 13. Follow each platform's rules, let an adult see your business accounts, and don't privately message adults you don't know.
- Payment apps and online checkouts usually need an adult account holder. Take payments with a parent or guardian involved.
- Some work needs insurance, a licence, safety training or an adult: food, childcare, ladders and roofs, power tools, and anything involving driving. Ask an adult before you say yes to a job.
- If something feels wrong, stop and tell an adult you trust. You can also reach Kids Help Phone any time at 1-800-668-6868 or by texting CONNECT to 686868.
Guardian access
Managing your child's account
Respond to the consent email from Launch League.
Create a free account at launchleague.ca using that same email address.
Go to Guardian sign-in
See their dashboard (read-only), download their records, change optional permissions, withdraw consent or ask us to delete the account.
Questions
What parents ask us
- Does it cost anything?
- No. Business 101, the Business Dashboard, the Launch Sprint and entering the competition are free, with no equity taken. Optional paid tools are for adults and are never needed to take part.
- What age can my child join?
- Anyone can read the Business 101 lessons. The competition is open from age 12, and some categories have their own age ranges. Everyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian's consent before their Business Dashboard opens or a competition entry is accepted.
- Who can see my child's business numbers?
- Your child, and you if you sign in with the email address that gave consent. Launch League staff use account information only to run the program. Teachers, judges, mentors and sponsors can't see business numbers, and nothing is sold.
- Can my child's photo or story be used in promotion?
- Only with your separate, optional permission. Saying no never affects taking part or judging, and you can change your mind any time.
- How do I withdraw consent or delete the account?
- Sign in at launchleague.ca/guardian with the email that gave consent, or email admin@launchleague.ca. You can download your child's records first.
- I didn't get the consent email.
- Check spam, then ask your child to send it again from their account, or email admin@launchleague.ca from the address they listed.
- Is the paid career coaching the same as the free program?
- No. The free program — Business 101, the business plan, the competition and the Launch Sprint — is open to every young person in Ontario and always free. Career coaching is a separate paid service for families in Chatham-Kent only, and buying it gives your child no advantage in the competition: entries are judged by volunteers who don't know who has paid for anything.
Questions about Launch League: admin@launchleague.ca