Find a problem. Check people want it. Pitch it.
An online business course for ages 15-18. Eight clear steps: find a problem, understand the customer, check people want it, make a first version, price it, build a brand, sort the money and legal basics, then pitch and improve. You finish with a real project you can show on an application, at an interview - or actually launch.
Go at your own pace · No credit card to start · £29 one-off access
- 8Steps, problem to pitch
- 23Tools for 15-18
- 251+UK founder role models
- £29One-off, no subscription
Start here
The course: eight steps, problem to pitch
Find a problem, understand the customer, check people want it, make a first version, price it, build a brand, sort money and legal basics, then pitch and improve. Module 1 is free.
Trailblazers Academy
Startup-style modules: find a real opportunity, validate it with real people, build a digital product, work out the numbers, grow an audience and plan a launch.
The journey
- 1Find a problem
- 2Understand the customer
- 3Check people want it
- 4Make a first version
- 5Price it
- 6Build a brand
- 7Money and legal basics
- 8Pitch and improve
What you work through
+ 4 more modules
Do the work
Every tool for 15-18, in one place
Tools built for your age group, colour-coded by skill. Filter by what you need - sample tools are free, plus 3 AI uses a day.
All 23 tools for ages 15-18 - filter by skill
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AI coach
Blaze: a coach that challenges your thinking
Stress-test your pricing, your pitch and your assumptions before anyone else does. Straight answers, built for your age group, and it never asks for personal details.
Age-aware
Talks to your age group
Private
Chats aren't saved
Coaching
Questions, not answers
Blaze 🔥
AI Business Coach
Ask me anything about your idea - here's what people your age usually ask:
Pull my pricing apart - would this actually make money?
What would an investor ask me that I can't answer yet?
How do I test this idea in a week without spending anything?
250+ UK founders who started where you are
Searchable by sector, with how each one actually started - most without money, contacts or a plan. Use them as evidence in a personal statement, as case studies in Business coursework, or just to see the route.
- Find a founder in the sector you're interested in and read how they began
- Better than a textbook case study - these are UK, current and specific
What you get out of it
Proof you can actually point to
Not a certificate of attendance. Things you made, that you can show someone.
- An idea you've tested, with what real people told you
- A simple first version or web page people have actually seen
- Your costs, price and profit - explained in your own words
- A recorded pitch, panel feedback and a finished project for applications
Along the way
- Find out if people actually want your idea, instead of guessing
- Make a simple first version - a product, service, creative or good-cause idea
- Work out your costs, your price and whether you'd make money
- Pitch to a practice investor panel and get honest feedback
Useful for
What it's for
Use it for whatever comes next
University
A big project you ran yourself, and something real to write about in your application.
Apprenticeships
Examples of getting stuck in, solving problems, understanding money and explaining ideas.
Work and interviews
A real project to talk about when you haven't got much work experience yet.
Freelance or business
An idea you've tested, a clearer price and a practical plan for the next step.
UCAS personal statements now use three set questions, including what you have done outside school and why it is useful - a Trailblazers project answers that third question well.
How the UCAS personal statement worksWorth reading
Guides for 15-18 year olds
Money, work, the NEET data - plus deep dives on UK female founders in tech, sustainability and engineering.
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Free stuff
Free guides and legal basics
The UK money and jobs rules, plus a business plan template - free, no card required.
Answers
Questions 15-18 year olds ask
Six business ideas that work at 15-18
Higher skill, higher rate, and all legal to run yourself in the UK with records kept. Each one can be started this month.
- 1. Freelance design or editingSell to small local businesses at a day rate. Portfolio compounds fast.
- 2. Social media managementRetainer work for two or three local clients beats one-off gigs.
- 3. Tutoring GCSE subjectsYou just sat them. Highest hourly rate available to a sixth former.
- 4. E-commerce or print-on-demandTest designs with no stock, then double down on what sells.
- 5. Event and portrait photographyWeekend work, clear pricing tiers, referrals do the selling.
- 6. Sports or music coachingJunior sessions at a local club. Reliable weekly income while you study.
Straight answers about ages 15-18
What business can a 15, 16, 17 or 18 year old start in the UK?
At this age you can run something properly: freelance design, video editing or social management, tutoring, e-commerce and print-on-demand, event photography, coaching, a service business like valeting or gardening, or a software or app idea. You can register as a sole trader with HMRC at 16, and under 16 a parent or carer registers on your behalf.
How to make money as a teenagerCan I register as self-employed at 16 in the UK?
Yes. From 16 you can register as a sole trader with HMRC and get a Unique Taxpayer Reference, and you keep records and file a Self Assessment if you go over the trading allowance. Under 16, a parent or carer registers and files for you. Always check the current rules on GOV.UK before you start.
Will this help with UCAS, apprenticeships or a first job?
It gives you evidence instead of adjectives. You finish with a tested idea, a first version, a financial plan and an investor-style pitch deck - concrete things to describe in a personal statement, an apprenticeship application or an interview answer about initiative.
How do I validate a business idea before I spend money?
Define the smallest version that proves the point, put it in front of ten real people, and count actions rather than compliments - sign-ups, pre-orders, deposits. The validation lab and MVP definer walk you through it step by step.
Try the validation labWhat does a teenage business plan need to include?
The problem, who has it, your solution, the market size, how you make money, your costs and break-even point, and what you will do in the next 90 days. The lean plan builder produces that in one sitting and the pitch deck builder turns it into slides you can export.
Build a lean planYoung people can test ideas and earn money, but the rules depend on your age, what you sell and how the business is structured. Company directors must be at least 16, and directors take on legal responsibilities with details published on Companies House. Earning more than £1,000 in gross trading income (receipts, not profit) in a tax year may mean registering for Self Assessment. Under-18s often need adult help with contracts, banking, payments, insurance, licences and selling-platform accounts. Use the government guidance linked below and involve a parent or carer before you launch.
General educational information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change - check the current government guidance and involve a parent or carer before you start trading.
Have something to show by the end of term
Try the first module without paying. Continue with the full Trailblazers course, the interactive tools and the downloadable resources for one £29 payment. No subscription. £29 one-off unlocks the relevant digital courses, all interactive tools, unlimited Blaze coaching and every downloadable workbook and activity - for everyone in your household, forever. Printed books are sold separately.
£29 one-off unlocks the relevant digital courses, all interactive tools, unlimited Blaze coaching and every downloadable workbook and activity - for everyone in your household, forever. Printed books are sold separately.
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