Turn a wild idea into something real.
An online business course for ages 9-11. Ten story-led missions: spot a problem, find an idea, work out who it's for, make it, build a brand, do the money, tell people, then plan it and pitch it. They finish with their own idea, a price that makes sense and a 60-second pitch they've said out loud.
No card to start · Works solo or together · £29 one-off access
- 10Missions, idea to pitch
- 22Tools for 9-11
- 250+UK founder role models
- £29One-off, no subscription
Start here
The course: 10 modules, idea to pitch
Spark the Fox walks them from spotting a problem to making the pitch, one mission at a time. Mission 1 is free; £29 once unlocks the rest for the household, forever.
Pioneers Academy
Turn a wild idea into a real business: spot problems worth solving, design a product, run a cookie-business simulator, build a brand, set prices that make a profit and pitch it.
What they work through
+ 4 more modules
Do the work
Every tool for 9-11, in one place
Tools built for this age group, colour-coded by skill. Filter by what they need - sample tools are free, plus 3 AI uses a day.
All 22 tools for ages 9-11 - filter by skill
Swipe for more →
AI coach
Stuck? Ask Blaze.
Blaze is their age-aware business sidekick. It helps develop an idea, think of a name or improve a pitch - asking questions instead of taking over the thinking.
Age-aware
Talks to your age group
Private
Personal details removed
Coaching
Questions, not answers
Blaze 🔥
AI Business Coach
Ask me anything about your idea - here's what people your age usually ask:
Is 50p enough for one of my cookies?
My business name is boring - give me better ones
Ask me questions so I can practise my pitch
250+ UK founders who started with an idea
Searchable by sector, with how each one actually began - most without money, contacts or a plan. Let them filter to the industries a 10 year old cares about: sweets, games, sport, animals, fashion.
- Find a founder in a sector they love and read how she started
- Real UK examples for school projects instead of textbook case studies
Off screen
More building. Less scrolling.
Take the idea away from the screen with drawing challenges, brand activities and money puzzles. Maya's Big Business Adventure suits ages 6-9 and is more story-led; Dream It. Be It. Biz-it! suits ages 10-14 and is more independent and project-based. Printed books are bought separately from the shop and are not part of the £29 digital access.
What changes for them
What they'll have to show
Real things they will finish with - the reason this sticks when a worksheet does not.
- An idea of their own, with a reason it matters
- A brand kit - name, colours and a logo idea
- Costs, price and profit in their own words
- A one-page plan and a 60-second pitch they've delivered
Along the way
- Spot a problem worth solving instead of guessing at ideas
- Ask a real person what they'd pay, then set a price that works
- Understand costs and profit through a cookie business they actually run
- Say their idea out loud in 60 seconds without freezing
Useful for
For the grown-up
What parents ask before their child starts
Can they do it alone?
Most 9-11 year olds work through the missions independently - plain language, 20-30 minutes each. Be nearby for AI features and anything real-world.
Account and data
Mission 1 and sample tools need no account. A free account saves work and gives 3 AI uses a day. We never ask a child for a phone number, school or address.
How Blaze works
An age-aware AI coach with guardrails for 9-11: it asks questions rather than doing the thinking, and gives no social media, money-transfer or contact-sharing advice.
No ads, no subscription
No third-party ads or ad targeting anywhere, and nothing to cancel - access is a one-off £29.
It supports skills used across KS2 maths, PSHE and design and technology - pricing and profit, resilience and teamwork, designing and prototyping a product. It is not a replacement for school work.
Read the privacy policyWorth reading
Guides for parents of 9-11 year olds
Ideas, money basics and holiday projects - written for UK families.
Swipe for more →
Free stuff
Free guides and idea starters
Grab these now - no card, no account required.
Straight answers
What parents of 9-11 year olds ask
Six business ideas that work for 9-11 year olds
Low cost, quick to deliver, and each one teaches a different bit of money. Costs and prices in pounds so the maths is real.
- 1. Traybake ordersCost a batch of 12 brownies, price them per slice, take orders from family and neighbours.
- 2. Dog walking with an adultSet a per-walk price, keep a simple diary, learn repeat customers beat one-off sales.
- 3. Handmade jewellery or keyringsBuy beads in bulk, work out the cost per piece, sell at a school or village fair.
- 4. Car washing roundFixed price per car, three cars an hour. The clearest lesson in time versus money.
- 5. Party bag serviceAssemble bags to order for birthdays. Teaches quoting, deadlines and buying in bulk.
- 6. Garden tidyingLeaf clearing or watering while neighbours are away. Zero start-up cost, pure profit.
Straight answers about ages 9-11
What business can a 9, 10 or 11 year old start in the UK?
Anything with low costs, short delivery and a grown-up handling the money side: cake and traybake orders, dog walking with an adult, car washing, handmade slime or jewellery, a school-fair stall, birthday-party bag assembly, garden tidying. A child can earn and keep money, but a parent holds the bank account and signs anything contractual.
Browse business ideas for kidsHow do I teach a 9-11 year old about profit and pricing?
Give them a real batch to cost out. Work out what one unit costs to make, decide a price, then multiply. Our cookie-business simulator does exactly this on screen so they can raise the price, watch sales fall and find the middle - the moment pricing stops being abstract.
Try the profit calculatorCan a 9-11 year old work through this on their own?
Mostly yes. The missions are written at KS2 reading level and course progress saves to their learner profile. Supported business builders also save key ideas in My Work. Stay nearby for AI features and for anything involving real customers or money.
What does a first business plan look like at this age?
One page: what the idea is, who it is for, what it costs to make, what you will charge and what you would do with the profit. They finish the track with exactly that, plus a 60-second pitch they have practised out loud.
Free business plan templateHow does this link to KS2 school work?
It uses skills from KS2 maths (money, percentages, multiplication), PSHE (resilience, teamwork, aspiration) and design and technology (designing, making and evaluating a product for a real user).
How to spot a problem worth solving, shape an idea, work out who the customer is, build a brand, understand costs and profit, set a price, write a one-page plan and deliver a 60-second pitch. They finish with an idea of their own and the confidence to explain it.
Pioneers is designed so most 9-11 year olds can work through it independently - plain language, no jargon, 10-20 minutes a tool. We recommend that a parent or carer is nearby, particularly when they use AI features, contact potential customers or take an idea into the real world.
Maya's Big Business Adventure (ages 6-9) is more story-led and works well as a read-together at nine. Dream It. Be It. Biz-it! (ages 10-14) is the write-in workbook and is more independent and project-based. Printed books are bought separately from the £29 digital access.
Mission 1 of the Pioneers course is free, a set of sample tools is free, and you get 3 AI uses a day with no card needed. A one-off £29 unlocks the complete course, interactive tools and downloadable activities. No subscription.
It supports skills used across KS2 maths, PSHE and design and technology - pricing and profit, resilience and teamwork, designing and prototyping a product. It is not a replacement for the school curriculum.
Plenty do, on a small scale: bake sales, car washing, handmade crafts, dog walking with an adult. The course itself uses a simulation, so nobody has to sell anything. A child can earn and keep money, but a parent handles any bank account and anything contractual.
Start free. Keep building for £29.
Mission 1 is free and takes about 25 minutes. £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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