How it Works

1. Experiential Learning

Kids learn through experience. The experience of starting and running a business teaches kids supply and demand, trading time for money, and using money to make more money, so they can get it first hand.

In order to maximize the benefit of The Money Academy experience, we take as much of a hands-off approach as possible. We provide the environment for them to explore the process for themselves and make their own mistakes. Through this method, they develop a much deeper understanding of the ideas they are exploring.


2. Integrity, Accountability, and Ownership

Because it’s their business, their idea, their product, and their money, the kids have a strong sense of ownership from the very beginning. They have to think through problems and challenges and find solutions for themselves as a team. This feeds their excitement and has them “self-regulate,” since they’re intrinsically motivated to have their business be successful.

A good example of this self-regulation: In a recent session of The Money Academy Camp at Gatti-Town, the campers saw that spending time in the game room had a huge impact on the success of their business. By the second day, they had collectively chosen to devote their camp time to making and selling their product, saving their game cards for later.


3. Building Teams Where Everyone Wins

Since they’re building a collaborative business, the campers spend the entire week working as part of a team. They divide their profits evenly at the end of the week, so the only way they can all win is if everybody is operating at their greatest ability. By acknowledging each other’s strengths, they get to see that leadership is about having everyone around you win.

As a corollary to this leadership and teambuilding process, kids identify different business roles (CEO, marketing director, etc.) and then swap them around so everyone gets to experience themselves leading different parts of the company.


4. Pushing Through Personal Challenges

As parents, we want our children to go to summer camps that expand them through opportunities they don’t get in school. At Money Academy Camp, campers push through areas where they didn’t think they had strength or where they generally get stuck. They now know themselves to be responsible people who can accomplish whatever they choose, because they’ve done it here with the support of a team.