Every school has ambitious kids. They just never meet each other.
Vancouver Founders exists to connect them — into one community that builds, learns and creates opportunities together.
Talent is everywhere. The network isn’t.
If you’re a teenager in Vancouver who wants to start a business, learn to code, build an audience, or launch a project, you’re mostly on your own. Maybe one or two friends are into the same thing. Your school might have a club that meets a few times a year.
Meanwhile, three schools over, there’s someone building the exact thing you need help with — and you’ll never meet them.
We think that’s a solvable problem.
Four things, done well.
Community
A network of ambitious students from across Metro Vancouver, online and in person.
Education
Practical workshops and founder talks that show you how things actually work.
Opportunity
Competitions, an opportunities board, a member directory and a co-founder finder.
Credibility
A place to be seen — member spotlights, founder stories, and a track record you build.
Started by a student who was already building.
Vancouver Founders was founded by a Vancouver high-school student who runs a business of their own and spent years being the only person in the room their age doing that.
The lesson: the people around you matter more than almost anything. One good introduction, one honest conversation about what’s working and what isn’t, one person who’s two steps ahead — that changes what you think is possible.
This is the community we wished existed. Now we’re building it for the whole city.
This section is a placeholder — swap in your own name, story and photo when you’re ready to go public.
The culture we’re building.
Give before you ask
Members connect each other with advice, contacts and opportunities. Reputation is built by being useful.
Build, don’t just talk
Every member should be making something. Events are for doing, not just listening.
Meet three new people
You should leave every event having met at least three people you didn’t know before.
Smart, not hype
No get-rich-quick energy. No MLMs. No pressure to sell to other members.
Success is broad
Revenue is one measure. So are learning, creativity, leadership and social impact.
Schools collaborate
We’re a network between schools, not a competition between them.
The central network for young founders in Greater Vancouver.
We’re starting in Vancouver with a founding cohort of 100 students. Over time: more schools, an annual youth startup competition, a mentor network, a summer incubator, and eventually chapters across Metro Vancouver — Burnaby, Richmond, the North Shore, the Tri-Cities, Surrey.
The goal is that any ambitious teenager in this region has an obvious place to go, people to build with, and a path to what’s next.
Want in on the founding cohort?
Applications take about 10 minutes and are reviewed on a rolling basis.