JA Company Program^®

Program Overview
JA Company Program empowers high school students to fill a need or solve a problem in their community and teaches them practical skills required to conceptualize, capitalize, and manage their own business venture. Throughout the process of building their own company, students collaborate, make crucial business decisions, communicate with multiple stakeholders, and develop entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. Community volunteers and mentors provide real-world guidance and experience to the student-led startup.

The program is available for both in-school and after-school settings and may be completed during one semester or throughout an entire school year.

Program Basics
• Part of the JA Entrepreneurship Pathway and is designed for Grades 9–12
• Blended model with teacher-led and volunteer-led opportunities to support flexible implementation options
• Includes self-guided learning topics in a flipped model to maximize hands-on learning time with the lead instructor
• Subject Matter Expert volunteer guides
• Robust support materials for teachers, including a pacing guide for semester-long implementation
• Streamlined financial management with accompanying step-by-step, walk-through tutorial videos
• Includes new, interactive, self-guided topics for sales, leadership and management, supply chain, finance, and marketing
• Correlates well to state social studies, English, and math standards, as well as the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts and mathematics.

Pillars of Student Success	Entrepreneurship: High	Financial Literacy: Moderate	Work Readiness: High

Program Implementation	Program Grade-Level
Classroom Based	Grades 9-12

Program Concepts	Program Skills

Program Sessions

Meeting One: Start a Business

Students are introduced to the JA Company Program experience, explore ways to raise capital for their business venture, and analyze their personal strengths to help inform their individual roles in their company project.

Meeting Two: Solve a Customer’s Problem

Students use creative problem solving to brainstorm ideas for a business service/product, with the goal of identifying their top choices to research.

Meeting Three: Evaluate the Options

Students apply their personal entrepreneurial skills while exploring good decision making and vetting the viability of a venture, using a SWOT analysis tool to narrow their decision on their company’s final product idea.

Meeting Four: Create a Structure

Students initiate the company’s structure by establishing roles, commence planning within business teams, and finalize capitalization decisions.

Meeting Five: Launch the Business

Students explore corporate leadership roles and responsibilities, evaluate personal leadership skills, and elect leaders for the business venture. Then, they organize their business teams, start deep dives into business team roles, and complete work on the Business Snapshot and Company Charter.

Meetings Six-Eleven: Business Operations

Over the course of several meetings, students launch their business, work in their business teams to run the business, and share weekly progress with Leadership. They have access to self-guided content to support their specific roles.

Meeting Twelve: Liquidate the Company

Students finalize their company’s operations, initiate the steps necessary to liquidate their company’s assets, and complete the steps to close out their company.

Meeting Thirteen: Create a Personal Plan of Action

Students recognize the necessity of networking as an entrepreneur and work on a personal action plan to develop their personal network and to refine their entrepreneurial skills.

Meeting Fourteen: Develop an Annual Report (Optional)

During this optional meeting, students create an annual report as a summary of their student company experience.

Program Resources

Program Correlations

Sponsor

Junior Achievement USA® gratefully acknowledges The Hartford for its dedication to the development and implementation of the high school entrepreneurship program JA Company Program®. During the JA Company Program experience, students start a real business, unlocking their innate ability to address problems with innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit.