Avoid this
- Starting with a logo instead of a customer problem
- Trying to sell to everyone
- Ignoring feedback that challenges the idea
High school project idea · Money & Financial Systems
Launch a Tiny Business Experiment
Test a real business idea before building the full thing.
Great entrepreneurs learn from customers before they fall in love with their own idea.
Original Compass project by Davisville LabsReviewed August 2026Goal real work, evidence, and reflectionEditorial standards →
Why this project matters
Learn by doing something real.
A business is not just a logo or an idea. It is a promise to solve a real problem for a real person. This project helps students learn how value is created, how customers think, and why testing an idea matters before spending time or money building it.
What you will create
Your project plan
Use these deliverables as milestones for Launch a Tiny Business Experiment. Adapt the details to your interests, available time, and real-world opportunities.
- 01
Choose a customer problem
Identify one specific problem, desire, or frustration that a real group of people has.
- 02
Design the offer
Create a simple product, service, or experience that could solve the problem in a small but useful way.
- 03
Test with real people
Ask at least five potential customers what they think, what they would change, and whether they would pay for it.
- 04
Build the launch plan
Create a simple plan for pricing, promotion, delivery, costs, and first customers.
- 05
Publish the business case study
Create a portfolio page explaining the idea, customer feedback, what changed, and what you would do next.
Make the work stronger
What separates a finished project from a meaningful one?
For Launch a Tiny Business Experiment, use these checkpoints to protect the quality of the work without turning the project into a performance for admissions.
Evidence that it is working
- One customer group was chosen
- One specific problem was defined
- A simple offer was designed
If you want to go further
- Create a landing page
- Make a simple mockup or prototype
Skills you can build
Capabilities that travel beyond this project.
Customer DiscoveryEntrepreneurial ThinkingCommunicationFinancial ReasoningIteration
College application value
Use the project as evidence, not decoration.
Demonstrates leadership, initiative, creativity, resilience, communication, and practical problem solving.
InitiativeLeadershipCreativityResilienceReal-World Problem Solving
The goal of Launch a Tiny Business Experiment is not to manufacture an impressive activity. Do real work, keep evidence of the process, and reflect honestly on what changed.
How this guide was made
Read editorial standards →Launch a Tiny Business Experiment is an original Compass educational starting point designed around real work, visible evidence, feedback, and reflection. It is not an admissions guarantee.
Ready to build it?
Try this project in Compass