Entrepreneurship
The Mott Million Dollar Challenge: Where Big Ideas Win Big
The Mott Million Dollar Challenge is a national pitch competition for K-12 students across the country. Kids and teens are invited to dream up businesses, tackle real-world problems, and pitch their best ideas in a simple 30-90 second video. No fancy editing required.
Students can enter solo or with a team of up to three. Across the competition, $1 million in cash prizes will be awarded, and finalists will be invited to an epic celebration in Flint, Michigan, in June 2026! Submissions are due February 27, 2026.
Supported by funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is powered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance and Collaborative Communications.
Meet Our Partner: Venture Lab
Entrepreneurship is more than just starting companies. It is a skillset and way of thinking. Through engagement with entrepreneurial activities, children develop and strengthen skills in creative problem solving, identifying opportunities, mental resilience, and collaborative communication.
VentureLab is a national nonprofit dedicated to sparking entrepreneurial mindsets in youth through fun, interactive, and hands-on learning experiences. Our VentureLab ESTEAM® approach, (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) empowers students to build creativity, resilience, problem-solving, and collaboration skills—preparing them to thrive in school, career, and life.
VentureLab’s programs teach entrepreneurial thinking and employability skills by:
Providing opportunities for group work, prototyping, and hands-on learning.
Demonstrating examples of real-world challenges and inspiring female role models tackling them.
Creating opportunities for risk-taking and confidence-building.
Helping instructors establish a safe (and brave) space for creativity and exploration.
Interactive Games and Activities
Start incorporating Entrepreneurship into your program with these fun activities designed by Venture Lab to foster innovation and entrepreneurial thinking in young minds.
Click on the image to learn more!
