About Young Founders School.
From 20 students to a From 20 students in Hong Kong
to a global movement
The story of how two people who understood what it felt like to be overlooked built a school without walls for 35,000+ students across 10 countries.
It started with 30 teenagers in a boardroom
In 2016, thirty teenagers walked into the boardroom of a major investment bank in Hong Kong to learn entrepreneurship. Many had never been in a room like that before.
The person teaching them was Billy Naveed, a banker who had grown up near Manchester coding software in his bedroom at 14. He saw himself in those students: determined, capable young people with ideas but no access to mentors, networks, or opportunities. Their potential was real, yet largely unseen.
He teamed up with Crispian Farrow, one of Hong Kong's leading educators. Both understood what it felt like to stand in rooms they had never expected to enter.
They realised that young people starting 200 metres behind do not need charity. They need a fair starting line.
So they created one. They called it Young Founders School.
The Journey So Far
The first bootcamp
30 students in a Hong Kong boardroom. Billy and Crispian run the first weekend entrepreneurship bootcamp.
Registered as a charity
Young Founders School becomes a registered charity in Hong Kong. Programs expand to Singapore.
1,000 students reached
Weekend bootcamps across Hong Kong, Singapore, and India. Deep impact, but slow growth.
The reinvention
Chris Geary joins as CEO. Teacher training model launches. Virtual internships go live. Growth accelerates.
10,000 students
Programs running across 8 countries. Partnerships with Salesforce, Microsoft, Oracle, and 500+ companies.
35,000+ students. 10+ countries.
AI-powered curriculum. A school without walls, reaching students who need it most.
By the Numbers
Our Vision
A world where every young person, regardless of background, can become an architect of their own future through AI-powered entrepreneurship education and real-world experience.
Our Mission
To prepare the next generation for an AI-driven future by making entrepreneurship education and real-world internships accessible to students globally.
Why today's students are being left behind
Across Asia and Africa, over 40 million young people leave school each year with no job to step into.
Schools teach memorisation, not creation
Traditional education rewards repeating answers, not building solutions. Students graduate knowing how to pass tests but not how to solve problems.
The AI economy demands skills students are not learning
Digital literacy, applied innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking are now essential. Most school systems do not teach them.
The students who need it most have the least access
Mentors, networks, and internships are gatekept by geography, income, and connections. Potential goes unseen.
Three pillars that turn potential into proof
Bootcamps and workshops
Hands-on, project-based programs that teach applied AI and entrepreneurship. Students learn by building, not memorising.
Learn more →Mentorship
Students learn directly from founders, innovators, and industry professionals who provide real-world guidance and career insight.
Learn more →Real-company internships
4-6 week virtual placements with real companies. Students build portfolios, not resumes.
Learn more →Delivering impact at scale
Schools and youth organisations
We collaborate directly with schools and youth organisations to bring entrepreneurship workshops to students who would never otherwise get access.
Teacher training
We empower educators with frameworks, resources, and tools to integrate applied AI and entrepreneurship into everyday teaching. One trained teacher reaches hundreds of students.
Company-facilitated internships
We partner with 500+ global companies to create structured internship experiences with real teams, tools, and challenges.
From Our Leaders
The people driving the mission to reach one million students.
"Across Asia and Africa, over 40 million young people leave school each year with no job to step into. The traditional path is broken. But for AI-enabled graduates, there is unlimited demand. That is the gap we are closing."
Our goal: one million young people equipped with AI-native skills and a professional network behind them. Not someday. This decade.
"Every day, I am inspired by our students who have fire in their bellies but were dealt an unfortunate hand in the card game of life. Our mentors see a little bit of themselves in each of these kids. They remember someone who gave them a start when they did not have to."
Giving back is not an obligation. It is a duty. Building Young Founders School continues to be the true honour of my life.
Join our journey
Whether you are a student, a school, a company, or someone who believes in levelling the starting line.