Formerly Sparkline Youth
Don't wait for college to start building
batch0 is a live, online startup accelerator for high schoolers. Seasonal build sprints, mentorship, and a supportive community resulting in a company of your own.
Free to apply · $130 charged only if accepted
- Cohort 1
- Summer 2026
- Dates
- Aug 17 – Oct 18
- Format
- live, online · U.S. high schoolers
- Tuition
- $130 · charged only if accepted
- Equity taken
- none
- Applications
- apply by aug 10
How it works
There are just 5 steps to building a real company at batch0. The dates are set by the Cohort 1 calendar (Aug 17 – Oct 18).
Apply
Free. Come with an idea you want to build, or just a desire to learn. We admit students who show they'll actually do the work, not just ideas.
Get a decision by email
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Each application and thoughtfully and thouroughly reviewed by our team.
Enroll
$130 tuition, charged only if you're accepted. That's it. Nothing more. Refund terms are published on the refund policy page.
Build season
Validate, build, market, pitch and most importantly, transform your idea into a company.
Pitch at demo day
The cohort closes with a live demo day where you present the company you built. Standouts may be offered batch0 sponsorship, a non-dilutive grant, decided on merit, never guaranteed.
What you leave with
By demo day your idea will look like this:
A validated Lean Canvas
Tested in interviews with strangers who owe you nothing.
A shipped v1
Landing page, no-code MVP, or working prototype. Live and ready for the world to see.
A working business model
Revenue, pricing, and unit economics you can defend on demo day.
A go-to-market plan
A concrete path to your first paying customers, completeing with a funnel and marketing plan.
An investor-grade pitch deck
Written, rehearsed, and delivered live at demo day.
100% of your company
batch0 takes no equity, no IP, and no royalties. Everything you build is yours.
Who runs this
batch0 is built and run by Rishabh Dagli and Taran Bethi, two 17-year-old serial founders. We built batch0 to give high schoolers the same chance that we wish we had: to build a REAL company with mentorship and support, and even the chance of funding!
Cohort 1 is deliberately the first. There are no glossy alumni stats to show you yet, and we won't invent any. What we can promise: Rishabh and Taran runs every live session themselves, read every application, and answer every parent question personally within a couple of days.
Recently funded
Students we backed to build their idea
- Maya R. — An AI powered reverse chance me, so educators dont need to worry about students college questions.$150
$130, once
batch0 is 100% free to apply, tuition is charged only if you're accepted. Comparable summer programs (LaunchX, LeanGap) list tuition in the $3,000–$8,000+ range, even for online programs! Tuition here covers the program itself. Sponsorship and any investor/mentor relationship are merit-based, never paid for, and never guaranteed.
- Application
- free
- Tuition
- $130 · only if accepted
- Hidden fees
- none
- Equity taken
- none
- Refunds
- see refund policy
Full terms: refund policy · terms. Reduced regional pricing applies automatically in select countries.
Questions parents ask
The short versions. Anything else: email a human.
How much does it cost?
$130, once, and only if you're accepted; applying is free. There are no hidden fees, no upsells, and no materials costs. Comparable summer accelerators list tuition in the thousands. Reduced regional pricing applies automatically in select countries, and refund terms are published on the refund policy page.
Who runs batch0?
Rishabh Dagli and Taran Bethi, two serial founders building real companies that have changed the world. Rishabh and Taran personally review applications, run live sessions, and coordinate mentor and investor relationships for students.
Who is it for?
U.S. high schoolers, ages 13–18. Bring a real idea, a half-formed hunch, or nothing at all. The first sessions EXIST to help you refine your idea, just come with a desire to learn and build. No startup experience required.
How much time does it take?
Each sessions helps students set individual and personalized deliverables. The amount of time a student spends per week varies for everyone, so plan for it the way you would a serious extracurricular.
Is it really fully online?
Yes. Sessions, feedback, and demo day all happen live on Zoom. Cohort 1 runs Aug 17 – Oct 18. You can join from anywhere in the U.S.
What is demo day?
The last day of the cohort: you pitch the company you built, live. Cohort standouts may be offered batch0 sponsorship: a non-dilutive grant funded by our organization, decided on merit. Sponsorship and any introductions are never guaranteed, and tuition never buys them.
Does batch0 take equity or own my idea?
No. You own 100% of your idea, your work, and your company, before, during, and after the cohort. No equity, no IP claims, no royalties. Sponsorship, if offered, is a non-dilutive grant.
How are applications judged?
Our team reads every application. We admit students who show they'll actually do the work; clear thinking about a problem beats a long résumé. Cohort 1 is capped at 100 students, reviewed on a rolling basis.
Cohort 1 is the founding cohort. Be in it.
- Cohort 1
- Summer 2026 · Aug 17 – Oct 18
- Applications
- apply by aug 10
Free to apply · $130 charged only if accepted