At a high school in Redmond, WA, students change the world by creating startups. Through this process, they learn human-centered design and empathy, wrapped up with engineering, business, and entrepreneurship. While designing for specific customers, they are exposed to authentic design frameworks and tools that help them create better products and businesses. And, every step of the way, they engage with industry partners as speakers, facilitators, mentors, and judges.

1. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
High School Students Create Startups
Teaching Design in an Interdisciplinary
Engineering and Entrepreneurship Class
Melanie Kong | mjkong@gmail.com | @stemstartups
- Engineering and Entrepreneurship Teacher at Tesla STEM High School
- Co-founder and CEO of Floop

2. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
“The people who are crazy enough
to think that they can change the
world are the ones who do.”
- Steve Jobs

3. Engineer Educator Entrepreneur

4. STEM Startups
STEM
Startups
also known as Engineering 3 at the
Tesla STEM High School
Introducing STEM Startups, a yearlong course where students learn
design, engineering, and business through creating startups.

5. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
What?
● Develop technical, business, and people
skills and processes
● Crawl, Walk, Run - Practice different
components of startups before running with
the real idea

6. STEM Startups
Business
(viable)
Technical
(feasible)
People
(desirable)
Sweet
Spot

7. STEM Startups
Business
(viable)
Technical
(feasible)
People
(desirable)

8. STEM Startups
Course Timeline
People BusinessTechnical
Startup - Practice Round
Startup Phase I: Story
Startup Phase II: Demo
Startup Phase III: MVP
Nov - Jan
Jan - Feb
Feb - Mar
Apr - May
Q1 Kickoff Challenges
Sept - Nov
Q2 Practice Startup
Q3 - Q4 Real Startup
Startup Ecosystem Find Your Story

9. STEM Startups
People BusinessTechnical
STEM Startups Journey: Q1 Kickoff Challenges
Sept - Nov

10. STEM Startups
People BusinessTechnical
STEM Startups Journey: Q1 Kickoff Challenges
Sept - Nov

11. STEM Startups
People BusinessTechnical
STEM Startups Journey: Q1 Kickoff Challenges
Sept - Nov
Make as much money as possible with $5 in 2 hours

12. STEM Startups
Startup - Practice RoundNov - Jan
STEM Startups Journey: Q2 Practice Startup
Startup Ecosystem Find Your Story

13. STEM Startups
Startup - Practice RoundNov - Jan
STEM Startups Journey: Q2 Practice Startup
Startup Ecosystem Find Your Story

14. STEM Startups
Startup - Practice RoundNov - Jan
STEM Startups Journey: Q2 Practice Startup
Startup Ecosystem Find Your Story

15. STEM Startups
STEM Startups Journey: Q3 - Q4 Real Startup

16. STEM Startups
STEM Startups Journey: Demo Day!

17. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
How?
1. Experiential Learning
2. Student Voice
3. Iteration
4. Authenticity
5. Industry Connections

18. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
#1 Experiential
Learning
- Learning by doing
- Experience first,
frameworks later

19. STEM Startups
#2 Student Voice
Giving an A Policy:
Every student has an A,
in the gradebook and in spirit

20. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
#3 Iteration
- Fast cycles with
feedback
- Visiting concepts over
and over again

21. STEM Startups
#4: Authenticity
- Solve a real problem for real
people
- Use the same tools and
practices as professionals

22. STEM Startups
#5: Industry Connections
Mentors
Guest Speakers Workshop Facilitators
Judges

23. STEM Startups
How to Build Industry Connections
1. Find industry professionals
- Events, meetups, parent community
2. Build relationships with professionals
3. Expand your networks
- Referrals from mentors and students
Drop-in
Mentoring or
Judging
Guest Speaking Workshop
Long-term
Mentoring

24. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
I truly appreciate your approach to involving
industry experts in teaching your classes.
Students are getting exposed to the industry
concepts early on, and the industry ultimately
gets better professionals who have the
right mindset formed at the right time.
- Lada Gorlenko
Experience Research Director at Smartsheet

25. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
Overarching Principle:
Teach through Design
1. Experiential Learning
2. Student Voice
3. Iteration
4. Authenticity
5. Industry Connections

26. STEM StartupsSTEM Startups
What I’ve Learned:
- Value young minds and shape them early
- Build connections between education and industry
- Embrace unexpected and interdisciplinary places to
teach design
- High school students CAN change the world
Thank you! - Melanie Kong, mjkong@gmail.com