One pipeline. Three stages. A future that doesn't require leaving.
Most of what WCEA builds happens before a student ever leaves Clark County — and it doesn't stop once they graduate. Three tiers, each picking up exactly where the last one ends.
THE THREE TIERS AT A GLANCE
Launch Lab
What it is: Your first real business
Length: 9 Sessions
Who it’s for: Clark County teens, Ages 13-18
Support: A coach, every sesson
The big moment: Pitch Night- $250 seed prize
The Academy
What it is: A complete, operating business
Length: 48 sessions over 10 months
Who it’s for: Launch Lab graduates
Support: A mentor, all year
The big moment: Demo Day- $500 seed prize
The Exchange
What it is: A lifetime network
Length: Ongoing: no end date
Who it’s for; Every WCEA graduate
Support: A network of peers and alumni
The big moment: The Exchange Showcase- real investor funding
Start here. Stay as long as you build.
STAGE 1 — LAUNCH LAB
You walk in with an idea. Over nine sessions, you build it into a real business — find real customers, sell at the public Soft Launch Event, and pitch to real judges at Pitch Night for a $250 seed prize.
This is where everyone starts. No experience required.
STAGE 2 — THE ACADEMY
For Launch Lab graduates ready to go further. Ten months, 48 sessions, a year-long mentor, and a real financial model behind a business that's actually running — not just pitched once. It builds to Demo Day, a public investor pitch, and a $500 seed prize.
This is where a business becomes something built to last.
STAGE 3 — THE EXCHANGE
Graduation from Launch Lab or the Academy doesn't end your relationship with WCEA — it's when The Exchange begins. A standing alumni network, quarterly check-ins, the chance to come back as a coach or mentor, and an annual Showcase where graduates with real track records pitch directly to real-world investors for actual growth capital.
This is where you stop being a graduate and start being part of how the next student gets here.
Why not just one longer program?
Because the need is different at each stage. A 13-year-old needs a low-stakes way to find out an idea can work. A Launch Lab graduate needs the structure to build something that actually lasts. A graduate three years out needs a community and a reason to keep building here — not another classroom.
One program can't do all three. Three tiers can.
This is a pipeline. Not three programs.
Picture a Clark County teenager who goes through Launch Lab at 14, completes the Academy at 16, is still running their business at 25 because of what The Exchange kept alive, hires their first employee at 28, and is sitting on the Chamber of Commerce or the Founding Board at 35 — coaching the next 14-year-old coming up behind them.
Multiply that by every cohort, every year, for thirty years. That's not a metaphor. That's the actual design.