It’s definitely a daring idea.
Founders School, a new high school that emphasizes entrepreneurship, opened its doors this September in the Financial District. Tuition is set at $150,000 per year, but there’s a twist: if students don’t launch a business that generates at least one million dollars in profit by the end of their fourth year, the school promises to refund the entire $600,000 tuition.
“It’s bold but I don’t think it’s crazy,” commented Nat Eliason, the school’s 33-year-old co-head and an entrepreneur in his own right. He previously sold his content marketing agency, Growth Machine, to MBE Group in 2025 for an undisclosed sum.
Founders School is a branch of Alpha School, which began in Austin in 2014 as a network of AI-focused schools and has expanded into various locations across the U.S.
Fifteen-year-old Sanjay Divakar from Greenwich, CT, requested to transfer from his public school after he saw Kolin Jones, the CEO of Amalfi Jets — one of the largest private aviation firms globally — speak about the school on Instagram.
“I’ve given two Tedx Talks on how schools aren’t training students to reach their full potential,” Divakar shared. “My teachers at my old school always told me that running a business wouldn’t lead to success.”
Eliason explained that the school’s concept emerged when Joe Liemandt, head of Alpha School, asked students how they could improve high school dramatically. “We already had students starting businesses successfully, but they wanted greater support and resources to maximize their efforts,” Eliason noted.
Currently, Founders School has 21 students enrolled, with 15 attending the Manhattan campus and six from Austin who will frequently travel to New York to collaborate with their peers and mentors.
Some students came in with projects already underway. Divakar, for instance, has been developing a B2B software product aimed at helping companies smooth out interdepartmental challenges since July. By the time he started at Founders School, he had already earned over $10,000 in revenue. Now he’s aspiring to scale his business to $100,000 within the next 100 days and reach $20 million by graduation.
“Maybe in ten years, we’ll go public,” Divakar remarked.
A typical day at Founders School involves condensing core subjects like English, Math, Science, and Social Studies into two or three hours of learning on tablets equipped with AI. There’s no homework or formal teachers, instead, there are human “guides” who assist when necessary.
This structure allows students to spend the rest of the day working on business plans and product development, with support from experienced entrepreneurs and a unique entrepreneurial AI platform. The Financial District campus also hosts a standard Alpha School, which launched in NYC in 2025 and currently serves around 130 students. Like those at Founders School, students spend their mornings learning core subjects using AI and have afternoons dedicated to “life skills workshops,” which can involve anything from assembling furniture to rock climbing and solving puzzles.
Founders School arrives in New York amid growing debate surrounding AI’s role in education. Recently, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Department of Education announced new regulations banning AI use in public elementary and middle schools, with restrictions on high school access through pilot programs.
However, these regulations don’t affect Founders School or Alpha School since they aren’t formally recognized by the New York State Education Department. They’re classified as “learning centers,” and parents must submit documentation for their children to be recognized as homeschoolers.
Laurie Kopp Weingarten, co-founder of a college counseling service in New Jersey, expressed concerns that Founders School might be pushing students too hard, especially given the decline in reading and math scores post-COVID. “It sounds very appealing, but what’s the urgency to become an entrepreneur?” she questioned. “I don’t see why traditional schooling should come at the cost of this.”
In a statement, Founders School asserted, “Nothing comes at the expense of academics. Our students cover a complete academic curriculum through a personalized learning platform, not through lectures. They don’t advance until they fully grasp a concept and cannot engage in entrepreneurial pursuits until they’ve completed their academic work.”
One parent of a Founders School student isn’t worried about the unconventional educational approach. “We’re quite realistic about the situation,” she said, opting to remain anonymous. “They’re essentially building the car while driving it, and our kids are in it … But we’re comfortable going along for that ride.”
