From Pitch to Pilot: A Tiny Fellow's Journey at Virtual Camp

Hi friends! Remember how last week I shared my excitement about becoming a 4.0 Tiny Fellow? Well, buckle up because things are moving fast and furious – in the best way possible! This past weekend, all 128 of us in the 2024 Tiny Fellows cohort convened for Virtual Camp. It was an incredible whirlwind of learning, collaboration, and pure inspiration. Read on and follow along on my Tiny Fellow’s journey!

What is Tiny Camp?

Think of this Tiny Fellowship Virtual Camp Event as a boot camp for education entrepreneurs. We spent the weekend in workshops, brainstorming sessions, and one-on-one coaching with industry experts. We delved deep into the nitty-gritty of building our ventures – from crafting a rock-solid pilot plan to perfecting our pitches for future investors.

My 2024 Tiny Fellow’s Journey

Being surrounded by such a passionate and supportive community of education founders was truly energizing. We shared ideas, exchanged challenges, and celebrated each other’s victories. It’s incredible to be surrounded by so many brilliant minds, all dedicated to reimagining education!

Speaking of victories, my venture, Homeschool STEAM (not sure yet if this is the name we’ll stick with, but it’s what we’re using for now), took some significant leaps forward at Virtual Camp. We honed our pilot program design, focusing on how to deliver the most impactful and engaging STEAM learning experience for homeschooled families.

The coaches and mentors were instrumental in helping us refine our approach, identify potential roadblocks, and brainstorm creative solutions. Every conversation unlocked a new level of clarity and direction for Homeschool STEAM.

The pilot I’ll producing for my venture is a FREE and open-to-the-public Homeschool STEAM Festival where local kids and families will be able to explore a variety of steam-based topics and participate in a variety of learning stations, including coding robots, fun science experiments, and math games, hands-on activities, and challenges, lots of art (because there’s an A in STEAM), and even meet a local FIRST Tech Challenge team. It will take place in April at the beautiful Mosaic Center for Nature, Exploration, Science and Technology (also known as the “NEST”) in Manatee County, and I can’t wait to share more about it soon. Stay tuned for that!

Huge thanks to **Manatee County Natural Resources** department for partnering with us and allowing us to use this beautiful space to host our upcoming **Homeschool STEAM Fest** pilot. Did you peep the slide that comes out from under this building?! Such a cool space to play, learn and explore!

By the end of the weekend, we had a much more precise blueprint for our pilot program, a pitch that practically sizzled with energy and a renewed sense of purpose. As founders, we left Virtual Camp feeling empowered, connected, and brimming with ideas to tackle the exciting weeks ahead.

Stay tuned for more updates on Homeschool STEAM’s progress! I can’t wait to share the next chapter of our journey with you all. In the meantime, if you’re an aspiring education entrepreneur, check out the Tiny Fellowship program. It’s an incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with a community that makes a difference in education!

Don’t forget to come back next week to see where I am in myTiny Fellow’s journey. It’s such an exciting time, and I can’t wait to share it all with you!

~ Monica