Built by a high-school founder, for high-school founders.

Batch Zero started with a simple observation: some of the most interesting startups right now are being built by people who can't legally sign the paperwork yet. They have users, sometimes revenue, and nowhere to go. College accelerators won't take them. Youth entrepreneurship programs mostly hand out trophies for ideas. Nobody was doing the thing that actually works — putting founders in a small batch, giving them mentors who've done it, and putting them in front of people who can fund and hire them.

So we're building it. Batch Zero is an online accelerator that runs in cohorts of five. Every team gets two mentors, an eight-week program, and a live Demo Day judged inside the app. Investors subscribe to see the cohorts first. Companies subscribe to meet the builders early. Founders never pay.

What we believe

• Shipping is the filter. We don't select on ideas. We select on what already exists.
• Small batches, real signal. Five teams per cohort means selection actually means something.
• Founders don't pay. No fees, no equity, no cut of what you raise. Ever.
• Safety by design. Adults meet students on the platform, sessions are recorded, mentors are vetted, and contact is opt-in.

Who's behind it

Founder

Rayan Sohrabian

Rayan started Batch Zero while still in high school in California, after getting tired of the gap between "youth entrepreneurship" and actual entrepreneurship. He builds the product, runs the cohorts, and reads every application himself.

The mentor network is made up of operators and founders who volunteer two months at a time. Sponsors fund the Demo Day prize. If you want to be part of any of that, the doors are below.

rayan@batchzero.co