Teaching Kids To Start Businesses: One Mentor’s Push To Make Risk-Taking Normal

Steve Distante, a longtime guide to startups, is channeling his work toward teenagers and younger children with a mix of stories, hands-on challenges and mentorship aimed at stripping away fear. His children's fable collection and a weeklong bootcamp for teens now sit alongside his consulting practice, and organizers say participants often leave more willing to try new ideas. In one recent session, a teenager bluntly critiqued the photos and copy on her mother’s downtown bakery account, suggested simple fixes for lighting and product descriptions, and within weeks the shop reported noticeably fuller pastry cases on weekend mornings.

The program combines short lectures from specialists—covering topics from artificial intelligence to brand protection and product engineering—with practical workshops. Students sketch concepts, iterate on prototypes using tools like tablet-based design and small-scale 3-D printing, then pitch to a panel that includes working founders. Organizers stage awards and Q&A sessions so teens can hear about real obstacles and pivots from people actually running businesses. Distante says the mix of technical know-how and candid, real-world feedback is designed to normalize both trial and error and public critique.

Distante’s pivot to youth outreach grew out of his longer career advising companies on fundraising and storytelling; his earlier volume on raising capital explored many routes founders use to attract investors. A conversation with his son changed how he thought about teaching: hearing that memorable, tale-driven books had shaped his son’s thinking convinced him to try fables as a way to package entrepreneurial lessons. The children’s book he wrote pairs short, fictionalized episodes with clear takeaways so ideas stick in readers’ minds—an approach he says produces stronger recall than chapters filled with abstract strategies.

He also opened up about a longtime battle with perfectionism, tracing it back to an early glossy magazine he produced. A small error in print triggered a cycle of self-criticism that he realized was hurting collaborators and slowing projects. After working with a business coach and asking peers for candid feedback, he learned that his high standards were being picked up by the team as constant dissatisfaction. Now, Distante says, meetings begin with people sharing recent wins instead of reciting problems—a simple ritual he credits with improving morale and accelerating decisions.

Distante offers practical advice for parents who want to raise kids who’ll try new enterprises: encourage them to work outside familiar settings, give them small responsibilities that require social interaction, and link money-making efforts to causes they care about. Letting a child place a restaurant order, run a small neighborhood fundraiser, or sell craft items at a local market can build communication and sales instincts. He stresses the power of expectation—when adults signal belief, kids typically aim higher; when adults doubt, children often internalize those limits regardless of raw ability.

He’s also trying to dismantle one of the more toxic myths about startups: that success must be instantaneous and spectacular. Distante argues that steady progress, where wins accumulate and benefit others, is far more satisfying and sustainable than a quick windfall. A couple of outside experts who reviewed his program say the emphasis on incremental goals and community impact aligns with research showing that small, repeated achievements boost resilience. For parents and young people alike, his message is plain: cultivate curiosity, accept messy beginnings, and let experience, not fear, shape the path forward.