WAVE: Kids Entreprenuership Program
WAVE: Working Ambitiously Toward Vision in Entrepreneurship ~ is a youth entrepreneurship program for kids and teens grades 5-9, that teaches real business skills through hands-on, project-based learning — and wraps it all in the kind of mentorship, community, and emotional support that transforms kids from the inside out.
Developed by Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds founder Vanessa Doak, WAVE is where participants' big ideas get taken seriously, where they learn to think creatively, solve problems, and build something real — not someday, but now.
Enroll your child in WAVE and watch them come home not just with a business concept, but with a confidence they carry for the rest of their life!
Participants will have the opportunity to progress through 3 different levels of this program that they work through at their own pace, rather than breaking these levels up by age or grade.
Fridays 3:30-5:30pm
Fall Term: Sept. 18th - Dec. 11th (14 weeks)
$350
*Small snack provided at the beginning of each session
After-school pickup option available*
OUR WHY
There is a moment — one that every great entrepreneur knows — when an idea first takes shape. It starts small. Quiet. Almost imperceptible. Like a single drop hitting still water, sending out a ripple that travels further than you ever expected. An analogy that we refer to quite often at camp as it pertains to our impact on one another as sisters and brothers of the Healthy Hearts family. WAVE was born from the belief that young people don’t need to wait until they’re grown to feel that moment. They don’t need to wait for permission, for the 'right time,' or for someone to hand them a map. What they need is a place where their ideas are taken seriously, their voices are celebrated, and their ambitions are given room to breathe. WAVE is that place. Founded by Vanessa Doak — creator of Healthy Hearts, Healthy Minds, and a woman who has spent over a decade building programs that help young people become the fullest version of themselves — WAVE is the entrepreneurship program she always wished had existed. Not a classroom exercise. Not a cookie-cutter curriculum. A living, breathing journey where kids and teens learn to think like builders, lead like visionaries, and dream without ceilings. Here, in Squamish, BC — where the mountains meet the sea — young entrepreneurs discover that the most powerful force in nature isn’t a storm. It’s water. Persistent, adaptive, unstoppable. WAVE isn’t about teaching kids to sell things. It’s about teaching them to see the world differently. To look at a problem and ask, “What would I build?” To fall down, adapt, and come back stronger. To understand that the best ideas never arrive in a straight line — they carve their own path, just like a river finding its way to the ocean. Every child who walks through the doors of WAVE leaves knowing this: you are capable of making something real. Something that matters. Something worth sharing with the world.
WAVE VALUES
Six Principles, Six Ways to Move The WAVE Mindset is more than a set of values — it’s a way of approaching every challenge, every idea, and every setback with the quiet confidence of water. These are the principles we live and build by. 1. FLOW We adapt. We don’t break. When obstacles appear — and they will — we don’t stop. We find the path around, beneath, through. Entrepreneurs who build lasting things are the ones who bend without breaking, who see every “no” as a redirection rather than a dead end. At WAVE, we practice the art of the pivot — not as failure, but as one of the most powerful skills a builder can have. 2. DEPTH We think before we move. Still water runs deep. Before we act, we ask questions. We research, we observe, we listen. The best business ideas aren’t the loudest ones in the room — they’re the ones rooted in genuine understanding of a problem worth solving. At WAVE, depth means doing the thoughtful work before the exciting work. 3. MOMENTUM We show up, especially when it’s hard. A river doesn’t stop when the terrain gets difficult. Neither do we. Momentum in business isn’t built in a single dramatic moment — it’s built in a thousand small, consistent actions. At WAVE, we celebrate showing up again and again, because that’s what separates a daydream from a business. 4. TIDES We know when to push and when to wait. Not every moment is a moment to launch. The ocean knows this — the tide comes in, and it goes back out, and both are essential. Great entrepreneurs develop instincts for timing: when to be bold, when to be patient, when to act and when to observe. At WAVE, we develop those instincts from day one. 5. CLARITY We communicate with honesty and purpose. Clean water is transparent. Muddied water confuses. In business, the ability to communicate clearly — to articulate your idea, your value, your vision — is one of the most powerful tools you own. At WAVE, we practice clarity of voice, clarity of message, and clarity of intention in everything we create. 6. IMPACT We build things that matter, not just things that sell. Even the smallest wave changes the shape of the shore. At WAVE, we believe that what you build should leave the world better than you found it. Whether it’s a product, a service, or an idea, we ask: does this matter? Does this help? Does this make someone’s life even a little bit better? Impact is the measure we always come back to.
PROGRAM LEVELS
WAVE is a three-level journey — and every level has its own energy, its own challenges, and its own magic. Kids move through at their own pace, building skills and confidence with every step. LEVEL 1 — RIPPLE A small but powerful first movement. Every business starts here: with an idea that hits the world and starts moving outward. In RIPPLE, young entrepreneurs take their very first steps — dreaming big, getting specific, and discovering that the gap between “I have an idea” and “I have a plan” is smaller than they think. What they learn: •How to identify a problem worth solving •Brainstorming and idea validation — is this something people actually want? •Introduction to branding: name, logo, color, voice •Basic pricing and the concept of value exchange •Creating their first product or service offering •How to talk about their idea with confidence What they experience: RIPPLE is electric. It’s the first time many of these young people have ever had someone take their business idea seriously — and that feeling is unforgettable. There’s lots of creative exploration, peer collaboration, and the thrill of realizing: this could actually be real. The RIPPLE promise: You came in with an idea. You leave with a brand. LEVEL 2 — CURRENT Gaining direction and momentum. Once the idea is alive, it’s time to move. CURRENT is where young entrepreneurs get serious about building — diving into the mechanics of sales, marketing, customer relationships, and the day-to-day realities of running something real. What they learn: •Understanding your customer: who they are, what they want, how to reach them •Building a brand story and marketing message •Social media strategy and content creation for business •Introduction to sales: how to pitch, how to handle objections, how to close •Basic financial literacy: revenue, costs, profit, and reinvestment •Running a market day or pop-up: their first real sales experience What they experience: CURRENT is where things get real — and exciting. Kids discover that selling isn’t scary when you believe in what you’ve built. There are wins, and there are learning moments, and both feel like growth. By the end of CURRENT, they’ve made actual sales to real people. The CURRENT promise: You came in building. You leave selling. LEVEL 3 — SURGE Unstoppable force. SURGE is for the young entrepreneurs who are ready to lead. This is where individual businesses evolve into visions — where scaling, mentorship, community impact, and legacy enter the conversation. What they learn: •How to scale: systems, delegation, and growing beyond yourself •Advanced marketing: campaigns, storytelling, brand identity evolution •Introduction to online presence: e-commerce, digital marketing, professional profiles •Business operations: production, inventory, fulfillment, customer service •Leadership and mentorship: how to lift others as you rise •Long-term thinking: where do I want to take this in a year? Five years? What they experience: SURGE participants carry themselves differently. They walk into rooms with presence. They think about their community and their impact. They mentor younger WAVE kids. They’ve moved from “I have an idea” to “I have a business” — and they feel it in every part of who they are. The SURGE promise: You came in selling. You leave leading.
WHY IS WAVE IMPORTANT FOR YOUNG ASPIRING LEADERS?
WAVE is more than a 'youth entrepreneurship program', it's a series of life lessons.
Waves/Water doesn’t ask for permission. It doesn’t wait for the perfect conditions. It moves — around boulders, through cracks, beneath mountains — and it reshapes everything it touches. Over centuries, it carves canyons out of solid rock. Not through force alone, but through relentless, intelligent, creative persistence.
We built WAVE on this truth: the best entrepreneurs are like water.
They are fluid — they don’t break when plans change; they adapt and find a new path. They are tide-driven — they know when to push forward with everything they have, and when to pull back and observe.
They are seasonal — they understand that growth takes time, that every idea has a gestation, and that even winter serves a purpose.
They are unpredictably innovative — because the most extraordinary ideas never follow a straight line. And they are powerful beyond measure — because even the smallest wave, when it hits the right shore, can reshape the world.
In WAVE, we don’t teach entrepreneurship as a formula. We teach it as a way of thinking. A way of being. A way of moving through the world with curiosity, courage, and the unshakeable belief that what you create matters.
This is not a program about profit margins and pitch decks. It’s about discovering what you care enough about to build. It’s about learning to handle setbacks the way water handles a rock — not by stopping, but by flowing forward, shaping yourself and everything around you in the process.
Be fluid. Be fearless. Make your wave.
WHO WAVE IS FOR
For Every Kid Who Has Ever Said, “I Have an Idea.”:
WAVE is for the 8-year-old who sets up a lemonade stand not because their parents told them to, but because they wanted to.
WAVE is for the 12-year-old who spends hours designing things in their room that nobody else has thought of yet.
WAVE is for the teenager who knows they want to build something important but doesn’t quite know where to start.
WAVE is for the shy kid who has the most creative mind in the room and just needs a space that sees that.
WAVE is for the kid who doesn’t fit neatly into the boxes school creates — because entrepreneurs rarely do.
WAVE is for kids in grades 4-8, boys and girls, all backgrounds, all abilities. The only thing we ask is that you show up curious and willing to try.
Everything else, we’ll build together.
For Parents:
You already know your child is capable of more than they’re being asked for. You see the ideas they scribble in notebooks, the small businesses they imagine at dinner, the problems they notice that nobody else does.
WAVE gives those ideas somewhere to go.
This isn’t just an activity — it’s an investment in how your child sees themselves.
In WAVE, they’ll learn to solve problems, manage money, communicate with confidence, and work collaboratively with peers. They’ll develop resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurial thinking — skills that serve them in business and in life, no matter what path they eventually choose.
Most importantly, they’ll come home knowing they built something real.
And that feeling stays with them.
READY TO MAKE YOUR WAVE??