📣
Applications are now open for the 2025 fair!
Solvit Academy Children's Business Fair
Saturday, April 19, 2025
12:00PM - 3:00PM
Currently accepting applications 🏁
Apply to the fair
About the fair
Solvit Academy's 5th Annual Children's Business Fair is back and bigger than ever! This FREE one-day event on Saturday, April 19th, gives kids the chance to launch their very own startup businesses – right at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
Here's what your young entrepreneur can experience:
- Spark Creativity: Develop a brand, design a product or service, and implement a brilliant marketing strategy.
- Master Skills: Learn the ropes of running a business – from budgeting to customer service.
- Open for Business: Showcase your amazing creation at our bustling public marketplace and watch your customers (and confidence) soar!
- Celebrate Success: Enjoy the excitement of Fan Fest before and after the market with a free pre-season Lancaster Barnstormers game! ⚾️
Space is limited to 40 booths, so apply today! ⏰ Secure your spot using the link above and join a community of young innovators ready to change the world!
Share the entrepreneurial spirit! Tell your friends, family, and neighbors about this incredible opportunity. Let's make this an unforgettable launchpad for the next generation of business leaders!
Share the entrepreneurial spirit! Tell your friends, family, and neighbors about this incredible opportunity. Let's make this an unforgettable launchpad for the next generation of business leaders!
See you there!
The Solvit Academy Team
*Please note we cannot host food-related businesses due to health codes.
Hosted by
Dave Groff
🗓️ Started hosting in 2021
✅ Identity verified
🚀 Has hosted 4 fairs
33 booths participating
blaze and beyond
Bela'
And 31 others.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Acton Children’s Business Fair?
The Acton Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneurs. The largest entrepreneurship event for kids in North America, this one-day market allows children to showcase their very own businesses.
How many businesses will you accept?
We will accept up to 40 businesses.
Where should I begin?
Start with our resources page. Read inspiring stories about other young entrepreneurs and play games to hone your business skills.
How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group?
Applications must be submitted online. Please submit one application for each business. Children working as a group should submit one application that includes each child’s information—no more than 3 participants per business.
What is on the application?
The application asks kids to think through some simple but important elements of their business:
- What product or service do you plan to sell?
- What price will you charge for each product/service? How much will each product/service cost you?
- How will you pay for your startup costs? If someone is helping you with your startup costs, how will you pay that person back?
- How will you advertise/market your business before the fair?
- At the end of the fair, how will you determine if your business was a success?
What if someone else has the same business idea?
Two greeting card businesses? Not a problem. In general, we will let market forces play out, though we will let later entries know if another applicant has a similar idea so the later entrant can decide what to do.
How will the fair be set up?
The fair will be set up in Clipper Stadium's covered corridor. Each business will be given an 8-foot table. Tablecloths and chairs will not be provided. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity. Due to health codes, we are not able to host food-based businesses.
What are the rules?
- This event is designed to give children aged 5-16 the experience of selling a product or service. If a parent is found selling or promoting a child’s product or service, their child’s business will be disqualified from the competition. Parents of younger children may sit in the booth, but the children should be responsible for setting up, customer interaction, and sales.
- Parents may help their children fill out the application, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.
- The fair is set up for children to create a business or service, not to be a distributor of an existing product unaltered as a reseller or repackager would. Buying raw materials online is OK to create new and exciting products.
How did the Acton Children’s Business Fair get started?
Jeff, Laura Sandefer, and a few other families wanted to spark a sense of wonder and entrepreneurship in their children, so they created the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in Austin, Texas, in 2007. That year, there were seven entrepreneurs and around 25 attendees. Now, there are over 115 entrepreneurs and 1,500 attendees at the Acton Children's Business Fair in Austin.
