What is the Waltham Children’s Business Fair?
The Waltham Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneurial skills. The largest entrepreneurship event for kids in North America, this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.
How many businesses will you accept?
We will accept up to 100 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?
Application 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 if someone else has the same business idea?
Two cupcake 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 an outdoor event with booths. Each business will be given a booth with a table and 1-2 chairs. Table cloths will not be provided. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.
Will electricity be available?
Yes, we are able to provide electricity to the booths.
What are the rules?
This event is designed to give children 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 set up, customer interaction, and sales.
Parents may help their child fill out the application, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.
How did the Children’s Business Fairs get started?
Jeff and 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, the fairs have spread out all over North America and other parts of the world.
In Waltham, the fair started with 8 booths and 14 kid entrepreneurs in 2017 then 48 booths and 73 entrepreneurs in 2018.
