Bizz Builders Goes Live: Two Teen Teams Are Building Real Businesses in Winter Garden
- Jessica Villegas
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Something new is happening at Hi-Lite Academy, and it is not another club or after school activity.
It is a real business build.
This month, our teens officially launched Bizz Builders, a student led entrepreneurship experience sponsored by Bizzy Air of Winter Garden. The mission is simple and serious. Give teenagers real world business skills by having them build a real business from scratch, with real deadlines, real customers, and real sales.
Why we built Bizz Builders
A lot of teens are smart, but they are not practiced. They have not been taught how to take an idea, break it into steps, and follow through when it gets uncomfortable. They have not been taught how to handle feedback without taking it personally. They have not been taught how to manage money, talk to customers, and keep a project moving when the hype fades.
Bizz Builders closes that gap through repetition, accountability, and real world execution.
Who is leading the program?
Bizz Builders is guided by Hi-Lite’s Founder, Jessica Villegas, alongside Jon Quiceno, owner of Bizzy Air. Each week, they lead students through a specific piece of the business building process, then the teens apply it immediately inside their teams.
How the teen teams are structured
We have two teams running in parallel so students experience what it is like to operate in a real organization. Each team includes teens filling key leadership roles:
CEO: Owns vision, deadlines, and accountability
COO: Owns operations, workflow, and execution
CFO: Owns budgeting, pricing, cost tracking, and profit clarity
Marketing and Design: Owns brand identity, content creation, and customer messaging
This structure is not busywork. It teaches teens how to lead, communicate, problem solve, and manage pressure while producing something that actually goes live in the world.
What the community can expect through the end of the year.
Bizz Builders is designed to build toward a real launch, not just a presentation. Over the coming months, our community will see the teens progress through the same phases real founders go through.
Phase 1: Brand and product developmentStudents will define their target customer, validate product ideas, and finalize their first tee designs.
Phase 2: Website and e-commerce store buildStudents will build and manage an online store through Wix, including product pages, checkout, policies, and email capture.
Phase 3: Marketing and content creationStudents will create consistent social content, learn how to write messaging that connects with buyers, and build real campaigns.
Phase 4: Financial literacy and budgetingStudents will run the numbers. Costs, pricing, break even, profit goals, inventory planning, and decision making based on data.
Phase 5: Sales and community launchStudents will sell online and locally at a farmers market, learning customer service, sales conversations, and how to improve based on real buyer feedback.
What makes this different?
We are not teaching entrepreneurship as theory. We are teaching it as a lived experience.
Students are expected to deliver. They will make mistakes and then correct them. They will hit obstacles and learn how to work as a team. They will learn how to show up even when they are not in the mood. Those are the skills that matter most in adult life, no matter what career they choose.
A community supported milestone
We want to thank Bizzy Air for sponsoring this project and showing what it looks like when local businesses invest in the next generation. When teens have adults who believe in them and a structure that expects excellence, they rise.
How you can support the Bizz Builders, Teen Business in Winter Garden
Follow along as the teams build. Share their content. Show up to market day. Buy a tee when the first drop releases. Every purchase reinforces something bigger than merch. It reinforces confidence, capability, and the belief that teenagers can build real things.
More updates are coming soon, including product previews, behind the scenes progress, and the launch calendar for our first sales drop.
Want to see the teens build in real time? Follow Bizz Builders on social and watch the first drop come to life.
Instagram: HiLite.Bizz.Builders
Parents of teens who want more than academics, Bizz Builders is one example of how we build leadership, confidence, and real world skills at Hi-Lite Academy.
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