01For families
Your teen has already done the hard part. This gives it a name and a price tag.
Seven sessions, one build week, and one Market Day across thirteen weeks. Cohort 1 runs January 18 to April 16, 2027.
02What they walk away with
- Revenue earned
- Real money from real customers, kept by the teen.
- A business that travels
- Built so it survives the next PCS.
- A mentor by name
- An adult who knows their idea and will pick up the phone.
- A one-page track record
- What they built, what they sold, what they learned.
03What to expect
- Eligibility
- Military-connected teens, 14 to 18. Active duty, Guard, Reserve, and veteran families. Tampa Bay area for Cohort 1.
- Time commitment
- Seven sessions across thirteen weeks, plus one build week and one Market Day. Four sessions land on days Hillsborough students are already out of school, two are Saturdays, and only two touch a school night.
- What parents do
- Get them there, and stay out of the booth. On Market Day the teen runs the table — no parents selling, no pretend customers.
- Cost
- Cost to families, venue, and final cohort size are still being finalized. We will publish them before applications open.
04Safety
Plain language, no fine print.
Every adult with unsupervised access to teens completes Level 2 background screening.
We operate a two-adult rule. No teen is ever alone with one adult.
There is no private adult-to-teen messaging, in the portal or anywhere else.
Still have questions? hello@joinbrats.com
05FAQ
Questions parents ask.
- Who can apply?
- Military-connected teens aged 14 to 18 — active duty, Guard, Reserve, and veteran families. Cohort 01 is Tampa Bay.
- When does it run?
- Cohort 01 runs January 18 to April 16, 2027. Seven working sessions, one build week over spring break, and Market Day on Friday, April 16.
- How much time does it take?
- Four of the sessions fall on days Hillsborough students are already out of school, and two are Saturdays. Only two touch a school night, and those run 75 minutes from home. Between sessions your teen works on their own business — expect a few hours a week.
- Where does it meet?
- Two sessions are virtual, joined from home. The rest are in person in Tampa Bay.
- Do I need to drive my teen?
- Yes. Getting your teen to in-person sessions is a family responsibility. BRATS adults never transport participants in personal vehicles.
- Are the adults background-checked?
- Yes. Every adult with unsupervised access to participants completes Level 2 fingerprint screening through FDLE's VECHS program before any contact with a teen. No adult begins participant contact on a pending result. Read our full safety policy.
- Who supervises my teen?
- At least two screened adults are present at every session, in person and virtual. No adult is ever alone with a participant. There is sign-in and sign-out at every in-person session, and your teen is released only to you, a guardian, or a person you name in writing. Read our full safety policy.
- How will adults communicate with my teen?
- Only on program channels, with a parent or guardian and a second adult included. There is no private messaging, texting, calling, or social media contact between an adult and a participant — during the program or after it.
- Does my teen need their own AI account?
- No. The session that uses AI tools runs on a program-held account in a supervised session, so no teen needs to create one. Consent for that is included in the same parent packet as everything else.
- Will my teen's photo be published?
- Not without a signed photo release. Where we don't hold one, images are taken from behind or cropped to hands and products. First name and last initial is the default for any public use.
- What does my teen actually leave with?
- Revenue they earned and keep, a business built to travel, a mentor they can name, and a one-page track record of what they built and sold.
- What if we get orders and move mid-program?
- The business is theirs and it is built to move with them — that is the whole point of the program. Talk to us as soon as you know, and we will work out how your teen finishes.
06Interest list
This is an interest list, not an application.
This collects interest only. Applications for Cohort 1 open in December 2026, and we will email you when they do.
One email, when applications open. Nothing else, and nothing shared with anyone outside the program.