LEMONADE MAKER® protégé YOUTH ACADEMY
What School Isn’t Teaching Your Child About THE AI ERA
Youth ages 12–17 work directly with 8-figure founder and CEO Thomas Minieri to develop entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and advanced problem-solving skills school doesn't teach.
Fall 2026 enrollment is now open. Parent Orientation is required before enrollment.
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"How you handle the challenges of today will shape the person they become tomorrow."
—Thomas Minieri
HOW PROTÉGÉ ACADEMY WORKS
🎓 Protégé Masterclass—LIVE
Weekly live lessons introducing new entrepreneurial frameworks, leadership principles, and innovation strategies.
📅 Mondays • 7:00–8:00 PM EST
🧪 Lemonade Lab™
Hands-on projects, challenges, and presentations that transform learning into real-world experience.
📅 Thursdays • 7:00–8:00 PM EST
👥 Monthly Private Mentorship
Each student meets one-on-one with Thomas Minieri to review progress, receive personalized guidance, refine projects, strengthen leadership skills, and set goals for continued growth.
Parents receive a personalized progress summary after each mentorship session.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Every Month Includes
- Weekly Protégé Masterclass
- Weekly Lemonade Lab™ Session
- Monthly 1:1 Mentorship with Thomas
- Hands-On Innovation Projects
- Proprietary Curriculum
- Exclusive Student Community
- Learn from Anywhere (Virtual Academy)
- Personalized Parent Progress Reports
Watch: How to Give Your Child a Competitive Advantage in the AI Era
In this must-watch video, Thomas Minieri explains why the future will reward young people who can think differently—and how Lemonade Maker® Protégé helps students ages 12-17 develop the rare human abilities AI cannot replace.
Is Protégé Right for Your Child?
If your son or daughter is between the ages of 12–17 and you're looking for an educational experience that develops leadership, innovation, entrepreneurial thinking, and real-world problem-solving skills, we'd love to meet you.
The first step is scheduling a Parent Orientation, where you'll learn how the academy works, ask questions, and determine whether Lemonade Maker® Protégé is the right fit for your family.
WHY PROTÉGÉ
AI Won't Replace Exceptional People.
It Will Replace Average Ones.
The future belongs to young people who can:
- Think critically
- Solve meaningful problems
- Create opportunities
- Lead others
- Adapt to change
Lemonade Maker® Protégé youth academy helps students develop these abilities through live mentorship, hands-on projects, and practical entrepreneurial thinking.
3 Foundational Skills Every Student Develops
Reality-Based Thinking™
Think Clearly
Learn to recognize reality, question assumptions, diagnose problems accurately, and make wise decisions in a world filled with misinformation, AI-generated content, and endless opinions.
Imaginative Innovation™
Create Opportunity
Learn how exceptional innovators recognize hidden possibilities, solve meaningful problems, and turn creativity into real value.
Courageous Leadership™
Lead with Confidence
Develop communication, initiative, resilience, and the courage to take meaningful action even when the future feels uncertain.
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WHAT STUDENTS LEARN:
Inside the Protégé Curriculum
Students explore proprietary Lemonade Maker® frameworks. Each framework strengthens judgment, innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurial thinking through practical application—not memorization.
How Do We Get Started?
Here’s everything parents need to know about the Protégé experience, curriculum, expectations, and enrollment process.
Is Protégé Right for My Child?
Protégé is designed for curious, creative, and motivated students ages 12–17 who want to think beyond the classroom.
Your child does not need to be an entrepreneur, a straight-A student, or naturally outgoing. Many of our students simply enjoy learning, asking thoughtful questions, solving problems, building things, or exploring new ideas.
Whether your child is naturally analytical, highly creative, quietly thoughtful, or an emerging leader, Protégé is designed to strengthen the skills that matter most in an unpredictable future.
The best way to determine if the academy is a good fit is through our Parent Orientation, where we'll discuss your child's interests, goals, and learning style together.
Does My Child Need a Business Idea?
Not at all.
Protégé is about developing the way students think—not asking students to launch a company.
Throughout the academy, students complete projects that help them identify opportunities, solve meaningful problems, and create value. Some students may choose to develop business ideas at some point, while others apply the same thinking to leadership, creative pursuits, technology, community projects, or future careers.
The goal is to build exceptional thinkers, not simply young business owners.
Is This Only for Future Entrepreneurs?
No.
Entrepreneurship is much bigger than starting a business.
At Lemonade Maker®, we define entrepreneurship as the ability to recognize opportunity, solve meaningful problems, and create value for others.
Those abilities benefit students whether they become physicians, engineers, artists, teachers, executives, nonprofit leaders, scientists, or business owners.
Protégé prepares students for life—not just entrepreneurship.
How Much Time Is Required Each Week?
Students participate in two live sessions each week:
Monday: Protégé Masterclass
Thursday: Lemonade Lab™
Between sessions, students complete manageable project work, challenges, or reflections designed to reinforce what they're learning.
The emphasis is on consistent growth rather than overwhelming homework. Most students can comfortably complete their work alongside their existing school responsibilities.
Is This Live or Prerecorded?
Protégé is a live, interactive academy.
Students meet directly with Thomas Minieri every week through live online sessions where they ask questions, participate in discussions, present ideas, solve problems, and receive feedback in real time.
This is not a prerecorded course that students passively watch on their own. The academy is built around interaction, participation, and practical application because confidence is developed through experience—not simply consuming information.
What Happens During the Parent Orientation?
The Parent Orientation is an opportunity for us to get to know one another before enrollment.
We'll discuss your child's strengths, interests, goals, and learning style while walking through the academy's philosophy, weekly schedule, curriculum, and expectations.
You'll have plenty of time to ask questions, and together we'll determine whether Protégé is the right fit for your family.
Our goal isn't to convince every family to enroll. It's to ensure that every student who joins is positioned to thrive.
How Does AI Fit Into the Curriculum?
Protégé doesn't teach students to fear artificial intelligence or technology.
We teach them to use it wisely.
Students learn how AI can become a powerful tool for research, creativity, productivity, and problem-solving while continuing to develop the deeply human abilities technology cannot replace.
Those abilities include judgment, critical thinking, imagination, leadership, communication, adaptability, and ethical decision-making.
Rather than competing against AI, students learn how to direct it—and how to become the kind of person whose value extends far beyond what technology alone can provide.
How Do We Enroll?
Enrollment begins with a Parent Orientation.
This introductory meeting gives us the opportunity to meet your family, answer your questions, explain the academy in detail, and ensure that Protégé is the right fit for your child.
If we decide together that the program is a good match, you'll receive complete enrollment information and the next steps for joining the academy.