Business Competition Intro prepares students, in both knowledge and practice, for well-regarded business competitions such as the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition, FBLA, BPA, NEC, and DECA. Classes are split into G6–G8 and G9–G12 sections, and the course runs 35 weeks. This course is the stage for building knowledge and skills. Enrolling does not mean a student must compete.

What Happens in Business Competition Intro Class

  • Core business concepts: Supply and demand, cost and pricing, profit and cash flow. These are taught through cases from real companies, not just definitions.
  • Markets and customers: How to define a target customer, how to run simple market research, and how to judge whether an idea meets real demand.
  • Finance and investing: Reading basic financial statements and understanding the relationship between risk and return. This part maps directly to the portfolio decisions in the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition.
  • Case analysis: Students receive a business scenario, analyze the problem, and propose a solution within a time limit. This is the core question type in competitions such as DECA and FBLA.
  • Presentation and Q&A: Students present their solution to judges, manage their time, and respond to questions. This skill earns points in every business competition.

Which Competitions Business Competition Intro Prepares For

The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition centers on portfolio building and team decision-making. The National Economics Challenge (NEC) centers on economics knowledge. Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Business Professionals of America (BPA) cover many events across business and career skills. DECA centers on role-play case analysis. The course covers the underlying knowledge and skills these competitions share. For each competition’s rules and season schedule, see Business Competitions.

When to Start Business Competition Intro

In G6 to G8, the focus is on building concepts and an introduction to case work. From G9 on, students’ math and writing skills are strong enough to support full analysis and presentation, and this is the main stage for competing formally. Students who need to build economics foundations at the same time can pair this course with AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics.

What Comes After Business Competition Intro

For advanced work and formal competition preparation, see Business Competitions: NEC & Wharton Investment. Students who want to turn a business idea into reality can look at the Startup Incubator and Money Basics & Finance Lab in the soft-skills track.

Business Competition Intro Enrollment and Schedule

Creative workshops come in three enrollment units: full-year classes, term classes, and summer camps. This course runs as follows; dates follow the 2026-27 program guide.

  • Full-year class: 35 weeks, August 31, 2026 to May 30, 2027; once a week, 90 minutes per session.
  • Switching direction: a creative workshop seat can move between directions, so a child can try 3 to 4 areas in a year, with finished work shown and discussed with parents at the end of each stage. To switch, confirm the transfer timing with a course advisor.

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Business Intro: Frequently Asked Questions

Does an Irvine student need a business background?

No. This is the intro course: it builds the knowledge and practical preparation that business competitions call for, before any question of entering one. EDUBUS runs its in-person sections from its Irvine studio, alongside an online section held in parallel. It runs 35 weeks a year, with separate G6–G8 and G9–G12 sections so students work with peers at a similar starting point.

Does an Irvine student have to compete after enrolling?

Not necessarily. The 35-week course prepares students for competition but includes no registration for events, so whether to enter stays a decision for the student and family once the preparation is in place. Those who do decide to compete move on to Business competitions.

Which competitions does it prepare for?

The Wharton investment competition, plus FBLA, BPA, NEC and DECA. These events ask for different knowledge and different practical rounds, so the intro course builds the shared foundation first and leaves event-specific training to the competition track, where students focus on one or two targets.

What grade should an Irvine student start in?

The course is open to grades 6 through 12. The middle school section is weighted toward fundamentals and the high school section toward practical preparation. The two sections are taught separately, and students from Irvine and nearby communities typically enroll by their current grade.

What comes next?

Business competitions, where the knowledge built here turns into training for specific events and an actual entry plan. This workshop is not itself a competition class, and there is no fixed point at which a student graduates from it, so the timing is worth confirming with the teacher.