The Real Sales Challenge is for G9 to G12. Students design a product and sell it to the public at a farmers market, and the proceeds are donated to a Project Next Foundation (PNF) charitable project. Every part of the process is real: a real booth, real customers who are strangers, and real sales or real rejections. It runs on a rolling schedule.
The Full Process of the Real Sales Challenge
- Find a need: observe the people at the market and judge what they might need, rather than starting from what the student can make.
- Design the product: decide what to make, what it costs, and how many to prepare.
- Set the price: work out costs and expected sales, choose a price, and prepare an answer for when a customer asks why it costs so much.
- Prepare the booth and the pitch: signage, display, an opening line, and a way to explain what is for sale in ten-odd seconds.
- Sell on site: face customers who are strangers, and handle questions about price, comparisons, and rejection.
- Settle accounts and review: total the revenue and costs, donate the proceeds to the PNF charitable project, and review which judgments were right and which were wrong.
What the Real Sales Challenge Really Trains
The Real Sales Challenge trains students to be turned down by strangers. Most high school students have no chance to experience this before adulthood: something they spent a long time preparing, and a passerby glances at it and walks away. Learning not to take rejection as a judgment of oneself, and to speak up again to the next customer, is the most valuable part of this program. Classroom lessons and simulations cannot provide it.
Can Students Without Business Experience Create a Product for the Real Sales Challenge
Yes. The program does not require a complex product. Handmade items, baked goods, printed items, and simple services all work. The point is to go through the full process from idea to sale once, not to make an elaborate product. Students who want to build a business foundation first can start with Money Basics & Finance Lab.
How the Real Sales Challenge Differs from the Startup Incubator
The Real Sales Challenge is a one-time, hands-on exercise with a short cycle and a clear goal. The Startup Incubator is an ongoing project that covers market validation, finance, pitching, and an Investor Demo Day, with a longer cycle and higher demands. Most students do the Sales Challenge first and then move on to the Startup Incubator.
The Real Sales Challenge and Future Skills Membership
The Real Sales Challenge is for Life Lab members. Every step is logged in the Human Skills record kept with our partner nonprofit, Project Next Foundation (PNF), and in high school points toward a formal Congressional Award application (age 13.5+).
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Contact a course advisorSales Challenge: Frequently Asked Questions
Do Irvine students really have to sell something?
Yes. Each student designs a product and sells it to the public at a local farmers market in Irvine, going from the first idea all the way to a completed sale. The customers are real members of the community, not a classroom simulation.
Who keeps the money?
The proceeds are donated to a PNF community project. What the student takes away is the experience of a full sales cycle in public, including product design, pricing, and talking to customers, rather than the revenue itself.
Can an Irvine student join with no business background?
Yes. Students who have already done Money Basics or Finance Lab tend to be readier on pricing and customer conversation, but a student with no background can start from the product design stage. The product need not be elaborate: a handmade item, baked goods, print work, or a simple service all qualify.
How is this different from the Startup Incubator?
The Sales Challenge centers on one public sale, from product design to a completed transaction at a farmers market. The Startup Incubator covers market validation, finance, pitching, and execution, producing an MVP, customer traction, and an investor demo day.
Do Irvine families need a membership?
Yes. This program is for Life Lab members only and runs on a rolling schedule. Every step a member takes is logged in the Human Skills record kept with Project Next Foundation (PNF), and members receive a growth report.
