Organization · Incubator
YEP!
YEP! is a free entrepreneurship program aimed at high school students in college towns, fostering local talent and enhancing town-gown relations through incubator activities.
Overview
What YEP! does
What YEP! is
YEP! is a free entrepreneurship program aimed at high school students in college towns, fostering local talent and enhancing town-gown relations through incubator activities.
How it participates in the startup ecosystem
The current public profile supports program host and community capabilities. Each capability below is shown separately so organization identity and role-specific information do not get conflated.
Operational profile
Organization status and context
Organization status describes the entity itself. Funding and program availability appear within the relevant capability profile.
- Operational status
- Active
- Organization type
- Incubator
- Structured capabilities
- Program host · Community
- Last reviewed
- April 13, 2026
What Incubator means
An incubator is a support environment for turning a nascent idea or early company into a startup that is more ready for customers, funding, or an accelerator.
Open the glossary entryOfficial channels
Find YEP! elsewhere
Open the official website or a supported primary organization account.
Capability profile
YEP! as a program host
Program thesis
YEP! aims to provide high school students from under-resourced schools with exposure to university campuses, real-world opportunities, and lifelong mentorship.
Focus narrative
YEP! focuses on developing the next generation of entrepreneurs by offering an entrepreneurship incubator program. The program is designed for high school students and emphasizes building confidence, entrepreneurial skills, and professional opportunities. YEP! operates chapters at various universities, including Brown University, Yale University, and several campuses in California and Australia.
Value and support
YEP! offers a structured incubator program that typically lasts between 5 to 7 weeks, where students participate in weekly sessions to learn key entrepreneurial skills and develop their business ideas, culminating in a Pitch Night event.
Format and cadence
- Typical duration
- 6 weeks
Availability
- Application state
- Not published
Focus and fit
- Stages
- Accelerator
- Regions
- North AmericaOceania
Capability profile
YEP! as a community
Community overview
YEP! (Young Entrepreneurs Program) is a free entrepreneurship education program founded in 2019 by three students from Brown University: Audrey Shapiro, Lucia Winton, and Leah Lam. The organization is based in Providence, Rhode Island, and aims to provide high school students from under-resourced schools with exposure to university campuses, real-world opportunities, and lifelong mentorship.
Community focus
YEP! focuses on developing the next generation of entrepreneurs by offering an entrepreneurship incubator program. The program is designed for high school students and emphasizes building confidence, entrepreneurial skills, and professional opportunities. YEP! operates chapters at various universities, including Brown University, Yale University, and several campuses in California and Australia.
Member value
Members gain access to a structured incubator program that typically lasts between 5 to 7 weeks, where they participate in weekly sessions to learn key entrepreneurial skills and develop their business ideas, culminating in a Pitch Night event to present their ventures.
Membership
- Pricing models
- free
Format and cadence
- Modality
- in-person
- Schedule
- cohort-based
- Commitment
- light
Availability
- Membership state
- Accepting
Audience and fit
- Audience
- Students
- Benefits
- mentorship and network-access
- Program types
- incubator and community
- Selection criteria
- open
- Stages
- Pre-seed
- Regions
- AustraliaUnited States
Community activity
Events and activity
YEP! hosts a Pitch Night event at the end of their incubator program, where students present their business ideas. Weekly sessions are held throughout the program to build entrepreneurial skills.
Notable members
Key team members include Julia Nguyen (Program Director at Brown University), Evelyn Lamond (Director at UCLA), Kelly Wu and Victoria Simonds (Co-Presidents at Yale University), and Ben Deng (Program Manager at UC Berkeley).
Common questions
What to know about YEP!
Upseed classifies YEP! under the Incubator organization type. Its current public profile includes program host and community capabilities.
Source and update disclosure
Know what this page is based on
Source basis
Public organization and program material, official websites, and structured Upseed records.
Last reviewed
April 13, 2026
Known limits
Capability profiles appear only when a structured public profile also contains decision-useful role evidence. Terms and availability can change.
Upseed is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organization described on this page.