Zero to One:The Catalysts
One day in a room with the people who actually built it. Founders, owners, operators, and the students already doing it. Free for every student and parent who walks in.
Register FreeFree for students and parents. Lunch included. Space is limited.
The Big Idea
Every business. Every career. Every opportunity. Every movement. Started at zero.
Someone became the catalyst that moved it to one.
In chemistry, a catalyst accelerates a reaction without being consumed by it. That is the whole idea of this day. Students spend it with people who have already made that jump, and hear what it actually took. Not the highlight reel. The first step, the money, the failures, and the decision to start anyway.
The Day
What students walk into
A working room, not an auditorium. Here is what is in it.
Real founders, up close
Conversations with entrepreneurs, business owners, and operators who built something from nothing.
The unedited version
What starting actually cost. Failing, pivoting, and the grit it takes to stay at one.
Entrepreneurship & ownership
What it means to own the thing instead of only working inside it.
Financial awareness
Straight conversations about money, revenue, and how businesses actually get funded.
Decision-making
How people who build things decide, commit, and carry the weight of being wrong sometimes.
Career & industry exposure
Paths students have not been shown yet, presented by the people working in them.
Relationships that last
Speed-networking with speakers and mentors, plus other ambitious young people building right now.
Students already doing it
Y.E.S.! Founders Academy™ graduates share their own zero-to-one, on stage.
Organizations you can use
Community programs and partners serving San Antonio youth and families, in the room and reachable.
Meet the Catalysts
Not theories. People who built it.
Every person on this stage started at zero. Students are not hearing a lecture about business, they are sitting in front of the people who made the decision and lived the result.
Why This Room Matters
Young people cannot pursue opportunities they have never been exposed to.
Most students are told to get a good job. Almost none of them have ever been in a room with someone who built the thing instead.
One conversation, one introduction, one person, or one idea can change what a young person believes is available to them. That shift is not motivational. It is practical. It changes what they apply for, what they attempt, and who they ask.
That is why Y.E.S.! builds rooms like this one. Access is the variable we can control.
For Parents & Families
Come with them
Parents are not dropping a student off. Admission is free for you too, lunch included, and the day is built to be useful to you.
- Direct access to business owners, professionals, and community leaders across San Antonio.
- Connection to organizations, programs, and resources serving local youth and families.
- A clear look at what entrepreneurship education actually involves before you commit to anything.
- Conversations about money, ownership, and career paths, alongside your student instead of after the fact.
- A network of other families who are thinking the same way about their kids.
Free for students and parents. Space is limited.
Event Details
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Date
Saturday, October 10, 2026
Program
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Check-In
9:30 AM
Venue
Rev Mortgage [Full Venue Address — to be added]
Parking
[Parking Information — to be added]
Parents
Parents & families welcome[Parent attendance details — to be confirmed]
Food
[Food / refreshment information — to be confirmed]
Who It's For
Middle & high school studentsParents, educators, and community partners welcome
Admission
Free for students & parents
Resource Exchange
More than a conference. A room full of resources.
Students and families will also connect directly with nonprofits, businesses, educational programs, and community organizations serving San Antonio youth. Every organization in the room is one a family can plug into the next day. Lunch is on us, courtesy of Lucky Patty, with a live DJ and a photo booth running through the day.
Sponsors
Keep the day free for every student.
Sponsorship covers venue, food, student swag, and the media wall. If your company or family wants to put money behind the room, this is where it goes.
About Y.E.S.!
Youth Entrepreneurship Services
Y.E.S.! exists to place youth at the center of community advancement by equipping them with entrepreneurship, mentorship, and real-world tools that accelerate growth, build ownership, and unlock long-term potential.
Our flagship program, the Founders Academy™, is a 12-week venture-building program for students ages 12 to 18. Students do not write a business plan. They launch, with real customers, real revenue, and a final pitch in front of a board of business owners.
One Day
You don't have to have it all figured out.
You just need somewhere to start. October 10 is that opportunity.
Lunch included. Free parking. Space is limited.
Registration
Reserve your student's spot
Free for students and parents. Takes about two minutes. A confirmation comes from Y.E.S.! once your spot is held.
Free for students and parents. Space is limited.