Pitch competitions, real clients, and founders who tell you how it actually went — the LEAP Business chapter is where you stop reading about business and start running one.
Every LEAP chapter runs on the same four pillars — here's what they look like in Business.
An older student in the chapter mentors you through business basics and your own project ideas.
Get paired with a working business professional for ongoing guidance.
Current business students and recent grads share the honest, in-progress version of the path.
LEAP partners with outside organizations to widen the pool of mentors available to members.
Compete with real prizes and real judges — DECA-style, but cross-field.
Solve live business cases in teams under time pressure.
Casual conversations with people working in business — low-pressure, high-value.
Members and local businesses connect, sponsor, and showcase what they're building.
Pitch your own venture idea to a panel, Shark-Tank-style.
Run social media campaigns for local businesses or nonprofits — verified hours.
Teach budgeting and money basics to teens and families in the community.
Free student consulting sprints for local shops that can't afford agencies.
Organize and run a fundraiser where proceeds go to a cause you choose.
Support chapter and community events, from setup to wrap-up.
The events and projects we're building the founding year around. (These illustration slots become real photos as soon as we host them — of you, maybe.)
Chapters are student-run. Founding officers build this from day one, which is exactly the kind of leadership colleges and employers notice.
Owns the vision, runs meetings, and represents the chapter to the school and to LEAP national.
Interviews and welcomes new members, and keeps the roster and member records clean.
Plans networking events, tours, and competitions from idea to day-of logistics.
Builds relationships with local firms and sponsors that fund events and open internship doors.
Organizes volunteering projects and syncs member hours with LEAP Tutoring.
Recruits professional mentors and matches them with members through the year.
Set by the starter kit's first-semester calendar — every chapter runs the same basic cadence.
A 30–45 minute chapter meeting — case discussion, event planning, or a guest speaker from the business world.
One signature event: a pitch competition, case competition, business fair, or Founder AMA.
Mentor pairing, case study library work, and volunteer hours from consulting or financial-literacy projects.
Fill out the interest form below — takes under a minute.
A short, friendly conversation with the onboarding lead about what you want out of the chapter.
Get your member kit, pick your first event, and log your first volunteer hours.
No. The chapter exists to build your experience, not to gatekeep it. If you're curious about Business, you're qualified.
Nothing. Every LEAP program is 100% free for students — that's the entire point of the organization.
Plan on one chapter meeting per week or two, plus the events and volunteering you opt into. Founding officers put in more — and get more out of it.
Then you might be its founder. Head to LEAP Home and request the chapter starter kit.
Organized by DECA/FBLA event category. Use these to sharpen your analysis and build your reference bank.
Nike signed the controversial athlete as brand ambassador. "Dream Crazy" sparked boycotts — and record sales. What does brand activism really cost?
Study this case →In 1985, Coke changed its 99-year-old formula after research showed customers preferred the new taste. Customers revolted. A masterclass in what surveys miss.
Study this case →Spotify gives away music free with ads and converts listeners into paying subscribers. How does freemium optimize lifetime value — and when does it break?
Study this case →In 2021, retail investors on Reddit drove GameStop's stock skyward, crushing hedge funds short-selling the stock. A raw case in market mechanics and power.
Study this case →Apple held $250B+ in cash for years. Investors demanded buybacks or dividends. What should a company do with excess capital — and why did Apple wait?
Study this case →WeWork hit a $47B valuation then nearly collapsed before going public. A story about the gap between storytelling and fundamentals — and what investors missed.
Study this case →Airbnb disrupted hospitality globally — then fought city-by-city regulations for a decade. How do platform companies manage compliance without killing growth?
Study this case →A video-first DTC razor brand launched with a $4,500 video, built $150M in annual revenue, and sold to Unilever for $1B. What made the model click?
Study this case →Patagonia ran a full-page NYT ad telling customers NOT to buy their products. Sales went up. Counterintuitive — and instructive — anti-marketing.
Study this case →Zappos hired for culture above all else and offered new hires $2,000 to quit if they didn't feel it. How does values-based hiring shape performance?
Study this case →No vacation policy. No expense approvals. Total salary transparency. Netflix eliminated most management controls. Does freedom create responsibility — or chaos?
Study this case →Named "America's Most Innovative Company" six years running — then collapsed in the largest accounting fraud in U.S. history. What governance systems failed?
Study this case →Toyota pioneered lean manufacturing by receiving parts only when needed. How does JIT create competitive advantage — and what is its hidden vulnerability?
Study this case →Delivering packages to millions of front doors is the hardest part of e-commerce. How does Amazon use technology, gig workers, and its own fleet to solve it?
Study this case →McDonald's owns the land under most of its restaurants. Franchisees run the operations. The model scaled to 40,000+ locations. How does it work financially?
Study this case →VW installed software to cheat emissions tests worldwide. The company paid $25B+ in fines. A study in the compounding cost of corporate deception.
Study this case →87 million users' data was harvested without consent and used in political targeting. This case reshaped global thinking on data as product and privacy as right.
Study this case →In 1982, J&J recalled 31 million Tylenol bottles after poisoning deaths. Their fast, transparent response became the gold standard for crisis management.
Study this case →Event-by-event strategy, resources, and practice to walk into your next competition fully prepared.
What the event tests: The 4 Ps, consumer behavior, market research, advertising, pricing strategies, and DECA-style role-play scenarios.
Top 3 prep strategies
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Sample role-play: "You're a marketing consultant for a local bakery wanting to expand. The owner wants to increase awareness on a $500 budget. What do you recommend?" (10 min to prepare, 10 min to present.)
What the event tests: Financial statements, banking, credit, investment basics, insurance, and financial planning fundamentals.
Top 3 prep strategies
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What the event tests: Business plan development, market analysis, competitive advantage, startup unit economics, pitch skills, and entrepreneurial mindset.
Top 3 prep strategies
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What the event tests: Organizational structures, HR concepts, leadership styles, operations management, and strategic planning.
Top 3 prep strategies
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What the event tests: Hotel operations, food and beverage management, tourism economics, customer service, and event planning concepts.
Top 3 prep strategies
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What the event tests: Budgeting, saving, taxes, credit scores, investing basics, insurance, and consumer rights.
Top 3 prep strategies
Study resources
The people who join first shape everything — the events, the culture, the opportunities. Put your name in.
Request to join →