Ananya Menon: Teaching Kids to Build Businesses, From Texas to Uganda

The Village School · SIP, Summer 2025

Ananya shares how a canceled launch turned into a financial literacy program reaching kids from Texas to Uganda.

Ananya saw that kids around her were growing up without basic financial literacy. In SIP she built Bizbuddies, a five-week program where kids learn personal finance, start small businesses, and sell real products. When a planned school launch fell through, she kept teaching one-on-one and kept reaching out, and her lessons have since reached a school in Uganda, a local children's business fair, and classrooms in Dallas.

In this episode, Ananya talks about bouncing back from a major setback, how cold emails and knocking on doors built her partnerships, and the ambitious idea she decided to shelve.

Her advice: "Just do as much as you can."

Ready to start your own story? In twelve weeks, you'll pick a problem you care about, test your ideas with real people, and find out what you're capable of.