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During This Workshop We'll Reveal The #1 Way You can Empower Your Business
PIKO Youth Entrepreneur Program
Help Young People Build Real Businesses
Hands-on entrepreneurship education for the next generation — real ventures, real wages, real futures. Your support puts opportunity in a young builder's hands.
Entrepreneurship Education That Puts Students in Motion
The PIKO Youth Entrepreneur Program teaches middle and high school students how to build a business from the inside out. Instead of learning about entrepreneurship from a textbook, young people design real products, earn real wages, and learn to manage money, lead a team, and bring an idea to market.
This is the heart of PIKO Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit on a mission to strengthen 1,000 small businesses and the communities they hold up. YEP carries that work to the youngest builders — and your gift is what makes it possible.
How Students Learn Business by Doing Business
YEP is built on a simple belief: the best way to learn entrepreneurship is to practice it. Here's how students get in the game.
Why Youth Entrepreneurship Changes Everything
When you teach a young person to build, the impact lasts for decades. Youth entrepreneurship education:
- Builds financial literacy early, when habits form
- Develops leadership, confidence, & problem-solving
- Connects classroom learning to real-world outcomes
- Opens doors to higher education & meaningful careers
This is how we build a better world for our children's
children — one young entrepreneur at a time.
GET IN THE GAME
Your Gift Builds a Young Entrepreneur's Future
Every dollar you give goes to work right away — funding the wages, materials, and mentorship that turn a student's idea into real experience. You're not just supporting a program. You're investing in a young person who will go on to build, lead, and strengthen their community.
- $25: supplies a young maker with materials to create
- $50: supports hands-on business mentorship
- $100: helps fund a student's wages for their work
- Any amount moves a young entrepreneur forward.
Together, we’re building a foundation for the future. Thank you for being part of this journey!
STAY CONNECTED
Not Ready to Give? Follow the Journey.
Get updates on our young entrepreneurs, new programs, and ways to support the next generation of builders.
The LegacyOS by PIKO Scholarship Fund
Fueling Student Business Clubs Nationwide
Beyond our hands-on program, YEP funds the next generation of entrepreneurs through the LegacyOS Scholarship Fund — microgrants for middle and high school business clubs like DECA, FBLA, and BPA. These awards help student-led teams compete, launch ventures, and bring big ideas to life. In 2025, our first awards reached more than 500 students.
Strong communities start with small businesses
Here's what we know: Small businesses and not-for-profits are the heartbeat of healthy communities. When small businesses succeed, communities succeed. When they struggle, it ripples outward. That's why strengthening small businesses from the inside out isn't just about the money - it's about everyone whose lives are touched.
Our mission is to strengthen 1,000 organisations from the inside out, we guide entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders from chaos to clarity with our accessible, community-first programs and support - because we now that strong, healthy businesses create stronger, healthier communities.
How we got here: Our story so far...
Serving small businesses since 2020
In direct response to the devastating wildfire that swept through Lahaina, Maui on August 8, 2023 PIKO created an innovative path to help Maui residents stay on Maui.
With the support of a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation Maui Strong Grant, PIKO created a training program to teach Maui residents new skills to help them build remote careers supporting small businesses across the country. The students learned how to be effective & irreplaceable bookkeepers and administrative assistants.
PIKO is on a mission to play an integral role in helping to rebuild the Lahaina Community one team member, one company at a time. And from there our mission has grown to support businesses, communities, and the future generations that will lead us to new places.
PIKO was founded by Kalani Ho-Nikaido, CHCP - Executive Director and Business Strategist, Certified High-Performance Coach, and systems integrator who has a proven track record of building sustainable businesses that not only survive but thrive.
RESPONSIBILITY MADE BEAUTIFUL
The Product That Powers the Program
Every Kuleana Cloth is handcrafted by PIKO's youth entrepreneurs — a real product, made by real students learning real business. In Hawaiian, kuleana means responsibility and stewardship. Each purchase puts wages behind a young maker and proceeds into the program that teaches them.
About PIKO
PIKO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to strengthening small businesses and the communities they hold up. Since 2020, the organization has been led by Executive Director Kalani Ho-Nikaido, CHPC, who has guided its growth and shaped its mission from the inside out.
Originally from Maui and now based in New Hampshire, Kalani brings deep roots and decades of financial expertise to her work. She believes small businesses are the foundation of our local economies, and that the next generation deserves a solid foundation of their own to begin their entrepreneurial journey. That conviction is the heart of the Youth Entrepreneur Program, carrying PIKO's mission forward to the youngest builders.
Be Part of What's Next
The next generation of entrepreneurs is already getting to work. Help them build.
Thank you to our corporate sponsors
We are incredibly grateful for the partnership and support of our corporate sponsors, whose generosity makes our mission possible. With their contributions, we’re able to reach even more students, providing resources that encourage creativity, leadership, and community impact. Thank you for making a lasting difference in the lives of future leaders!
