"Before Prequel, I always had the mindset that as a high school kid, raising $100,000 from private investors was impossible."
Meet Rhett Jones, the 17-year-old founder of Texas's largest mountain bike park, Station Mountain.
As a high schooler, Rhett had:
- Raised $3 million for his bike park
- Secured a land grant
- Oversaw construction and launched the business
- Brought in $20k in profit in his opening weekend
But in 2022, this was a very different story.
"Before Prequel, I wasn't even hyped about entrepreneurship. I didn't know that you could just straight up start a business; like, you could just go do it, like anyone could. That just wasn't an idea that crossed my mind at all."
Rhett decided to join Prequel's Summer Program (formerly BETA Camp) in 2022 on a whim because his friends were joining. Little did he know, it would create a shift in his mindset that would change the rest of his high school journey and career. Prequel proved to be a pivotal experience for his entrepreneurial development.
During the program, Rhett created a startup that had an entirely different focus: connecting students with expert instructors. TechCafe was a platform to allow high school students to join weekly talks with experts and mentors. That startup "didn't go anywhere," but what Rhett and his teammates did get was the skills and confidence to start chasing their dreams. Even early startup attempts build valuable skills and resilience.
"The most motivating thing was seeing other high schoolers make successful businesses. The main thing is just the motivation, just seeing that it was possible to make a business, seeing that any kid can make a business that that was the key factor.
Peer success at Prequel was a powerful motivator.
Going through the process of building a real business in such a short amount of time convinced Rhett that he didn't have to wait to start building and pursuing his passions.
"Trying to start this business and make a social media page and get customers... that was fun. And that showed me that 'Oh, wow, this is actually possible.' The fact that you have to make an actual business, instead of making a prototype or a cool business plan."
This hands-on experience of building a real startup at Prequel was key.
After the summer, Rhett applied that mindset to his long-term passion: mountain biking.
He created a professional pitch video, started mining his network and Prequel connections, met with investors, and drew up the plan for a mountain bike park outside Austin, Texas. He leveraged skills and connections from Prequel for his new venture.
He started putting his plan into action during the school year through Prequel's Summer Program.
Rhett's Pitch Video
Today, Rhett balances his academics with running a profitable business on the weekends. He's a true example of a successful student entrepreneur.
"We brought in $20k in profit on just an opening weekend, which is pretty exciting. Like just on that Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
For Rhett, it's not about the money though. He sees Station Mountain as a step on a much larger journey: building the world's best bike park.
"I really see Station Mountain Bike Park as a stepping stone for my entrepreneurial future. These bike parks that I'm currently making in high school are just a step in the overall dream of making the world's best bike park."
His ambition extends far beyond his initial success.
"It was an accumulation of factors that changed my mind on entrepreneurship. The mentors that I had were really important. Without Prequel's Summer Program, I don't really think I'd be making a business."
To learn more, check out Rhett's feature in Texas Monthly, Texas’s Newest Mountain Bike Park Was Built by a Fearless Teen Entrepreneur.
