Scale your impact.
Own your summer.
You became an educator to change children's lives — and every June, that work stops at the twenty-some kids who were in your classroom. A Neuron Garage gives you a way to reach a whole community of children every summer, without leaving the career you love.
Transform Your Summer Into Your Business
We're launching with a small founding cohort of respected local educators — the people who will define what Neuron Garage ownership looks like.
A screen-free summer day camp where Campers take on real challenges — and learn they can do hard things.
Easy is everywhere. Hard is where kids grow.
Screens hand kids the answer. Activities are engineered to limit struggle.
But the thing that matters most is knowing what to do when something is genuinely hard. That only gets learned one way — by doing something hard.
One skill. Practiced all summer.
At Neuron Garage, Campers take on open-ended Builds — no instructions, no set answers, no screens, using simple tools and recycled materials. They hit real walls. They get stuck. And instead of being rescued, they’re guided to push through. Every day gives them another chance to practice the same skill: using a growth mindset to turn “I can’t” into “I can’t yet.”
“Because what stops most children isn't ability — it's the belief that ability is fixed. We exist to undo that belief in childhood: through children who learn they can do hard things, and the educators who believe in them.”
We teach the skill of using a growth mindset — with tools Campers can use anywhere.
Many camps let kids experience challenge. We go further: we teach them how to manage themselves through it, using simple tools that help them stay engaged, work through frustration, and persist when they’re stuck — skills they carry far beyond camp.
The belief that ability isn’t fixed; turning “I can’t do this” into “I can’t do this yet.”
What to do with the big feelings that make us want to quit.
A first attempt isn't failure; it's the first version. You learn, and you try again.
Four things that make us different
Hands-On: Real materials, real problems, real focus.
We cap our size so no Camper gets lost and every family is acknowledged.
Each Neuron Garage is owned and run by an educator.
Most camps promise ten things. We promise one — and build it relentlessly.
Families love what Neuron Garage does for their kids.
Neuron Garage has an amazing mission which inspires the kids. The counselors are mature, treat the kids with respect, and truly care about their development through the summer. The owners are phenomenal and work to make the camp fun and educational each year. This is the first time that my son said, "I can't wait for camp!"
This is our second year. Last year we did 1 week, and this year 3 wks. My child (9 yo) wishes he could do a 4th week! He returns home so excited to show me what he created! I know he is getting a great challenge in a nurturing environment. Thank you for creating this camp!
Our son, age 6, did 4 weeks this past summer. He loved it and asked if he can sign up next summer for the whole summer. We can tell he picked up a lot of great creative and problem solving skills. The staff are great and super supportive.
I can't even describe how impressed I've been with Neuron Garage! My son loves it, and we just signed up for two more weeks. Your facilitators are incredibly engaging, and I'm impressed by the level of social integration you've been able to achieve in just a short amount of time.
The market, in plain terms.
For many of today's families, summer camp isn't a luxury — it's essential infrastructure. In two-thirds of married-couple families with children, both parents work (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025). When school lets out, many of those families still need structured, enriching care for their kids.
Despite its size, the camp industry remains highly fragmented — the largest operators combined hold only about a third of industry revenue, with the rest spread across thousands of independent local programs (IBISWorld). For a franchisee, that means you're not fighting entrenched national competitors on every corner. You're bringing a proven brand, professional systems, and consistent quality to a market still dominated by independent operations.
Families aren't just buying childcare anymore — they're investing in their children's development. The fastest growth in the category is in enrichment-focused programs that build real skills, as parents increasingly choose camps that deliver measurable value over generic recreation. Premium, purpose-built programming isn't a niche — it's where the market is going.
Families can re-enroll year after year, siblings age into the program, and a child who starts at age 6 could attend for many summers.
Camp is a trust purchase, and happy parents are vocal — referrals often come through neighbors, school communities, and parent group chats.
Many teachers, coaches, and college students are looking for summer work exactly when camps need staff.
Enrollment often takes shape by spring, allowing operators to plan staffing and supply purchases based on actual registrations rather than forecasts.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Characteristics of Families — 2025: bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm
- Gallup / NSLA / ACA poll on summer program participation and unmet demand (2024): acacamps.org/news/press-release/new-poll-reveals-30-million-youth-summer-opportunities-cost-remains-major-barrier
- University of Michigan Economic Growth Institute / ACA, 2024 National Economic Impact Study: news.umich.edu/us-camp-industry-adds-billions-to-national-economy · acacamps.org/resources/national-economic-impact-study-camp-industry
- IBISWorld, Summer Camps in the US: ibisworld.com/united-states/industry/summer-camps/5349/
The statements above describe general characteristics of the summer day camp industry and business model. They are not a representation, guarantee, or forecast of the actual or potential sales, income, or profits of any franchisee. Individual results vary and depend on many factors, including location, market conditions, and the operator's own efforts. We do not make any financial performance representations except as set forth in Item 19 of our Franchise Disclosure Document. This website is not an offer to sell a franchise; any offer is made only through delivery of our Franchise Disclosure Document in compliance with applicable law.
You won't build alone.
Most franchise training is a firehose — a week at headquarters, a binder, good luck. Ours is built the way you'd build it: one skill at a time, on a teacher's schedule.
Pre-opening orientation is self-guided and takes about a day: the history and mission, how a camp runs, setting up your business, forecasting your own numbers.
Then, September through April, you get one focused module a month — each matched to what you're actually doing that month. A short recorded lesson, then a live virtual session to work through it together. About an hour a month.
You can do this — because it was designed for someone with your calendar.
Your Guides are your team — you hire them, you train them, you lead them. What you won't do is start from scratch.
You'll receive our library of pre-recorded Guide training modules — curriculum, growth-mindset frameworks, camp culture, and common camp scenarios — ready for you to assign to your staff and build on with the in-person, on-the-job training you'll deliver yourself.
Before camp opens, you'll confirm every Guide has completed the modules. Your people, your leadership — with a decade of materials behind you.
From the day you are awarded your franchise, through your first summer and beyond, you'll have a person in your corner — someone who has run camps, knows the model, and meets with you as you launch and grow your business. Not a support ticket. A person you can talk to.
You'll meet regularly with a small council of fellow franchisees — people building the same thing you are. Ask the question you'd be embarrassed to ask. Someone in the room has lived it.
Every specification, checklist, and how-to for launching and running a Neuron Garage — from negotiating your facility agreement to setting up your campus to the daily schedule. A decade of refinement, so your first summer doesn't have to be an experiment.
Our systems and software handle the registration and payments. Training is there when you need it. And there's always someone to call.
Your role is to be the educator your community already trusts.
“Your first summer will stretch you — but you'll have the support of people who've run them for a decade and a community of other educators building their businesses right alongside you.”
One year. Four seasons.
You teach. You find a school and classrooms to rent. You market locally to your community. Enrollment opens in January; our systems handle registration and payments while you're in the classroom. You meet monthly with your Peer Council and Growth Guide.
Hire your Guides and train them using our training materials. You order all supplies, tools, and branded items. Families from your own community sign up.
Close the season. Go back to school. Start planning next summer.
"This is a business, and it's supposed to be worth your summer. The FDD, your own math, and the people who've run our camps are where you pressure-test that."
When you sign your Franchise Agreement for your first Neuron Garage® camp, you'll pay a one-time initial franchise fee of $1,000. That same amount comes right back to you as a $1,000 credit toward approved promotional materials — so your fee goes straight into getting your camp's name out there.
Ongoing fees — including a 20% royalty on net revenues and a 3% Brand Development Fund contribution — are described in Items 5 and 6 of our FDD.
See our Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for details. This website is not an offer to sell a franchise. Offers are made only by a Franchise Disclosure Document, and only in states where registered or exempt. No earnings representations are made outside Item 19 of our current FDD.
Do you have what it takes to thrive as a Neuron Garage franchise owner?
Here are key qualities we look for in our targeted franchise owners:
Sound like you? Start your application. (Not sure yet? That's a "not yet.")
8 steps to ownership
Fill out your contact information so that we can connect.
Gain a deeper understanding of the business model, the owner's role, and what the process ahead looks like.
If qualified, receive our Franchise Disclosure Document and walk through many of the Items in the FDD and key provisions in the Franchise Agreement — including initial investment requirements, ongoing fees, and other financial considerations. Federal law requires that you have it for at least 14 calendar days before you sign any agreement or pay us anything — time built in on purpose, so you can read it closely, run your own numbers, and talk to your own attorney and accountant.
A detailed walkthrough of the Neuron Garage owner experience: day-in-the-life, support systems, meet a Growth Guide. Prep for the Selection Committee.
If awarded a franchise, review and sign the agreement when you are confident that ownership in a Neuron Garage franchise fits your interests.
Join live presentations virtually, complete recorded training modules online, and download themed curricula, operational tools and camp resources.
Secure your facility, recruit families from your community, and hire and train your staff. Take advantage of our best practices, methods and systems to launch your camp.
Set up your campus following our branding specifications and get ready to transform lives.
We exist to undo the most limiting belief a child can hold: that their abilities are fixed.
Kaylie Reed opens a throw-back summer experience where kids "unplug," go into a "garage," and tinker with simple materials, tools and their hands.
The program grows through enthusiastic families — and sharpens around the part that mattered most: kids developing the skill of using a growth mindset.
A franchise model built so talented educators can become educator-entrepreneurs and bring the program to children across the country.
Kaylie studied education and neuroscience at Dartmouth, taught in Montessori classrooms, and then joined Acton Academy at its very beginning as a founding Guide and Director — before Acton grew into a network of hundreds of locations worldwide. In 2014 she founded Neuron Garage to focus on one thing: teaching growth mindset as a practiced skill, not just a concept, through open-ended building challenges.
She built the curriculum used across every Neuron Garage location today. That gives her an unusual dual vantage point — she knows the pedagogy of resilience from more than a decade in classrooms, and she knows the business of turning an educational philosophy into a durable program, because she's done it. Neuron Garage camps are now owned and run by educators across the country.
Kaylie lives in Telluride, Colorado, where she serves on the local public school board and the board of the Telluride Education Foundation.
Sam has spent his whole career starting and scaling companies — he's co-founded five, with three exits.
He studied entrepreneurship formally at USC's Entrepreneur Program and MIT's Entrepreneur Master's Program. Prior to co-founding Neuron Garage, he was co-founder and CEO of AchieveCard, where he built AchieveCard into a national direct-to-consumer prepaid debit program in five years, led the company through its acquisition by Green Dot Corporation (NYSE: GDOT), and then served as Green Dot's Chief Revenue Officer for its direct business.
He's been a member of YPO (Young Presidents' Organization) for ten years and EO (Entrepreneurs' Organization) for fifteen — which is a long way of saying he's spent two decades learning from, and alongside, people who build things.
At Neuron Garage, Sam's job is the one he's done his whole career: take something that works and help it grow — this time, a camp his wife Kaylie conceived, and a model that puts ownership in the hands of the educators who run it.
Skyler has spent her career in exactly the rooms our franchisees come from. She served five years as a Site Director at Neuron Garage and six as a Lead Guide at Acton Academy's main campus, with a year as a Learning Designer for the Acton network — on top of more than a decade directing after-school programs, designing project-based and social-emotional curriculum, and working summer camps. She holds a teaching credential and a degree in Communication Studies, and is pursuing a Master's in Youth Development Leadership.
At Neuron Garage, Skyler teaches what she practices: that ability grows, that the process of creating matters more than the product, and that a first try that doesn't work is a chance to learn — not a failure. As Franchise Recruitment Lead, she's the first person most prospective owners talk to, and the one who can answer, from experience, what running a location actually looks like.
The questions you're actually asking
No — and we'd rather you didn't. The model is built for working teachers. "Full-time" means full-time during camp season: you're the one running your location all summer, not hiring a director and stepping back. It is not a claim on your school year.
Start the conversation.
Tell us who you are, and Skyler — our Franchise Development Lead — will personally reach out within two business days.