High School Hustle

By: Isabella Zarate

A briefcase of $100,000, a high school lunch room, and one question:

Who wants to make money?

This is Scott Lingle’s method for recruiting future entrepreneurs.

High School Hustle - an organization dedicated to giving students real world business experience officially began in 2024. 

The idea was inspired when entrepreneur, Lingle, encouraged his son to start a company of his own, just for the summer. 

Thus, Lingle’s son, and his college roommate, started up Naptown Washing - powerwashing services.  

“At the end of the summer they both said ‘we learned more in 90 days than we learned in like four years at college.’”

His encouragement, and his son’s experience flipped a switch for Lingle. 

“I think you learn entrepreneurship by doing it more than you do reading about it and taking tests,” Lingle said. 

And so he started looking around to see what opportunities there were to give students similar understanding. 

“What I found is a ton of pitch competitions that are more like theory and hypothetical,” Lingle explained. “But I didn't see a whole lot out there that's like, ‘okay, we're gonna teach you how to do it by going out and doing it.’”

Lingle and High School Hustle are now wrapping up year two of the program. 

After recruiting more than two thousand high schoolers across the state, Lingle and other volunteers from the program visit participating schools during the second half of the year. This time is spent hosting workshops and introducing mentors who share with the class varying aspects of operating a business. 

Then, once school is out and the teens have more time to focus on their hustle, that is when the real competition begins.

As a way to both encourage and incentivize students to learn what it takes to become entrepreneurs, High School Hustle promises the top ten businesses (in terms of sales) a $10,000 check at the end of the summer. 

Lingle shared about the program with The Republican at the end of July. As of then, some of the top businesses included powerwashing, car detailing, and landscaping, with the highest profit being more than $50,000. 

Indiana’s median income in 2023 according to census.gov, was $47,600. 

The student coming in at 10th place had made more than $14,000. 

Sales are tracked by uploading invoices and deposits for each of the businesses. 

Though it’s currently not offered in Hendricks County, High School Hustle is on its way. 

“I definitely want to start in Danville,’ Lingle shared. 

“What I like as an entrepreneur. . . I want to try to make a dent and see if I can help Danville become great.”

Lingle plans to bring the hustle to Danville High School this coming school year. 

To learn more about the program visit highschoolhustle.org