How a Middle School Teacher Ran SideHustle With 400 Students in 10 Minutes
How a business teacher in Vigo County, Indiana ran SideHustle with 400 middle school students in a 10-minute open house session.
May 2, 2026 · 2 min read
How can teachers introduce entrepreneurship to middle school students quickly?
You don't need a 60 to 90 minute block. You don't need a curriculum overhaul. A business teacher in Vigo County, Indiana ran SideHustle with 400 middle school students in a 10-minute open house session and they couldn't stop playing.
The story
Last year a business teacher in Vigo County, Indiana reached out after discovering the SideHustle game on his own. He used it during his school's open house, with 400 middle school students cycling through his classroom in short bursts.
He didn't have time for the full 60 to 90 minute Labs format. So he stripped it down to one round: random business name + industry on the screen, students in groups of 4-5, three minutes to come up with the idea, one pitcher, the rest of the room voting Funny + Fundable with a hand raise.
It worked. Students who hadn't been engaged all night were the loudest. Kids who'd never thought of themselves as business kids were pitching ideas. The teacher reached out to us afterward to think through how a format like this could scale.
What it means
The format works at scale because the game is the curriculum. You don't need to teach pitching first. You don't need a worksheet. The structure of the rounds teaches the skill in real time. If a 10-minute version landed with 400 middle schoolers in an open house, the 60 to 90 minute version is a no-brainer for any business class. For the full playbook, read the complete educator guide to teaching entrepreneurship through play.
Try it
- Play free at playsidehustle.com to see why it works in a classroom
- Live show: Sept 25 at Pershing Hall in Austin. luma.com/playsidehustle
Bring SideHustle to your program
SideHustle Labs is a game-based entrepreneurship format built for workshop-model schools — mornings on academics, afternoons on real-world skills — and drops into that afternoon block as a hands-on pitching experience. Opt in to play free and see how it runs before scaling it across classrooms, or email team@playsidehustle.com to talk through a fit for your program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can SideHustle be played in a short classroom session?+
Yes. The full Labs format runs 60 to 90 minutes for a four-round session, but the game can be stripped down to a single round in 10-15 minutes. A business teacher in Vigo County, Indiana used the free SideHustle game with 400 middle school students during a school open house.
Does SideHustle work for middle school students?+
Yes. The game's Funny plus Fundable scoring system removes the fear of being wrong, which works especially well for middle school students who might be self-conscious about pitching ideas. A Vigo County teacher's classroom use of the free game is a working example.
How do schools roll out SideHustle across multiple classrooms?+
Teachers can run the format independently after a short facilitator training. The full Labs program includes a 1-hour training call for school staff. For multi-school or district-level conversations, contact team@playsidehustle.com to scope a licensing package.