Seattle

What you'll experience at TKS.

TKS is a 10-month program with weekly sessions for students ages 13-17 years old.

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Program details

Below is an overview of the program:

Overview

TKS is a 10-month accelerator program from September 2025 to June 2026. During the program, students attend weekly 3-hour sessions with their cohort. Each cohort has ~30 students and a full-time Program Director and Associate Director that are dedicated to coaching and guiding students.

During the week, students can earn access to special events like guest speakers, workshops, and conferences. We also host socials and community events for the students to make friends with others from around the world and locally.

The core elements of TKS include:

  • Project Building: We've designed a highly effective project-based learning method called "The Focus Process". During TKS, we help students explore various topics and discover their interests. Once they find something they're excited about, we help them build real projects, while connecting with experts and mentors to support them.

  • Challenges: TKS students learn how to solve real-world problems by working with global companies. Students have worked on challenges with the United Nations, Google, Airbnb, Microsoft, IKEA, and many more. They learn how to apply frameworks including First Principles Thinking, MECE Analysis, and breaking down problems into their root causes.

  • Moonshots: Inspired by Google and The Moonshot Factory, students expand their limit of ambition and think beyond traditional constraints. They create projects and ideas to solve problems that impact millions, while gaining a depth of understanding in the economics of the industry and technical/scientific requirements.

  • Mentorship & Coaching: In TKS, students learn to set personal objectives, stay accountable, and increase their personal bandwidth/productivity levels. They can schedule 1-on-1 coaching calls with their program directors, and attend group coaching workshops on topics like "how to connect with experts on LinkedIn" and "creating a personal Eisenhower Matrix". They can also access our expert mentors, who support them on technical projects and provide personalized guidance.

  • Community: Meeting like-minded people and forming new friendships are central in TKS. We do this through community events (virtual and in-person), interactive team-based projects, alumni mentorship, and more.

  • Real-World Skills: Develop useful skills that you'll use in the real world, including networking, cold outreach, public speaking, presenting, writing (not essays), personal brand building, and productivity hacks.

By the end of the program, students achieve exponential growth - personally, socially, and academically.

Eligibility

This program is designed for high school students between the ages of 13-17.

You don't need previous knowledge about emerging technology and coding, however having this knowledge can be helpful during the program.

Note: At the time of applying, you can be 12 years old.

Location

The location for TKS Seattle to be announced soon.

We partner with innovative companies to host TKS programs. Previous partners include: McKinsey, PwC, WeWork, and Microsoft. These spaces are optimized for team collaboration, large presentations, and engaging discussions.

Tuition

Tuition for the program goes directly into employee salaries and operating costs. Our program directors and staff are full-time and 100% dedicated to our students and alumni.

Tuition:

  • $639 USD/month + deposit payment ($1,000 USD)


Duration:

  • The program is 10 months.
  • September 2025 to June 2026.

Financial Aid:
Our commitment is to support ambitious students regardless of their financial situation. Accepted students must apply for financial support and demonstrate their financial needs to ensure support is going to the people who need it most. Please don’t let your financial situation stop you from applying.

To learn more, click here.

Important Dates

Below are important dates to remember:

Program Dates
‍The program will run from September 2025 to June 2026.

Program Dates & Timing
Once you're accepted to join TKS, you'll be asked to select your cohort timing. The following are the times you may choose from:

  • Cohort 1: Saturday, 11am-2pm
  • Cohort 2: Saturday, 3-6pm
  • Cohort 3: Sunday, 11am-2pm
Have more questions? Visit our FAQ.

Schedule

Immersive sessions to accelerate your growth.

TKS was developed with CEOs and global leaders, modeled after curriculums from Stanford, Harvard, and MIT, and is designed to replicate the learning environment and culture of Silicon Valley.

Kickoff
Kick off TKS with a bang, meet the other students in your cohort and start to build new friendships. Learn what to expect from the program, get excited, and experience your first taste of the TKS community.
Week 1
Unconventional Thinking
Understand how you can have asymmetric impact on the world and why unconventional thinking is a necessary ingredient on your journey. "In order to achieve unconventional success, you must take an unconventional path." - Nadeem Nathoo, TKS Founder
Week 2

Session Schedule

Challenges

Work on real problems with global companies.

We don’t use textbooks.

You'll work on solving real problems that companies are facing today. You’ll learn how to use first principles thinking and mental models to prepare a recommendation for the company, and if selected, present to their leadership team.

Past challenge partners include:

Xprize
Walmart
Wealthsimple
United Nations
Microsoft
Kidogo
Google
BenchSci
airbnb

Mentors

Access 200+ mentors from various industries.

Get mentorship from successful people who are experts in their industries. We have incredible mentors who love supporting TKS students and the projects you’re building.

Solon Angel

Manolis Kellis

Sarah Gilpin

Oriol Vinyals

Liran Belenzon

See more mentors

Internships

Get work experience at a summer internship.

We help students secure summer internships at companies. It’s rare for teens to work at leading companies, but TKS is the exception. During TKS, you will build a portfolio of projects and develop real-world skills employers are looking for.

Through our corporate internship partners and training workshops, we will help you earn an internship. These opportunities aren't guaranteed, but your chances of being hired are significantly higher if you follow our training.

These are some students who have earned summer internships:

Allison Dana

Valkyrie Holmes

Arnav Shah

Ananya Chadha

Kristina Arezina

Hackathons

Your team has 24hrs to
solve [x], go.

Brainstorm and design solutions to problems using emerging technologies and sciences.

Hackathons were born in Silicon Valley from the mindset of “move fast and break things”, famously coined by Facebook. The purpose was to think fast and brainstorm without constraints.

TKS sessions are highly engaging and experiential. You’ll constantly be working on problems that don’t have solutions... yet.

Our Platform

Everything you’ll need, in one place.

There are tons of resources and tools on our platform for you to discover that will help accelerate your growth. Here are a few:

Explore Modules
Learn about over 40 emerging technologies and sciences at your own pace.

Braindates
Meet with TKS students and alumni from around the world to develop friendships, learn from each other, and grow together!

Activity Feed
See what projects other TKS students are working on in our real-time activity page.

Playbooks and Resources
Access playbooks on over 30 topics like networking, productivity hacks, and mental wellness.

Events
See upcoming events, including guest speakers, workshops, and games nights.

... and so much more!

Community

Develop meaningful friendships for life.

Our community is filled with people who want to make the world a better place. Meet your future best friends and co-founders, while having fun and accelerating your personal growth. During the program we host community events for you to meet people in your cohort, the global TKS community, and alumni.

“Before joining TKS, I didn’t really feel like I fit in at school. But during the program I met so many amazing people that made me feel like I belong here. I found my tribe.”
- Kevin Liu

Mindsets

“What you think you become.” - Buddha

Your mindset is the foundation of your thoughts and actions. In each session, you’ll train a new weekly mindset that will accelerate your personal growth. We train mindsets with action items and real-world examples of how to implement these mindsets.

Bias towards action is a mindset we train, one of Amazon’s leadership principles.  Oftentimes we overthink and second guess ourselves. Having a bias towards action allows us to make decisions quickly and take action without falling into the trap of overthinking.

These are some other mindsets we train:

  • Self-awareness
  • Done > Perfect
  • Antifragility
  • Discipline
  • Figure it out
  • Kindness
  • Perspective
  • Mindfulness
  • Stoicism
  • 10x Thinking

Application Process

Here’s how to apply to
join TKS.

We’re looking for people who are impact-driven, curious to learn about science & technology, and who want to join a global community of like-minded people.

Application

We want you to get into TKS, and our process is simple and transparent. There are two steps:

1. Written Questions (20 minutes):

  • Teach us something: Share a topic you’re excited about—it doesn’t have to be tech-related.
  • What are you proud of? Tell us about an accomplishment, a challenge you overcame, or a project you built.


2. Interview (20 minutes):

This process is designed to understand your curiosity, ambition, and motivation. We’re excited to hear your story.

Note: We don't ask for your grades or academic performance. We believe that success in the real world depends on traits beyond what traditional education systems evaluate.

Enrollment

If you pass the interview stage, you'll receive an offer to join TKS.

Historically, between 10-20% of students receive an acceptance offer. While it is competitive, we look for future potential over past accomplishments. Our founder Navid Nathoo said, "It's not about what you've done, but what you will do."

Once you receive an offer to join TKS, you will:

  • Choose your cohort (time/day)
  • Receive your financial aid allocation (if applicable)
  • Submit your tuition payment

Your family will also be invited to attend a welcome session, where they can ask questions about the program.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Program costs and financial support.

Tuition for the program goes directly into employee salaries and operating costs. Our program directors and staff are full-time and 100% dedicated to our students and alumni.

Tuition:

  • $639/month + deposit payment ($1,000)

Duration:

  • The program is 10 months.
  • September 2025 to June 2026.

Financial Aid:
Our commitment is to support ambitious students regardless of their financial situation. To ensure support is going to the people who need it most, accepted students must apply for financial support and demonstrate their financial needs. Please don’t let your financial situation stop you from applying.

To learn more, click here.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the time commitment?

The duration of weekly sessions are 2-3 hours. The day and time will depend on the cohort you select upon being accepted. Usually, these sessions are on the weekend or weekday evenings.

Outside of sessions, students work on a variety of projects. There are no set time requirements, however students who grow the most during TKS typically allocate 5-10 hours weekly to their projects.

There's no homework in TKS. We've designed the program to reflect the real world and built our own learning platform for students to dive into emerging technologies/sciences, connect with mentors, and work on projects at their own pace.

We also host optional events, such as guest speakers and workshops on topics ranging from mental health, time management, and machine learning. These are typically 1 hour.

Overall, we've designed the program for the students. You can grow at your own pace, but at minimum attend the weekly sessions.

Is there a refund policy?

Yes - we understand that situations can change. If you join TKS and during the year would like to withdraw your enrolment, you may be eligible to receive a partial refund, dependent on your payment plan. We’ve created guidelines around our refund policy, which will be outlined in our terms & conditions to be sent out upon program acceptance.

Do I need technical knowledge to join?

No, you don't need previous technical knowledge or coding skills to join. However, having this knowledge can be helpful.

During the program, you will learn the knowledge and skills you need to develop projects in your interest areas. We provide guidance and coaching along the way so you feel supported and motivated, especially when working on complex subjects.

We provide playbooks, mentorship, and resources to help you learn what you need to accomplish your goals.

Is there financial aid available?

Yes, we believe that financial barriers should not impact a student's ability to access quality education.

We've provided hundreds of students around the world with financial aid, which have helped them attend the program.

Our financial aid fund is supported by sponsorships from partners like Interac, BenchSci, Cenovus, Masason Foundation, RBC, Shell, and others. As an organization, TKS also contributes a large portion to our financial aid fund.  

These funds are only provided to families that need financial support. These funds do not need to be repaid.

Note: Distributions are limited to the fund size. The sooner you apply, the higher chances you have to receive support.

See more FAQs