Students today need to be deeply formed to love what is true and beautiful, and they also need practical skills and confidence that comes from real life experiences they can carry into college, career, and beyond.

In this episode of BaseCamp Live, Davies Owens sits down with Mitchell Slater, founder and CEO of Slater Strategies, to talk about entrepreneurship, risk, and why many students are not being prepared for real life as well as they could be.

Mitchell shares his story of growing up homeschooled in Alaska, learning hard work through real responsibilities, and starting his first business at 17 because his parents gave him room to try and learn. Together, they unpack why failure is such a powerful teacher, why our culture fears it, and how schools can create safe environments for students to practice real-world problem solving.

They also dive into Mitchell’s SMT program, which trains a small team of students to help tell their school’s story through marketing, communication, and community engagement, without handing students unrestricted tech or social media access.

🎧 Tune in to hear:

• Why students need life prep, not just college prep
• How parents can encourage kids to take healthy risks and learn from failure
• What “marketing” includes beyond social media, including storytelling, writing, newsletters, and campus experience
• How SMT works and why it can feel like a modern, dynamic version of the yearbook team
• A simple shift in language that helps kids think like problem-solvers: “What problem do you want to solve?”

You will leave with practical encouragement for how to help students become real world ready, with confidence rooted in faith, responsibility, and meaningful work.

Special Thanks to our partners who make BaseCamp Live possible:

The Herzog Foundation
The Champion Group
Wisephone by Techless
ZipCast
Wilson Hill Academy

Stay tuned for more enlightening discussions on classical Christian education, and join us next time on BaseCamp Live! Remember to subscribe, leave us a review, and reach out to us at [email protected]

Don't forget to visit basecamplive.com for more info and past episodes.