Wall Street Journal Sunday - March 26, 2000
Business Camps  - Not just for Nerds

Summer may seem a long way off, but it's not too early to make plans. If you have an interest in business or investing, you might consider one of dozens of summer camps around the country that specialize in grooming young capitalists.

Business camps fall into two categories: those that teach you how to make money, and those that teach you how to manage it. Some camps give you a taste of both.

As with any summer camp, these come in all shapes and sizes: overnight and day camps, expensive and not-so-expensive camps. Some last a month, others only a week.

Most overnight camps are on college campuses with dorm housing, and most are coed. "When you work in a business environment, it's mixed," says Bret Rios, director of In2Biz Entrepreneur Camp, "so we want camp to be mixed in the same way."

And before you think of business camps as a summer haven for geeks, consider this: Most overnight camps mix in plenty of sports and other activities, so you're not just spending the summer indoors learning about asset allocation and long-term investing.