The Startup Simulator leaderboard ranks students based on the business they've built. Available on Pro tier only.
Selecting Startup Simulator
From the Rankings tab, set the Category dropdown to Startup Simulator.
The Metric Cards
Top Performer — Currently leading student (e.g., "Evan Johnson")
Class Avg Market Value — Average market value of student businesses
Class Avg Gross Revenue — Average gross revenue across student businesses
Category — "Startup Simulator" (label only)
In early simulator engagement, these averages may show dashes ("—") until students have built up enough business activity to generate meaningful metrics.
The Leaderboard Columns
The Startup Simulator leaderboard table shows:
Rank — Position (1, 2, 3, …)
Student — Student name
Current Market Value — Total market value of the student's business
Employee Wellness — A measure of how the student is treating their employees
Gross Revenue — Total revenue generated by the business
Profit/Loss — Bottom-line profitability after expenses
How Students Are Ranked
The primary ranking metric is Current Market Value, which represents the overall valuation of the student's business. This factors in revenue, profitability, growth trajectory, and other dynamics built into the simulator.
Reading the Data
The Startup Simulator is the most multi-dimensional of the four leaderboards. Patterns to look for:
High Market Value + High Employee Wellness + High Profit The unicorn case. This student built a profitable, ethical, high-growth business. Celebrate them and ask how they did it.
High Market Value + Low Employee Wellness This student grew their business by cutting corners on people. The classic "exploitative startup" pattern. Rich discussion opportunity about business ethics.
High Gross Revenue + Negative Profit This student is generating sales but losing money — costs are too high, prices are too low, or operations are inefficient. Discuss the difference between revenue and profit.
Low Market Value + High Employee Wellness This student prioritized employee wellness over growth. They may be making a values-based choice. Discuss trade-offs.
All metrics at "—" This student hasn't engaged with the simulator yet, or hasn't progressed far enough to generate meaningful business metrics.
Discussing Trade-Offs
The Startup Simulator excels at making business trade-offs visible:
Revenue vs. Profit Generating sales is one thing; making money is another. Some students will be shocked that high revenue doesn't equal success.
Growth vs. Wellness Cutting employee benefits boosts short-term profit but lowers wellness. Long-term, low wellness can damage business performance. Real-world parallel.
Speed vs. Sustainability Aggressive growth can produce big short-term numbers but undermine long-term viability. Compare students who grew fast with students who grew slowly.
Risk vs. Stability Some students will take big bets — large expansions, risky hires, expensive marketing. Some bets pay off, some don't.
Connecting to Real Entrepreneurship
The Startup Simulator is the most ambitious of Intertwined's three simulators because it teaches systems thinking. Real businesses involve dozens of interconnected decisions, and the simulator captures that complexity.
When discussing the leaderboard, push students beyond "who's winning" to "what kind of business are they building." Some questions:
Would you want to work at the top-ranked student's business?
If you were investing your own money, which student's business would you invest in?
Which student's business looks most like a real company you admire?
What's the difference between a "winning" business and a "good" business?
These questions don't have right answers, which is exactly why they're valuable.
Related articles:
9.1 Rankings Tab Overview
1.3 Understanding Your Plan Tier (Startup Sim requires Pro tier)
9.6 Using Leaderboards in the Classroom