Entrepreneurial intelligence for founders and funders—moving from your earliest ambitions to active, growing companies and investment firms.
Labs Start StudiosA 2027 upcoming 100-day Founder × Funder experience · Los Angeles
Labs Start Studios (L2s) helps founders build companies and funders form venture capital firms, private equity firms, funds, and other investment platforms—each moving from an early ambition to something real and growing.
We partner with Labs Investor Group for investment, fund formation, and capital access, including the development of the Labs Start Funds.
Three progressive programs meet founders and funders wherever they are—from the very first idea to scaling what already works.
For the earliest of the earliest.
An idea but no company. Little or no operating or fundraising experience. Angel experience but no formal fund. The ambition to become a founder or funder—and uncertainty about where to begin.
Form the foundation.
For those who have started building.
Founders with a team, a prototype, or early validation not yet fully in market. Funders with a thesis, a developing track record, early commitments, or a first fund concept.
Enter the market.
For post-launch founders and funders.
Founders with a launched product, early revenue, and product, hiring, or capital challenges. Funders who have raised before and need to reach a larger fund or stronger institutional infrastructure.
Strengthen and advance.
Build the company. Every program shares a common start, then branches into questions and support designed specifically for the companies you’re building.
Form the firm. A pathway built for a wider range of experience than a standard accelerator—first-time emerging managers to established investors seeking greater scale.
Two kinds of capital power the loop—funders funding founders (startups) and funders funding funders (LPs). Labs Start is positioned to develop new founders, new managers—and new LPs alike.
Build companies with EDGE Note capital and the Labs ecosystem behind them.
Emerging managers form firms and funds that back those startups.
Fund the managers’ funds—including new LPs that Labs Start helps activate—so capital flows back into the next startups.
↻ And the cycle continues—anchored by Labs Investor Group and the Labs Start Funds.
As part of the L2s package, founders and funders gain access to Labs’ Founders-Funders, Maya and Duránd Davis—and direct access to their brand-intelligence firm, d+c=c / davis cultural concepts, the agency of record for Labs, with access to the broader Labs Media ecosystem.
A structured, intensive, double-blind experience where founders and funders collaborate, learn, and build together.
Founders & funders, together.
A hundred days building side by side—founders shaping companies and funders forming firms, learning from one another throughout.
Backed to build.
Founders receive capital through the Labs EDGE Note; funders receive capital for both the firm and its first fund. See investment terms →
More than a program.
Run by Labs Start Studios and powered by the Labs Start Funds, in partnership with Labs Investor Group.
Labs Start partners with Labs Investor Group for investment, fund formation, and capital access—turning frontier ambition into real financial infrastructure through the Labs Start Funds.
Select participants and alumni may also be considered for future opportunities across Labs Companies and Labs Investor Group through a separate review process—familiarity with Labs and demonstrated work can open the door. Completing a Labs Start program does not guarantee employment.
The inaugural Labs Start programs open at Tubequarters—a sister frontier innovation hub of Labsquarters, the headquarters of Labs.
Every participant belongs to a numbered batch. It becomes a permanent part of your L2s identity and alumni record—for Founders and Funders alike.
Batches are sequential, not calendar-based. The number is the order in which the cohort entered the program.
Founder Track — entrepreneurs building companies.
Funder Track — individuals building investment careers or firms: future and existing General Partners, Limited Partners, venture capitalists, private equity and hedge fund professionals, family office investors, angels and other capital allocators.
Each quarterly batch admits 10 Founders and 10 Funders — 20 participants per batch, 80 participants a year.
Each participant also completes one of three development stages within their track.
Concise abbreviations used in admissions, CRM, certificates, badges and participant records. Public-facing communications use the full program names.
Many leading programs identify participants by batch—SR007 is Speedrun’s seventh cohort; YC W25 is Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 batch. L2s numbers sequentially because it creates a timeless alumni identity that stays meaningful regardless of the year someone participated. Instead of being remembered by a calendar date, every participant becomes part of an enduring lineage of builders and allocators.
When someone says “I’m L2s001 • Founder Hatch” — or “I’m L2s001 • Funder Lift” — they communicate three things at once: their alumni batch, their role as a Founder or a Funder, and their development stage within the program.
Founders building companies and funders forming investment firms—at any stage, from a first idea (Hatch Start) to a launched company or fund that needs to advance (Lift Start). If you’re unsure which program fits, start the application and we’ll help place you.
Labs Start runs seasonal founder and funder cohorts of 10—80 founders and 80 funders a year—beginning late 2027, subject to the final operating calendar. Every program is a focused 100-day experience.
The inaugural programs are based in Los Angeles at Tubequarters, a sister frontier innovation hub of Labsquarters. Participation details are shared with selected participants.
No. Labs Start charges no program fee for founders or funders.
Yes. The inaugural cohorts are based in Los Angeles; we’ll share participation details during selection.
Yes. You’re welcome to apply to a future cohort as your company or firm progresses.
Select participants and alumni may also be considered for future opportunities across Labs Companies and Labs Investor Group through a separate review process. Completing a program does not guarantee employment.
Most applications take 15–25 minutes. The form adapts to your path—Founder, or Funder as a GP/manager or LP—and to the program stage you choose. Have your background, a one-line description of what you’re building or backing, and any relevant links (LinkedIn, website, deck, or track record) ready before you begin.
The application is completed in a single session. We recommend drafting your longer answers first, then pasting them in—you review everything before submitting.
No. Hatch Start is built for the earliest stage—a pre-formation idea, a first-time manager, or a first-time LP. Share where you are honestly; the questions are tailored to your stage.
Pick the stage that best matches where you are today: Hatch (forming), Launch (activating), or Lift (advancing). If it’s unclear, choose the earlier stage—we review placement during selection.
Apply once for the path that fits you best. If both genuinely apply, submit separately and note it in your answers so we can review them together.
You’ll see an immediate confirmation, and our selection team reviews every submission. If there’s a fit, we follow up by email. Selection is discretionary.
No—LPs can apply to become LPs. Whether you’re an individual, family office, sovereign wealth fund, endowment, or institution: if you want to fund funders but haven’t set that up yet, we help you establish it. The form is an expression of interest—not a commitment, offer, or subscription—so we can understand your goals and match you with the right managers and the Labs Start Funds, anchored by Labs Investor Group.
Yes. Everything you share is confidential to the Labs Start selection team and handled per our Privacy Policy. Submitting an application is not an offer or solicitation of any security.
Any stage. Hatch Start is for an early idea or invention with little or no company; Launch Start is for a formed company with a prototype, early product, or validation; Lift Start is for a launched company with adoption, revenue, or momentum.
From $250,000 (Hatch) up to $2 million total (Lift), through the Labs EDGE Note, with follow-on capital reserved at each stage. See the Investment Terms for the full breakdown.
The EDGE Note—formally the Equity Deferred Grant Exchange Agreement—is Labs’ proprietary financing instrument. Where a SAFE promises equity later and a convertible note creates debt that may convert, the EDGE Note combines an equity position at closing with a binding grant of additional equity issued at a defined graduation event. It can include an Advanced Valuation Lock (AVL), Fixed Ownership Anti-Dilution (FOAD), and Class D FLEx equity via the Dynamic Stock Opportunity Plan (DSOP). It is designed as equity, not debt—no interest, no repayment obligation. Full terms are provided to selected founders before acceptance. See the Investment Terms.
No board seat for Hatch Start or Launch Start. For Lift Start there is no automatic board seat; observer rights may be negotiated.
Yes. We back individuals and teams from a wide range of backgrounds.
Yes. Labs Start is designed to strengthen your position and prepare you for what comes next.
That’s entirely your decision. L2s encourages commercial collaboration between participants. If an acquisition opportunity emerges, we encourage you to evaluate it just as you would any serious business opportunity.
Participants are free to evaluate commercial discussions with anyone, including companies or executives within the Labs ecosystem. Any potential transaction would occur separately from the educational program and under mutually agreed commercial terms.
Competition is a natural part of innovation. Admission to L2s does not grant exclusivity over a market or category. We encourage founders to differentiate through execution, insight, and customer value.
Absolutely. If two founders determine they’re stronger together than apart, we encourage them to explore it thoughtfully. The decision is theirs.
Two kinds of funders. Managers—first-time managers, angels forming a first fund, operators moving into investment management, and established investors seeking greater scale. And LPs—individuals, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and institutions who want to fund funders. You don’t need to already be an established LP: if you want to become one, apply and we’ll help you establish the structure and access.
Two distinct investments: a direct equity investment into your management company, plus an LP commitment to your first fund—made in partnership with Labs Investor Group.
From $250,000 into the management company plus up to $1 million to Fund I (Hatch), up to $1 million plus up to $5 million to Fund I (Lift). See the Investment Terms.
No. Hatch Start is built for managers who have not yet completed firm or fund formation.
Venture capital, private equity, and other fund strategies.
No. Labs takes a non-controlling ownership position—10% at Hatch, decreasing to as little as 5% at Lift.
Startups, VCs/GPs, and LPs form one compounding ecosystem: funders back startups, LPs fuel the funds, and capital flows back to founders—anchored by Labs Investor Group and the Labs Start Funds.
Yes. L2s operates a Founder–Funder Flywheel where participating Funders engage with Founder presentations before broader outreach. This creates opportunities for early relationships, although no Founder is obligated to raise capital from an L2s Funder and no allocation is guaranteed.
Absolutely. Founders determine who joins their cap table. L2s encourages healthy syndication and collaboration whenever appropriate.
That’s exactly why the Funder Track exists. Many participants are preparing to launch their first fund, syndicate, family office initiative, SPV platform, or investment practice.
The Funder Track welcomes multiple capital perspectives, including LPs, GPs, family offices, private equity professionals, hedge fund professionals, angels, institutional investors, and others participating in capital formation.
No. Your L2s stage reflects where you entered the program—not how quickly you succeed. L2s is designed around your starting point. Extraordinary success is something we celebrate, but it doesn’t change the training pathway you began on. The same holds on the Funder Track: a Funder Hatch participant who closes an unusually large first fund remains Funder Hatch.
Possibly. During admissions we evaluate every applicant individually. If your company or firm already demonstrates the characteristics of Launch or Lift, you may be admitted directly into that stage rather than Hatch.
Never. Your batch identifier is permanent. Whether your company becomes a unicorn, your fund is oversubscribed, or you pivot three times, you’ll always remain part of the batch where your L2s journey began.
No. L2s is an educational program and is not an immigration sponsor. International applicants are welcome to apply provided they can legally participate in the program.
Absolutely. We welcome applicants from around the world. Admission decisions are based on the strength of the founder, funder, and opportunity—not nationality.
Some portions of the program may require in-person participation. If admitted, we’ll communicate any residency or attendance expectations well before the program begins.
Companies and firms evolve. A co-founder’s or founding partner’s departure doesn’t automatically end your participation. We’ll work with you to determine the best path forward based on your circumstances.
We understand that life happens. L2s evaluates participation based on the individual and the venture or firm, not solely on the original team structure.
Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to defer participation and apply to continue in a future batch. Deferrals are reviewed individually.
Potentially. Re-entry isn’t automatic, but former participants may apply again. We’ll review prior participation together with the new application.
Demo Day is a milestone—not a finish line. Many outstanding companies raise capital months after Demo Day, and many successful businesses never raise institutional capital at all. Funders face the same rhythm: first closes often land well after the program ends.
That’s not uncommon. Feedback from investors—or, for Funders, from prospective LPs—can become valuable market intelligence. Many participants use it to refine the business or the thesis before successfully raising later.
No. Raising venture capital is one path—not the only path. We support founders building venture-backed, bootstrapped, profitable, acquisition-focused, or long-term independent companies, and funders pursuing funds, syndicates, SPVs, or evergreen structures.
No. Your ideas, inventions, and intellectual property remain yours unless you voluntarily enter into a separate commercial agreement. The same applies to a Funder’s thesis, models, and diligence work.
We encourage participants to protect truly proprietary information while recognizing that successful companies—and successful firms—are built far more on execution than secrecy.
Celebrate them. Every L2s participant begins from a different place and progresses at a different pace. The goal isn’t to compete with your batchmates—it’s to become the strongest builder or allocator you can be.
Graduation is the beginning of your relationship with L2s, not the end. Every participant becomes part of the L2s alumni community and remains connected to future Founders, Funders, mentors, and the broader Labs ecosystem.
Most programs answer the application. These are the ones that come up afterwards—the edge cases, the awkward ones, the situations we’d rather you knew our position on before you needed it. They apply to Founders and Funders alike.
Labs maintains a dedicated acquisition platform at Labsacquire.com for founders and businesses interested in strategic acquisition opportunities. However, if you are an L2s participant, we ask that you do not pursue acquisition discussions with Labs before or during the program.
Although Labs Start Studios is owned by Labs, the L2s program operates independently. Labs will not interfere with active L2s batches by initiating acquisition conversations with participating Founders or Funders.
Labs Start Studios does not facilitate, negotiate, broker, advise on, or represent potential acquisitions involving its parent company.
That said, many Labs executives (“Labers”) serve as mentors throughout the program. Relationships naturally develop through mentorship, collaboration, and Demo Day. If, after the program concludes, both parties have a genuine interest in exploring a commercial relationship, those conversations can happen independently through the appropriate channels.
That’s entirely your decision. L2s encourages participants to evaluate legitimate commercial opportunities whenever they arise. Whether another Founder, Funder, Family Office, or outside investor expresses interest, you should consider every opportunity thoughtfully and with appropriate legal and financial advice.
Innovation often converges. Admission into L2s does not grant exclusivity over an industry, technology, or market. We encourage every Founder to differentiate through execution, customer obsession, product quality, and speed.
Capital is not zero-sum and neither is a thesis. Two managers can pursue the same category and build entirely different firms through sourcing, judgment, portfolio construction, and the founders who choose to work with them. We encourage co-investment and syndication over territorialism.
That’s a successful outcome—not a failure. One purpose of L2s is helping participants validate assumptions quickly. If evidence suggests a different direction, we encourage thoughtful iteration rather than stubborn persistence.
Then the program worked. A thesis that survives contact with real founders, real diligence, and real LP conversations is worth more than the one you arrived with. Changing it is evidence of judgment, not indecision.
Companies evolve. A co-founder’s departure does not automatically end your participation. We’ll work with you to understand the situation and determine the most appropriate path forward.
The same principle applies on the Funder Track. A GP separation does not automatically end your participation. We’ll work with you to understand the situation, the fund structure, and the most appropriate path forward.
Healthy disagreement is expected. When conflict becomes destructive, we encourage Founders to resolve matters professionally and seek legal guidance where appropriate. The company—not the disagreement—should remain the priority.
Life happens. L2s recognizes that personal and professional relationships can evolve. We evaluate each circumstance individually while maintaining fairness to every participant and the integrity of the program.
That’s your decision. We encourage participants to make intentional decisions based on conviction, evidence, and long-term goals rather than short-term pressure.
Demo Day is a milestone—not the finish line. Many exceptional companies raise capital months after Demo Day, while others become highly successful without institutional investment.
Most first funds don’t close in 100 days, and we don’t design the Funder Track as though they should. The program builds the firm, the thesis, the pipeline, and the LP relationships. The close comes when it comes.
It happens, and more often than anyone admits publicly. A withdrawn anchor is a sequencing problem, not a verdict on the firm. We’ll work through the re-anchoring with you the same way we’d work through a founder losing a lead.
Congratulations. We encourage Founders to evaluate every offer carefully. The highest valuation isn’t always the best partnership. Consider long-term alignment, experience, network, governance, and strategic value.
That’s an extraordinary situation—and ultimately your decision. L2s does not stand between participants and transformative commercial opportunities. We encourage every Founder to seek experienced legal, financial, and tax advisors before making decisions of that magnitude.
You may, and it happens. The decision belongs to the Founder, and the terms belong to both of you. L2s does not broker, price, or take a position in transactions between participants—we simply ask that both sides use independent legal and financial advice.
Then you have something most first-time managers lack: a loss you can actually learn from, in the open, alongside people going through the same thing. Write the post-mortem. It will make your next ten decisions better.
Many participants do. L2s evaluates where you are today so we can place you in the stage that best supports your next phase of growth—on either track.
That is a legitimate outcome of the Funder Track, not a departure from it. Some participants arrive intending to launch and conclude that joining a platform is the better route to the same career. We’d rather you reach that conclusion here than three years and one struggling fund later.
Failure is part of building. Our expectation isn’t perfection—it’s progress. Some companies pivot, some pause, and some end. Those experiences often become the foundation for the next successful venture.
Depending on your circumstances, former participants may apply again. Previous participation does not automatically guarantee admission, but it also doesn’t prevent it.
L2s currently takes place exclusively in Los Angeles, California, with programming centered in Silicon Beach, Santa Monica.
Relocation is required for all participants. We believe one of the greatest values of L2s comes from building alongside your cohort in person, forming lasting relationships with fellow Founders, Funders, mentors, investors, and the broader Labs ecosystem.
We may provide relocation guidance, local recommendations, and introductions to trusted community resources. However, participants are responsible for securing their own housing, transportation, immigration compliance, and living arrangements unless otherwise communicated.
We welcome applications from around the world. However, participants are responsible for ensuring they have the appropriate legal authorization to participate in the program. L2s does not currently sponsor visas or immigration benefits.
We understand that circumstances change. If you can no longer participate, please notify us as early as possible so another applicant may have the opportunity to join the batch.
We hope you do. Your L2s batch never changes, and you’ll always be part of the alumni community. As you grow, we hope you’ll return to mentor future Founders and Funders, share your experience, and help strengthen the Founder–Funder Flywheel for generations to come.
Building a company or a firm is one way in. Joining the team is another—jobs and internships across Labs and its 7 Frontier Labs live at Labs Careers.
Explore Labs Careers →Apply to build a company or form a firm with Labs Start Studios.
*By applying you acknowledge this is an application, not an investment solicitation.
