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.
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.
For LPs the form is an expression of interest—not a commitment, offer, or subscription. It helps us 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.
Emerging managers—from first-time managers and angels forming a first fund, to operators moving into investment management, to established investors seeking greater scale and exposure.
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.
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.
