FAQ
What is Launchpad LA?
We’re a startup accelerator in Santa Monica. We offer exceptional mentorship, four months of free office space, a bunch of killer perks, and $25,000-100,000 to amazing technology startups who are from or move to LA.
All that stuff sounds great. What does it cost me?
For the first investment (usually $50k), we receive around 6% common stock of your company. The second investment (usually $50k), which is your option to take or decline, is offered as a convertible note with a maximum valuation cap. If you’ve raised significant capital already, we may adjust our offer as appropriate.
Is my company too far along for Launchpad LA? Are we too early?
We look for companies that have more than a PowerPoint and less than a Series A. Yes, that’s pretty broad, but we’ve found that we can work effectively with startups in a wide range of stages. We accept great teams that haven’t raised a dollar, but have built a compelling product. We’ve also taken companies that have already raised $1m+ but are looking for help with business development, product refinement, and that next round of fundraising. And we accept teams everywhere in between. As long as you think we can help and we think we can help, we’re excited to find a way to work together.
Do I have to live in LA?
You don’t have to live in LA when you apply, but you and your co-founders must be willing to relocate to LA for the duration of the program. Beyond that, we hope you’ll stay, but it’s up to you what you do when you’re done here.
What do you look for in a team?
We ask a few high-level questions to initially qualify teams. First, do you have some sort of product built? We are not trying to turn ideas into businesses. We need to see at least the first iteration of something you’ve made, whether it’s a site, app, or other product. Second, is technology part of your company’s DNA? We have a strong bias towards teams with a technical co-founder. Third, are you aiming high? We love entrepreneurs tackling hard problems with disruptive products in big markets. Fourth, can we help? We want you to have a sense of what help you need, the more specific the better. Our ability to help you achieve those goals will help us determine if we’re a good fit for your company. Fifth, is your team insanely awesome? At the end of the day, we’re investing in people, and we have to believe that you are creative, nimble, brilliant, tenacious, ambitious founders.
Will you fund competitive companies?
Although we aim not to, we may fund companies in different classes that compete. We will never accept two competing companies into the same class.
