Startup Incubator for Creators and Business Owners Launch House Raises $3 Million in Seed Funding

By Adriaan Brits | Thursday, 19 August 2021 | Startup, Business

Launch House, a startup incubator that gathers talented entrepreneurs and creators, announced it secured $3 million in seed business funding.

Bringing Talented Business Owners Together

The startup company was launched last year as a response to the pandemic and isolation. Three friends – Michael Houck, Brett Goldstein, and Jacob Peters – had an idea to start a business that will be seen as a multidimensional social space for emerging startup founders and content creators.

The startup company was initially launched as a pilot project where 18 young entrepreneurs came to live in the same house in Mexico and build their own startup companies from scratch. After some time, more houses around the globe were used for the same purpose, with all incubator participants having to pay rent.

After witnessing success with the initial pilot project, the trio decided to raise launch “Season 2.” New business funding will allow the startup business to expand both physically and digitally. Launch House will now work to bring more emerging leaders in new rented mansions to help them improve their skills as well as create new business relationships and networks. 

And most importantly, the incubator helps talented entrepreneurs to create successful startup companies in the areas of Web 3.0, fintech, B2B enterprise, and the creator economy.

“Launch House was born as a response to the isolation, and resulting lack of innovation, that many, including myself and my co-founders, were feeling during the Covid-19 pandemic. I knew from my experience at Airbnb and Uber that creating IRL spaces for collaboration leads to society-changing products,” said Houck.

Houck’s prior business experience includes Uber and Airbnb. Peters co-founded Commsor while Goldstein used to work at Google. The trio is helping connect and guide the world’s most ambitious entrepreneurs and creators by bringing them together under the same roof.

The “Residency” program is a four-week camp that aims to help young entrepreneurs solve the biggest challenges facing their startup companies. So far, eight programs of this type have been finalized with participants, who are able to access private funding events, future programs, and use tools developed by the startup company, including a custom-built suite of tools bridging IRL with URL.

Launch House says that “Season 2” will bring a more targeted approach to participants who are admitted to the program. Furthermore, the startup company plans to use fresh business funding to expand its Residency program globally and launch a “Virtual Residency.”

“The first iteration of Launch House in Tulum [Mexico] was composed largely of individuals who had only ever connected online. Our Virtual Residency is a natural next step for us. We're staying true to our roots while also making the experience accessible to incredible founders around the world,” Goldstein commented.

The company said that the latest business funding round was led by new investors, Day One Ventures and Graph Ventures. Furthermore, over 100 angel investors also participated in funding, including Balaji Srinivasan (co-founder Counsyl, Teleport), Alexia Bonatsos (Techrunch’s former co-editor), and Mike Duboe (former head of growth at Stitch Fix).

Summary

Startup incubator Launch House raised $3 million to expand its Residency program overseas and launch a virtual version of the 4-week long program. Launch House rents houses to bring together the world’s most talented entrepreneurs and creators to have them start their own startup businesses.

About the Author

Adriaan Brits

An analyst of global affairs, Adriaan has an MSC from Oxford, with diverse interests in the digital economy, entertainment, and business. He is a specialist trainer in advanced analytics and media.