After making several strategic changes and tweaking their business model, things started to turn around. The team grew from four to 22 employees in just nine months, working alongside more than 200 startups in the past two years. Better yet, the Hares didn’t have to move their family into a camper. After their entrepreneurial rollercoaster ride, Jake and Belinda knew they wanted to do something to help early-stage entrepreneurs avoid those same pitfalls. Three years ago, Charleston, South Carolina was still getting its footing as a tech hub. Now, the coastal city ranks 11th in the U.S. for high tech GDP growth and 4th for its entrepreneurial ecosystem, according to Inc. It’s home to major technology companies like Blackbaud, Benefitfocus, and Snagajob, as well as an increasing number of coworking spaces and early-stage startups. But there’s certainly room for improvement. So the duo is rolling up their sleeves to make it happen. “The local community is thriving, and thanks to our smaller scale, it’s easier for entrepreneurs to tap into all the available resources in a very short amount of time,” adds Jake. “But if we want the Charleston tech scene to continue to grow, we have to do more to prop up real, viable, revenue-generating startups so investors in larger metros will start to take notice.” This summer, Jake and Belinda started Launchpeer Labs, a combination of part investment fund, accelerator, and startup studio geared towards idea-stage companies who haven’t yet built a product, created a team, or secured funding to bring their idea to life. The hybrid startup program will provide new companies with a $50,000 investment and access to a cofounding team to build their MVP and MDP. Launchpeer team members who work with Labs participants will each get vested in the equity from the Labs startups, ensuring their dedication to the long-term success of Labs portfolio companies. In exchange for seed funding and talent, Launchpeer Labs will take 30 percent equity and will require the startups, or “Founders-in-Residence,” to relocate to Charleston, SC for at least one year. The Labs startups will work alongside Launchpeer to go from zero to fully validated, revenue generating, and seed-funded within 4 to 6 months. As part of this bigger mission, Jake and Belinda partnered with VentureSouth, one of the nation’s largest angel investment organizations, to help the Labs startups secure follow-on funding of $100-500K. The VentureSouth network invested $4.5 million in 15 Southeastern companies in 2016, and they’ll offer additional funds to Labs companies who meet their criteria after the program.
