Vertical 03 · Incubator
Bring a thesis. Leave with a system.
A 10-day on-site retreat for non-technical founders who are serious about scaling. Engineering pod attached. We pressure-test the thesis and ship the system.
8 founders / cohort10 days on-siteEngineering pod attachedLive build by day 10
Cohort 02 · NYC · Sep 9Cohort 03 · Lisbon · Jan 128 seats / cohortApplication open through Jul 31Cohort 02 · NYC · Sep 9Cohort 03 · Lisbon · Jan 128 seats / cohortApplication open through Jul 31Cohort 02 · NYC · Sep 9Cohort 03 · Lisbon · Jan 128 seats / cohortApplication open through Jul 31Cohort 02 · NYC · Sep 9Cohort 03 · Lisbon · Jan 128 seats / cohortApplication open through Jul 31
The format
Not a course. Not a pitch club. A working operating room.
01
Days 1–2 · Strip the thesis
Break the idea down to its riskiest assumption. Identify the workflow that proves or kills it. We work with you, not on you.
02
Days 3–7 · Build the system
An engineer is paired with you the whole week. Real stack, real data, real users. Your idea becomes software, not a deck.
03
Days 8–10 · Pressure test & deploy
Operators in our network use what you built. We watch, measure, and iterate live until adoption holds.
Who this is for
Non-technical founders. Serious capital. Real customers.
Cohort size
8
Hand-picked. Diversity across categories, not stage.
Founder profile
3+ yrs
Operating experience or category authority required.
Outcome target
v1
Working software with at least one paying user by demo day.
The application
We accept eight founders per cohort. One question matters.
“What is the riskiest assumption in your thesis, and how would shipping software to one real customer kill or prove it?”
Plus a 60-second voice memo. No deck. No application essay. We respond in 5 business days.
Cohort 02 · NYC
Sept 9 — 19
Brooklyn Navy Yard · all-inclusiveFee: $48k · refundable on demo-day signalApply through Jul 31
Apply now