I've been searching for the words to describe what The Lighthouse really is. The other day, I was talking with one of our founders and he said something that struck a chord with me:

"One day, I'm going to build a billion dollar company. People will ask me where it all began. And I don't want to say it started in some fancy, soulless coworking space—that's so lame. I want to say it started here. Because this place has grit. It has meaning."

That moment crystallized something for me. The Lighthouse isn't for everyone.

We're Your First True Believers

The Lighthouse is a unique flavor of pre-seed venture. Your first true believers, before traction, headlines, or hype. We help you win first and when you're ready, we hope you'll take our check.

We are not a venture fund, accelerator, or incubator but we're also kind-of all those things. Inspired by the parts of each that actually help founders win, we skip the rest. It means help isn't one size fits all, it's whatever it takes.

We particularly excel in:

• Capital - $100k pre-seed investment and active help to raise the rest of your round from our venture network.

• Community - The best advice you'll ever get is from a fellow founder 1 or 2 steps ahead of you.

• Talent - The people are everything, particularly at preseed. We help you build that world-class team.

We back the founder spirit

The Lighthouse is for founders who see building as the opportunity of a lifetime. For those who couldn't imagine doing anything else. For the ones who feel called to build, who see it as a craft, a responsibility, a privilege, a dream come true.

You belong here if you:

• Are obsessed with creating value, not just capturing it

• Love the process, not just the outcome

• See building as craft and responsibility

• Want to leave something better than you found it

• Understand there's no real finish line

This isn't for you if you're:

• Building a company just to make money

• Doing it because being a founder sounds cool

• Only committed when it's easy

• Looking to extract more value than you create

• Here because it seemed like the best career move

Why We Exist

Startups are chaotic. Lonely. Uncertain. Especially in the earliest days, it can feel like you're building in the dark. The Lighthouse exists to shine some light forward. To be a signal that says: you're not alone. Keep going. This way.

Our Philosophy

Never give up. Building is hard. Really hard. The highs are incredible, the lows can be crushing, and most days fall somewhere in between. Persistence wins, eventually. Our founders hold one another to this singular truth.

Value creation over extraction. You don't build a company for the exit. You build because the problem matters to you. Because you can't imagine doing anything else. Because creating something real and meaningful is what drives you, not just capturing value from it.

Quality over quantity. Building companies takes all the time in the world. We're just a part of your success, but that still means it takes a lot. We have to be judicious about where we spend our time. Currently supporting 33 startups.

The Man in the Arena

The easiest way to understand our ethos? This quote hangs on the front door of our offices:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

— Theodore Roosevelt

The Numbers that Matter

We just got started (Jan. 2024) and it's starting to get really fun. If our "why" resonates with you, apply here.

• 33 founders supported

• 12 pre-seed investments

• X raised seeds

• Y millions in follow-on capital

• Z founding team members hired