Ignite, the Launchpad Accelerator
Advisors with skin in the game, ready to roll up their sleeves.
Past the idea, the questions get harder. Ignite gives you a Navigator and 12 to 20 advisors for two years, all sharing in your upside.
Predominantly virtual: join from wherever you're building. $150/month + 3% common equity via a FAST agreement (one standard agreement covering all your advisors).
Why founders join Ignite
You see something in the market that others don't.
That edge is why you're the one to build this company. But no founder is great at everything. You need people who amplify your strengths and close your gaps, at the right moment. That's what Ignite does. Most Ignite companies sit between first customers and first institutional check. You leave with sharper product-market fit, investor readiness and a bench of advisors who know your company.
“The Launchpad startup accelerator helped validate the idea and business model for Rethrow, providing the right level of mentorship and guidance that I needed as a solo founder building a technology company.”
Dustin E., Rethrow AI · Ignite founder
“I’m building a tech company as a nontechnical founder, so I’ve had a lot to learn. Launchpad has helped me work through business decisions, challenge my assumptions, and connect with people who can help me move Dirty Hippie forward.”
Melanie B., Dirty Hippie · Ignite founder
“Launchpad has been instrumental in helping me form and grow my company to a level I never thought was possible.”
Nate T., Land Takeoffs · Ignite founder
What you get in Ignite.
Over two years
The Ignite Advisor Network
12 to 20 advisors over two years who work with you in depth, brought in when a specific challenge calls for them.
Every month
Your Navigator
Several check-ins with your Ignite Navigator every month to set priorities and bring in the right advisors at the right time. Between check-ins, you work in Ignite OS, and Gantry, our AI co-pilot (beta), keeps you moving at full speed on whatever's next.
Every week
Founders at your stage
Weekly founder forums, regular guest speakers and workshops, and an Ignite-only community space where founders trade notes, collaborate and find partners.
From day one
Launchpad perks
120+ negotiated perks, together worth more than $1.7 million (as of October 2026), included for your whole Ignite engagement.
See Launchpad perksFundraising, worked on together
Raise with a plan, not a stack of cold emails.
Your first raise probably won't be your last, so Ignite works through it with you and teaches you to run it yourself.
Strategy and process
Decide how much to raise, from whom and when, and set up a fundraising process you can run.
Your investor list
Build your target investor list side by side with your Navigator and advisors, not alone.
Practice first
Mock investor meetings and term sheet negotiation practice, so the real ones aren't your first.
Investor introductions
Warm introductions to investors when you're ready to raise.
Also included: company formation through Taft if you're not incorporated yet, drop-in access to the flexible space at the Launchpad Tech Village in Greenville (first come, first served), and a reduced rate on the AI Builder elective.
The Ignite Advisor Network
Advisors who share in your upside.
Over two years, Ignite connects you with 12 to 20 advisors who work with you in depth, not on a monthly check-in call. They step in when a specific challenge calls for them. Ignite advisors aren't volunteers: Ignite shares the equity it earns with them, so they roll up their sleeves differently.
Advisors for every stage of the climb.
Product-market fit acceleration
Market and customer analysis, ideal customer profile, pricing, and unit economics (what you earn on each customer after costs).
Product strategy
Roadmaps and product decisions that move you toward fit.
Technology, data and security
Your stack, AI building and governance, data and security planning.
Data and business intelligence
Using your data to improve the product and sharpen go-to-market.
Go-to-market strategy
Your plan to drive traction, and how to test it.
Brand and strategic communications
Positioning, brand and how you tell your story.
Selling to government
Government as customer and partner, from local to federal, including defense and dual-use.
Financial modeling and accounting foundations
A model to run the business and share with investors; a sound finance setup.
Investor readiness and funding
Pitch, materials, a data room (the documents investors review before they invest), mock investor meetings, and non-dilutive options like grants that don't cost you equity.
Legal and corporate formation
Formation that matches investor expectations, IP strategy, and thinking through legal questions before you engage counsel.
Team building and recruiting
Hiring roadmaps and high-stakes executive hires.
Coaching and leadership development
One-on-one coaching and founder forums on the leadership journey.
Scaling and operations
Preparing your company to grow once the model repeats.
Advisors work alongside you. Providers work for you.
You need two kinds of help: people who think through the hard calls with you, and people who handle specialized work for you. Ignite advisors are the first kind. They help you decide what to do and work alongside you to get it done: building the model, sharpening the pitch, opening the right doors. For legal counsel, bookkeeping and the like, you engage professionals directly. Our partner network offers Ignite founders reduced rates, and your Navigator can point you to the right one.
Your Ignite Navigator
Someone who knows you, and knows who to call.
Every Ignite founder is assigned a Navigator from the Ignite team. Your Navigator gets to know you as a founder and as a person, and learns the business you're building.
They check in with you several times a month and work with you in Ignite OS, with Gantry, our AI co-pilot, to plan what to tackle and when.
They bring in the right advisors at the right time, from zero to one, through product-market fit, to early scale.
Meet a Navigator
Jonny Coreson
Ignite Navigator
Works side by side with founders in Ignite OS to set priorities and bring in the right advisors at the right time.
The Ignite team
The people in your corner.
Taylor McLemore
Launchpad Partner
Leads Ignite and its Advisor Network, and shapes each founder's support plan.
Brian Cate
Director of Operations, Ignite
Runs Ignite's operations and the review of companies joining the program.
Jonny Coreson
Ignite Navigator
Works side by side with founders in Ignite OS to set priorities and bring in the right advisors at the right time.
Start your company right.
If you join before you've formed your company, Taft handles the formation, so you start the way investors expect.
Company formation with Taft
Not incorporated yet? Start right.
If you join Ignite before forming your company, Taft, Launchpad's legal partner, handles your net-new incorporation and sets up your company the way investors expect. It can also structure the formation for qualified small business stock (QSBS) or a Qualified Opportunity Zone where that applies.
Already incorporated? This support is for new formations. Other legal work is a separate engagement with Taft or the counsel of your choice.
How Ignite works, in three phases.
Phase 1
Orientation and custom support plan.
We get to know you and your business. Your Navigator reviews your team, market, product, go-to-market and finances with you, then builds a support plan around your biggest opportunities.
Phase 2
Prepare to launch and accelerate.
Test your customer and pricing, sharpen product-market fit, and get investor-ready. The right advisors join as each need comes up.
Phase 3
Launch and accelerate.
With the foundation in place, Ignite adds fuel: investor introductions, hiring and team development, leadership coaching and scaling advice.
What it costs
One price, one agreement, the same stock as you.
$150 a month and 3% common equity, under a FAST (Founder/Advisor Standard Template) agreement.
Ignite holds common stock, the same class of stock as you. Many investors hold preferred stock, which carries rights common holders don't have. Holding common means Ignite gains only when you do. Ignite is not a cash investment.
The goal
Multiply the value of your company.
Our goal over two years is to help you multiply the value of your company: double it, quadruple it, or 10x it.
A goal, never a promise.
Questions founders ask.
Do I need to live near a Launchpad city to join Ignite?
Do I need to live near a Launchpad city to join Ignite?
What is a FAST agreement?
What is a FAST agreement?
Does Ignite invest cash?
Does Ignite invest cash?
What does my Navigator do?
What does my Navigator do?
Will Ignite do my bookkeeping or legal work?
Will Ignite do my bookkeeping or legal work?
I'm already incorporated. Does the Taft support apply?
I'm already incorporated. Does the Taft support apply?
Last updated October 16, 2026.
Ready to put a team in your corner?
Tell us where your company is and what's in the way. The application takes about 5 minutes. The Ignite team reviews your application within two business days and reaches out to schedule your interview.