Founder Lab

A free-to-attend, application-only startup weekend in Lake Wales. This is a founder lab — not a conference, not a pitch competition. Twenty participants, each sponsored by a local business; twenty mentors across 13 expertise areas; four judges; five organizers and one MC.

Who it's for

Open to all ages (18+ or guardian consent). We select for commitment (Friday through Sunday, no partial attendance), curiosity (learn, test, be wrong fast) and complementary skills — builders, sellers, designers and operators — not polish, pedigree or a finished idea. Not sure you qualify? Apply anyway.

Weekend schedule

Four meals included: Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner, Sunday lunch. All sessions at Downtown Pizza.

• Friday · 5:30–9pm — Pitch & form teams. Dinner, 60-second pitches (no slides), three votes each, four teams of five, team charter.
• Saturday · 9am–8pm — Validate, build, get mentored. Customer interviews around downtown from 9am, 11am briefing, lunch, mentor rotations, build sessions, dinner, status checkpoint.
• Sunday · 11am–5pm — Finish, present, get judged. Final build, lunch, rehearsal, presentations at 2pm (4 min + 3 min Q&A), judging, awards, sponsor mingle.

Ground rules

• 60-second pitches. No slides. Just you and your idea.
• Three votes each. Top ideas form teams of five.
• No CEO. Flat teams only. Titles come later.
• No contracts. Nothing signed on site. Ideas stay with their creators.
• In-kind prizes only. No cash awards.
• Code of conduct published in advance. Quiet room available all weekend.

Validation first

Every team logs at least 10 customer conversations by Saturday at 4pm. Downtown Lake Wales businesses are your interview pool — leave the building. Log each on a one-page sheet (problem, reaction to the solution, willingness to pay) and share your top three insights at the status checkpoint.

The goal isn't to validate your idea. It's to find out if you're solving a real problem.

Mentors

Every team gets one dedicated coach for continuity, plus 6–8 rotating 20-minute mentor sessions on Saturday. Areas: entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, finance, legal, tech & AI, product, retail, hospitality, real estate, banking, operations, and government & economic development.

Judging

Four judges — finance, product/tech, marketing/sales, and local business/government — score each team out of 100 on customer validation, business model, execution & prototype, and pitch & Q&A. Teams get the criteria Friday night.

Sponsor a founder

Twenty local businesses, $100 each, every sponsor tied to one participant by name. Participants are chosen by application, and every sponsor takes part in the weekend — mentoring, speaking, helping or judging. Sponsors also get website and signage recognition, a public thank-you and named seat at Sunday's showcase, a one-page participant brief, and a 30-day check-in. Each sponsor may offer a small in-kind prize to their participant.

After the weekend

30-, 60- and 90-day check-ins with mentor office hours and a public update to sponsors.