01One camp, thirty teams
Everyone lives on site in the Catskills from arrival to departure. Phones go in the box, cameras go up, and there is nowhere else to be.
Launch in two weeks. Leave with revenue.
The Launchpad is a two week experience for early stage founders to launch their companies in public, meet incredible mentors, and compete for cash prizes and capital investments from top investors.We’re bringing 30 founding teams to the Catskills from October 2nd to 17th.Join us.
What is Launchpad?
Two weeks that move you further than most move in two years.
There is a curriculum, drawn from launches Stanley has actually run. Office hours every day with the people who ran them, and with founders and creators brought in for the fortnight. Product, distribution and go-to-market challenges with real money on them. A launch, in public, with an audience watching.
$100,000 in prizes: four awards of $25,000, for the top team overall and for product, distribution and go-to-market. The teams still standing at the end pitch a panel of five investors on Pitch Day, Friday, October 16.
Everyone arrives at $0. That is the only entry condition we care about. Not a deck, not a warm intro, not a seed round you already closed. What you need is fourteen days you can disappear for.
The rule is simple: talk to humans, ship something, charge for it. Teams that pivot on day five keep the customer and drop everything else. Teams that find $40 on day six spend the next week finding $4,000.
And all of it is filmed. Most founders build in private and write the story afterwards, once the ending is known. Here the record is made while you are still inside it: every pivot, every 3am, every first dollar.
How the camp actually runs:
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06We have done this ourselves.
ARR
Stanley LinkedIn
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Stanley Short Form
customers
Stanley for X in 14 days
Who is in the room on Pitch Day:
FAQs
// 01How do I apply?
Click “Apply”. It is one page and takes a few minutes. When you finish you are given a link of your own, which is how you check where your application has got to, so keep it.
// 02When and where is it?
Friday, October 2 to Saturday, October 17, 2026. One camp in the Catskills, New York, 2.5 hours from NYC.
// 03Who gets in?
30 founder teams, solo founders included. What you need is an idea worth 14 days you can disappear for.
// 04Do I need a product already?
No. You need something you can build and sell inside two weeks. Everyone starts at $0.
// 05Is it 14 days or 16?
Both, and they are not the same number. You are on site 16 days, Friday, October 2 to Saturday, October 17, counting the day you arrive and the day you leave. The program itself runs 14 of those.
// 06Am I on camera the whole time?
Yes. From check-in to checkout, and so is everyone else. Pitch day is filmed in front of investors.
// 07How does it end?
Pitch day is Friday, October 16. One room, one shot. You check out Saturday, October 17 with revenue and a season of footage.
// 08When do you decide?
Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis. Interviews and places go out while applications are still open, so applying early is better than applying on the last day.
// 09How big should my team be?
Anywhere from one to five. Duos do well here, but plenty of people apply on their own and they are read on exactly the same terms.
// 10Do we all need to apply separately?
No. One person applies for the team. If you are selected, everyone on the team appears in the videos and in the interviews, so put down the number who will actually be there.
// 11Is everyone there for the full two weeks?
No. All thirty teams start together. Two cuts: October 8 takes the field to the top half, October 12 takes it to ten teams. Those ten go through to the launch and Pitch Day. If you are cut, we arrange transport back to New York City and cover travel home up to $500 per person.
// 12What are the prizes?
$100,000 across four awards of $25,000: top team overall, product, distribution, and go-to-market. The final teams pitch a panel of five investors on Pitch Day. Investment is at each investor’s discretion and is not guaranteed.
// 13Who is it for?
Founders who could reach $1M ARR inside a year with a small team. You need a clear idea and a clear customer. Traction is welcome but not required: plenty of teams will arrive with nothing live yet, and some will arrive with early revenue. Both are fine. The product should be software, AI or an agent that you can build and launch during the two weeks. You should be comfortable on camera and building in public.
// 14I still have a question. Who do I ask?
Email jay.chopra@stanwith.me.
© 2026 LaunchpadRun by Stan, in the Catskills, New York