This is not an accelerator. There is no cohort culture, no demo day, no mentor network. There is you, your idea, me as your co-founder, and 60 days of execution. We build the company in the first 30. We go to market in the next 30. You leave with a running business and first revenue.
Every existing category misses what this actually is. Here's the direct comparison.
Day 1 to 30: build the company. Day 31 to 60: take it to market. No overlap, no drift, no extension.
Every structural element of the company built from zero. Not a prototype — a real, operational business ready to sell on day 31.
Full GTM execution. Not planning the go-to-market — running it. Pipeline built, outreach live, first deals in motion before day 60.
The distinction matters in every way that counts.
I don't show up with frameworks and leave. I show up as a co-founder — with capital, with the full ClarityOS execution stack, and with 16 years of building operating systems from scratch. For 8 weeks, I'm as committed to this company as you are. My equity is real. My capital is in. My reputation is on the line.
The cap table reflects reality. You bring the idea, the domain knowledge, and the skin in the game — $10K for legal and docs to prove you're serious. I bring the execution infrastructure, the capital, and the operator track record. We split the company the way co-founders split it: based on what each of us is actually contributing.
After day 60, I'm a 20% co-founder on your cap table. I have a board seat interest in your success. That's not a program graduation — that's a founding relationship.
Before this was a program, Josh co-founded a company using this exact model. Here's what happened.
LaTrisha Fail had the gift — food as love, cooking as the language she spoke most fluently. What she didn't have was the structure to let it operate at its actual level. No pricing floor. No offer architecture. A brand that undersold what the food could command.
Josh co-founded it with her. Built the brand, the offer architecture, the pricing structure, the site, the operational infrastructure, and the GTM motion. Secured first bookings — events up to 400 guests. Then stepped out and returned his full ownership stake to LaTrisha.
SeasonedDish predates Ignition. Josh returned his full equity stake at exit. In Ignition, he retains 20% as co-founder per program terms. Same model. Different equity structure.
I co-found with people, not just ideas. The person screen matters more than anything else.
We're co-founding a company together. I need to trust your judgment, your work ethic, and your ability to execute under pressure. Character and execution history come before the idea.
You need to know the space we're building in better than anyone else in the room. I bring the operating system. You bring the domain intelligence. Both are required.
Doesn't have to be a funded startup. Could be a freelance practice, a side business, a product you built and sold. Evidence that you can move from idea to done — on your own timeline, with your own resources.
Not a category — a specific idea with a specific buyer in mind. Industry agnostic. What I'm looking for: a problem you understand better than the market does, and a belief that you're the right person to solve it.
Small cohorts aren't a constraint — they're the product. This only works because it's focused.
Ignition runs twice a year. Two cohorts. 2–3 companies each. That's a maximum of six companies per year across the program — and in practice it will likely be fewer. This is not a volume play. The output of each cohort is a running company with first revenue and a co-founder relationship that lasts beyond day 60.
The $10K founder contribution covers legal formation, cap table documentation, and any filing requirements. It's not operating capital — it's the cost of doing this right from day one. My capital contribution is scoped to what the idea needs and goes directly into the company as equity.
After day 60, I hold 20% of a real company. I'm on the cap table as a co-founder. What happens next depends on where the company goes — but I'm not a passive investor. I'm a co-founder with a vested interest in the outcome.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis ahead of each cohort. I read every application personally. If there's a potential fit I'll reach out within a week to schedule a conversation.
Be specific. A vague application is an immediate signal that the idea isn't ready — or that the founder isn't ready. The application itself is part of the filter.