A Half-Solved Initiative

BUILT
TO HOLD

Venture Design Lab

Convening companies, entrepreneurs, impact investors, and researchers around a fundamentally different approach to building ventures — because in a world where paper valuations have replaced actual profits as the measure of success, the alternative isn't working.

Get Involved The Methodology
The Profitability Crisis
~80% → <25%
Profitable at IPO — Venture-backed startups 1980s vs. today
85%
U.S. unicorns that went public still unprofitable in 2023
<1%
Of 2,500 global unicorns generating $1B+ in actual revenues or cash
Founding Partners:
Half-Solved
Cornell University CSGE
INCOSE
The Problem

The Lean Startup Playbook Wasn't Built for This

Lean startup was designed for venture capital funds that spread bets across hundreds of ventures and profit by exiting the few that grow fast — even while deeply unprofitable. That model works for funds. It does not work for companies building ventures to hold: whether for their positive cash flows or the meaningful, sustainable impact the ventures create.

The celebrated VC wins tell the story: Uber accumulated $33 billion in losses by 2023. Snapchat, $12.6 billion. Dropbox, $3.5 billion. These were spectacular fund returns — and they would have been catastrophic corporate disasters.

The time value of money compounds the damage. At a 30% hurdle rate, a $1M investment that takes ten years to pay back costs $12.8 million. By year twenty, the bill reaches $189 million.

"For companies building ventures to hold, cash flow profitability must be treated as a design requirement from the start — not something stumbled upon at some point in the future."
1–5%
Lean startup profitability rate
10+
Years to profitability path
40%
Avg annual losses/revenue
The FIT Startup Methodology

Designed for Robustness. Built for Resilience.

A four-step methodology that applies systems engineering principles to venture design — ensuring that cash flow profitability is an engineered property, not a hoped-for outcome.

Explore the Methodology
F
Fortify Financial Vital Signs
The distance between the low-point estimate of customers' willingness to pay and the high-point estimate of total unit costs.
I
Innovate Around Structural Profit Barriers
Deep structural barriers to profitability hidden behind every disruptive market — the real reason a viable commercial market doesn't already exist.
T
Triangulate Using Testable Logic
A rigorous, science-backed chain of reasoning that replaces costly build-and-test experiments with first-principles analysis.
Featured Publications & Events
How the Lab Works

Three Ways to Engage

01 · Working Groups
Collaborative Research
Knowledge Creation

Lab members collaborate to answer hard questions by applying the FIT Startup methodology. The goal: create new tools and frameworks that push the methodology forward.

02 · Seminars & Workshops
Knowledge Exchange
Learning & Discourse

Curated sessions bringing together leading practitioners, investors, and researchers to explore the frontiers of profitable venture design.

03 · Venture Training Studio
Hands-On Application
Applied Practice

Companies, entrepreneurs, and investors learn the FIT Startup methodology through direct, applied practice — working on real ventures with real stakes.

Who Joins the Lab

For Those Who Build to Last

Corporations
Entrepreneurs
Impact Investors
Researchers
Deep & Hard Tech
Social Ventures

The Lab is built for those who understand that the metrics that matter most aren't set by investors at the next funding round — they're set by customers, markets, and the fundamentals of a working business.

Get Involved