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Lincoln Labs
For founders

Build with a team beside you.

Day one or early stage, you are not building alone.

Pitch our venture teamSee how it works
Proof, not promises

The scoreboard.

From the companies we built and backed.

1M+users
10,000+candidates on the Truss platform
12companies
5sectors
How we partner with founders

We co-found, invest, build and scale.

Four ways in, one roof.

1
Co-found

Our team in the room from day one, not advising from the sidelines.

2
Invest

Our own capital, and our investor network when it is time to raise.

3
Build

Product, engineering and AI built by our own team through Truss. Senior builders, not an outside vendor.

4
Scale

Go-to-market, operators who have done it before, and the capital to take you from first customers to growth.

Where we come inWe partner with founders from day one and at the early stage.
Day oneAn idea, a founder and a problem worth solving. We help you validate it and build it from zero.
Early stageA first product or first customers. We plug in to build, sell and raise for the next stage.
Let's build together

One partner, every stage.

The expertise and resources your business needs across every department.

1Validate
Idea validation
Market and customer research
Business model
2Build
Product and design
Engineering teams
AI built in
3Launch
Brand and positioning
Go-to-market
First customers
4Grow
Sales and marketing systems
AI operations
Operators who have done it
5Scale
Capital and fundraising
Investor and partner network
Strategy and M&A
How it works

From pitch to partner.

1Pitch our venture teamUpload your deck and book a meeting. No cold contact form.
2Working sessionWe pressure-test the idea, the market and the plan with you.
3Build togetherProduct, tech and go-to-market, with our team plugged in where you need it.
4ScaleCapital, the investor network and operators who have done it before.
Case studies

Companies we have grown.

View our portfolio
Swish
Case studyVertical SaaS
The app behind the World Pickleball Championships.

Swish powered the World Pickleball Championships, then became the exclusive tournament platform for India's largest pickleball, padel and badminton events.

Read the white paper
Brash Apps
Case studyProductivity & AI
An AI add-on that reached 1 million users.

GPT for Google Forms, a Brash Apps product, crossed 1 million users.

See the portfolio
Truss
Case studyHR Tech
Global hiring, built one country at a time.

Truss passed 10,000 candidates on the platform and opened legal entities in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan to expand global hiring.

View Truss
Leadership

The people who will build with you.

Started, scaled and backed companies.

Meet the team
Eric HoopmanEric HoopmanCo-Founder & CEOSerial entrepreneur and first-stage investor.
Farrukh UmarovFarrukh UmarovCo-Founder & CTO20+ years building and leading large-scale global development teams.
Eric GirouxEric GirouxCOOEntrepreneurial operator leading strategy, product and growth. Prior private equity experience.
Danil ShingarevDanil ShingarevChief ArchitectLeads the architecture behind Lincoln Labs products and client builds.
Wes LungwitzWes LungwitzManaging PartnerCo-founder of Civille. Speaks on law firm marketing, SEO and AI search.
Julia CollinsJulia CollinsManaging PartnerCo-founder of Truss. Former data engineer and product manager at WorkMarket through its acquisition by ADP.
Technical firepower

Co-found, or add engineers.

If the gap is technical, there are two ways in.

Technical co-founderBring us on as your technical co-founding team.You own the vision. We bring the architecture, the product and the engineers.We build alongside you, not on a ticket queue.
Engineering on your teamAdd senior engineers to the team you have.Senior engineers who have shipped enterprise software, on a defined problem.Or permanent engineers, recruited and employed through Truss.
Our investor network

Capital when you are ready for it.

Angels, venture firms and strategic partners, from day one.

1Warm introductions, not cold emailsWhen you are ready to raise, we introduce you to investors who already fund companies like yours.
2Investors who have watched you buildOur network sees your progress inside the studio, so you walk in with traction, not just a pitch.
3Raise-ready before the first meetingWe work with you on the story, the model and the data room before you get in the room.
4More than a checkStrategic partners and operators who open doors to customers, hires and advice.
The newsletter for founders

Behind the Initiative

One result, taken apart so you can run it yourself.

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What we are great at

Faster builds. Higher quality.

AI-enabled development means what took a department now takes a handful of senior people. Less time, less money.

Explore software developmentStart a conversation
Small senior teamsA senior architect leads every build. No junior bench.
We build with AI, not around itAgentic workflows inside our development cycle.
Global engineering talentUS leadership, engineers across Europe and Central Asia.
Built with the end in mindHow it gets maintained is decided before the build starts.
Founder questions

Common questions.

What stage do you partner at?
Day one and early stage. We work with founders from the first idea through a first product and first customers.
Do I need to be in Wisconsin?
No. Our home base is Oshkosh, and we work with founders everywhere, with teams in the US, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Armenia.
Pitch our venture team

Bring your idea to life.

Upload your deck and book a time. We will meet you where your company is.

Pitch our venture teamStart a conversation