Inside the Reality Show Style Incubator Where Founders Turn Drama Juicy

A workshop built for cameras

Max Harding returned from a barefoot run in the woods at 9 p.m. on a recent Friday. His cofounder, Skyler Ji, said Harding draws camera attention and promotes their philosophy while Ji helps run the operation.

They were among 66 founders at Launchpad, a two-week incubator filmed for a reality show Stan plans to release soon. Stan cofounder Vitalii Dodonov said the 30 teams were picked from 700 applicants, largely for their existing social media followings and potential to grow them.

Founders regularly recorded themselves on phones mounted on tripods. Film crews followed Dodonov and Stan’s other cofounder, John Hu, while camera staff also advised the pair on coordinated outfits.

Competition and founder drama

Launchpad was presented as a reality-TV game show and incubator, with firepit eliminations, private alliances and competition. Jacob Snarr, a 24-year-old from Philadelphia, joked, “There’s no sex,” adding that nobody there was thinking about it.

McLaughlin and Snarr were second on the leaderboard when they spoke on Saturday morning, keeping them safe from elimination. Mendoza described the work as building “24/7.” A planned Mario Kart gathering drew no attendees, while people nearby focused on their laptops.

Hu said one of his roasts left founders in tears. He described telling them he was honest about whether people would watch, and said the team later discussed breaking up after becoming dejected.

The business behind the show

Dodonov said, “It’s not the building that gets you to revenue, it’s the distribution.” Hu said founder personalities, manufactured drama and a steady supply of social media content were meant to play a role. The article reports that Americans submitted about 5.7 million business applications in 2025, a record, while the government’s estimate of businesses likely to succeed enough to need employees declined.

The workshop took place at a 400-acre villa two hours north of New York City, in eastern Pennsylvania. Cell service was unavailable, though fiber-optic internet was available; a seasonal worker was on call to provide rides by golf cart.