Winter Program · Cambridge, MA

Link Launchpad

January 4-22, 2027 · at Link Studio

Three weeks for serious student founder teams to build something worth launching, inside Link Studio. Stipend, space, compute, food, advisors, and a real demo day finish.

Rolling acceptances · 10-12 teams · 2-4 founders each

01 / The Thesis

Building is the fastest
way to the future.

Three weeks of focused building time at Link Studio.
Real teams. Real outcomes. Real next steps.

Founders at work in the Link Studio space, Cambridge skyline visible through the windows.

Three weeks. One room.
One real next step.

Link Studio · Cambridge, MA

02 / What You Get

The conditions to actually build.

The offer is intentionally concrete. Give serious teams the conditions they need to build, then turn momentum into a real next step.

  1. 01

    $5K stipend per team

    So January is a build month, not a side project. Cash to the team on day one.

  2. 02

    Dedicated space at Link Studio

    Desks, monitors, whiteboards, and proximity to other ambitious teams in Cambridge.

  3. 03

    Compute, on us

    Claude Enterprise accounts for every team. Build on the same stack we do.

  4. 04

    Hands-on advisors

    Operators, founders, investors, and technical experts, plugged in where useful.

  5. 05

    Food & swag

    Meals through the program and Launchpad gear. The practical pieces handled.

  6. 06

    Demo Day & follow-up

    Pitch to Link Studio, Link Ventures, and our network. Real next-step conversations.

03 / Daily Rhythm

Light-touch programming. Maximum build time.

The same beats every weekday. Workshops land about twice a week. The rest of the time, the studio is yours. Open 24/7 on weekends.

  1. 9:00 AM

    Coffee & community

    Daily coffee, snacks, and informal chat in the Link Studio lounge.

  2. 11:30 AM

    Workshop or build

    Workshop or talk (~2x/week). Build time continues on other days.

  3. 12:30 PM

    Catered lunch

    Lunch at the studio every weekday. On us.

  4. 1:30 PM

    Protected build time

    The longest uninterrupted block of the day. Heads down.

  5. 3:30 PM

    Advisor office hours

    Twenty-minute 1:1 slots with your assigned advisors.

  6. All day

    Snacks & cafe

    Available in the Link Studio cafe whenever you need fuel.

04 / Timeline

Three weeks. Two demo days.

One cohort. 10-12 teams. Three weeks of focused work. Demo Days on January 21 & 22.

  1. Week 01

    Build

    Jan 4-10

    Set the foundation. Define the problem. Start talking to users. Kickoff dinner Monday, first internal demos Friday.

    • Monday: Welcome breakfast, program overview, team intros, studio tour, kickoff dinner
    • Thursday: Field day - teams head out for real user conversations
    • Friday: Internal demos (2 min per team, cohort only)
  2. Week 02

    Ship

    Jan 11-17

    Move from concept to working demo. Bring real users into the studio.

    • Monday: Mid-program checkpoint - 5-min team updates to Dave & Mike
    • Tuesday: Investor fireside over dinner
    • Wednesday: Founders dinner with portfolio CEOs (mandatory)
    • Thursday: User Test Day - live testing rooms 1:00-4:00 PM
    • Friday: Mid-program 1:1s with Dave & Mike (15 min per team)
  3. Week 03

    Launch

    Jan 18-22

    Rehearse the pitch. Refine it. Deliver it on Demo Days.

    • Monday (MLK Day): Studio open, optional. Pitch coaching slots.
    • Tuesday: Storytelling workshop + first pitch dry-runs
    • Wednesday: Full dress rehearsal with outside operators
    • Thursday: Demo Day 1 - investor preview + full program
    • Friday: Demo Day 2 - portfolio demos + 1:1 follow-on meetings + closing reception

05 / Speakers & Topics

Learn from people who build.

Five workshop slots and one investor fireside across three weeks. Operators, founders, and investors from the Link network.

Speaker pool

  • Dave Blundin - Founder, Link Studio & Link Ventures
  • John Werner - CEO, Imagination in Action
  • Frazer Anderson - MD, Link XPV
  • Brian Elliott - CEO, Blitzy
  • Plus additional Link network operators & investors

Topic pool

  • Building with Claude Enterprise: the studio stack
  • Problem definition & customer discovery in 14 days
  • Velocity: shipping with a small team
  • Fundraising 101: the studio's view of the seed market
  • Design & UX for builders
  • Pricing, packaging, and the first ten customers
  • Telling your story in five minutes
  • Founder fireside: operator perspective

06 / Who Should Apply

Builders. Not spectators.

07 / What We Expect

Show up. Ship things. Help your cohort.

  1. Show up

    Most days are flexible, but kickoff dinner, the founders dinner, dress rehearsal, and Demo Days are mandatory.

  2. Ship things

    We measure progress in shipped artifacts: a problem doc by end of Week 1, a working demo by end of Week 2, a real pitch by end of Week 3.

  3. Help your cohort

    Friday internal demos and User Test Day work because everyone shows up for each other.

A speaker addressing a packed lecture hall of students.

In the room

A program with real reach.

Launchpad runs out of Link Studio's floor at One Kendall Square. It plugs into the same network of founders, operators, and investors we work with every day. The room you walk into is the room we already build in.

08 / Who's Behind This

Link Studio.

Link Studio builds companies with founders in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We share One Kendall Square, and a thesis, with our sister firm Link Ventures. Launchpad is the program we run when school's out and the right people are free to actually build.

A

The studio

Link Studio creates and operates new companies from a dedicated build floor in Cambridge. We invest first-money, hold long, and stay close to the work: engineering, design, recruiting, fundraising. Every week, not just at board meetings.

B

Link Ventures

Link Ventures is our sister early-stage venture firm in the same building. The studio creates the company; Link Ventures writes follow-on checks and connects teams into the broader firm's portfolio and network. One ecosystem, two seats at the same table.

C

The Cambridge advantage

Kendall Square is the densest square mile of technical talent in the country. The point of running Launchpad here, in the studio, in January, is that the people, the labs, and the building all line up at once.

Dave Blundin

Founder · Link Studio & Link Ventures

Dave Blundin

Serial entrepreneur. Twenty-three companies co-founded, five past $100M, including EverQuote (NASDAQ: EVER) and Vestmark ($2T+ in U.S. assets under management). MIT CS; teaches "AI for Impact: Venture Studio" at MIT today. Founded Link Studio in 2006.

John McGeachie

Managing Partner · Link Studio

John McGeachie

Managing Partner of Link Studio. Brings operational experience across Link Studio's portfolio companies and helps founders navigate early-stage decisions, from hiring to go-to-market.

Mike Griffin

Managing Partner · Link Ventures & Link Studio

Mike Griffin

Managing Partner of Link Ventures and Link Studio. Created Link Launchpad and runs the program end to end. Leads recruitment, team selection, and serves as a hands-on advisor to every cohort company from kickoff through demo day and beyond.

Justin Milligan

Partner · Link Studio

Justin Milligan

Handles program logistics, recruitment, and advising for Link Launchpad. Works directly with founders on their build plans and connects teams into the broader Link ecosystem and investor network.

09 / Apply

Build something worth launching.

Rolling acceptances. Round up your co-founders, tell us what you want to build, and we'll be in touch fast.

Team Lead
The Project