Long-horizon business incubation and consulting

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Who WE works with.

Founders who mean to build a lasting company, especially those whose experience predicts success, and capable founders who need more capacity than they can hire.

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Each page below describes a situation, not a type of person. Every page is for anyone in that situation.

Seven situations, one way of working

The situations differ in what gets in the way. The work is the same: a dedicated, fully remote team, steered by WE, building a software-enabled company with its founder for as long as the work is useful.

Seven worlds around one star One world for each situation WE works with: Industry Insider, Encore Founder, Repeat Builder, Global Founder, Under-Backed Builder, Next-Gen Founder, Restart Founder.

Find your situation

  • A moon breaks away from its planet along a dotted path, into an orbit of its own.

    Industry Insider

    Your industry years are the head start.

    You know the industry. WE brings the company-building years.

  • A world rising over the horizon, with the years ahead of it.

    Encore Founder

    Experience is the head start.

    Later in a career, with the years that the data favors.

  • Two worlds sharing one orbit: a second company built in the same system as the first.

    Repeat Builder

    Start the second one at full speed.

    Your second company should not start from zero.

  • A small craft arrives along a dotted trail at a large, settled world.

    Global Founder

    Build here, with a team that knows the ground.

    You already build. WE helps you build here.

  • A bright star with a small world held in a wide orbit around it.

    Under-Backed Builder

    Capacity now. Credibility over time.

    The gap is access, not ability.

  • A spark ignites at the center of a new system, inside two orbits.

    Next-Gen Founder

    Borrow the experience. Keep the company.

    Borrow the experience you do not have yet.

  • A comet on an unstable path is re-planned into a stable orbit.

    Restart Founder

    A restart can be a real start.

    Turn a restart into a company built to last.

How it fits

The core of the business can be built on a screen: software, a digital product, or a service run on software and expertise. You can fund a team from revenue, savings, outside capital or a corporate budget.

When WE is not the right help

WE is not the right help if the core work of the business is physical (food service, retail floors, manufacturing, clinical care), if you want capital above all, or if you need one deliverable. If so, WE will say so and point you to better help.

The long game

Move fast every week. Build for the decade.

Whatever your situation, the clock is the same: a company takes years. What changes is where you start. Move fast every week, and plan for the decade.

Every week

Fast, and written down.

  1. 1 Plan The week’s cycle is set in writing.
  2. 2 Build A dedicated team ships the work.
  3. 3 Report A written status, every week.
  4. 4 Decide You say yes or no to the next cycle.

Every year

Patient, because the odds turn slowly.

77.9% 1

of new U.S. establishments were still operating after one year

51.4% 2

were still operating after five years

34.7% 3

were still operating after ten years

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Opened in the year to March 2024
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Opened in the year to March 2020
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Opened in the year to March 2015
  1. Month 1 First written status WE reports in writing from the first week.
  2. Month 7 First payroll 1 Typically 2.29 quarters after a business applies, for the 2021 applications.
  3. Year 1 77.9% still operating 2 One year after opening.
  4. Year 3.5 Counted as established 3 A business is called established at 42 months.
  5. Year 5 51.4% still operating 2 Five years after opening.
  6. Year 10 34.7% still operating 2 Ten years after opening.

Where milestones typically fall, and how many new businesses are still operating at years one, five and ten. Each survival figure comes from a different opening-year group; the sources name them.

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics , 2021 and 2005 applications
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Opened in the year to March 2024
  3. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, U.S. report 2025/2026 (Babson College) , Definition
See how long it really takes See how WE works

The wider ecosystem

Join the programs that fit. WE stays for the long run.

WE does not compete with the programs around you. Founder programs, coworking spaces, investor communities and public funding each do something WE does not, and most founders do best using several. Join the ones that fit. WE works alongside, for as long as the work is useful.

  • Founder programs

    Structured, time-boxed programs with a peer group and a deadline.

  • Coworking spaces

    A desk, a room and people who are building too.

  • Investor communities

    Angel groups and investor relations events where you meet the people who fund companies.

  • University and lab programs

    Research, labs and technology transfer for science-based companies.

  • Local small business support

    Advisers, training and regional networks close to home.

  • Public funding

    Federal research awards such as SBIR and STTR.

Independent programs that WE encourages founders to consider. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Browse every program to join Apply to SBIR and STTR

Whatever your situation, there are programs to join.

A quick map of what is worth a look for each situation. Use as many as fit. WE works alongside, for the long run.

Situation Industry-specific programsInvestor communitiesLocal small business supportFounder programsCoworking spacesFounder communitiesUniversity and lab programsRegional founder programs SBIR and STTR
Industry Insider
Encore Founder
Repeat Builder
Global Founder
Under-Backed Builder
Next-Gen Founder
Restart Founder

Independent programs that WE encourages founders to consider. No affiliation or endorsement is implied.

Public funding

Apply to SBIR and STTR.

The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs fund small businesses to do research and development. If your company is building something technical, apply, and keep applying.

WE helps founders prepare alongside. WE is not an agency and cannot promise an award.

See how SBIR and STTR work

  1. 1 Find The agency topics that match what you build.
  2. 2 Prepare The registrations, the plan and the proposal.
  3. 3 Apply Submit, learn from the review and go again.

See the data behind the long game.

Public statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, the SBA and the Federal Reserve, charted with every source linked.

94.4% 1

of establishments still open after eight years survived their ninth, against 79.6% in their first

48% 2

of firms aged 0 to 5 years were fully approved for financing, against 63% of firms aged 21 or more

70% 3

of venture-backed startups that shut down cited running out of capital

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Opened in the year to March 2013
  2. Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey (2026 report on employer firms) , Applicants in the prior 12 months
  3. CB Insights (2026), venture-backed startups that shut down; more than one reason allowed , Shutdowns since 2023

Explore the data

Start with a readiness review.

Tell WE your situation. WE will say plainly whether the work fits, and if it does not, where better help is.

Start a readiness review See how long it really takes