Sacramento High-Growth Startup Lab & Incubator

Build an AI-native startup from idea to demo — then to traction.

The Sacramento High-Growth Startup Lab & Incubator is HUMANBULB’s startup-building program designed to help new and early-stage founders create AI-native, scalable companies.

This is not a general entrepreneurship class. It’s a rigorous formation + validation + build program that moves founders from direction and evidence to a demoable product, and then supports ongoing traction through structured alumni support.

Best fit for: pre-company founders, idea-stage founders, and early MVP teams who want to move faster with clarity and support.

Who We Serve

HUMANBULB supports pre-revenue, early-stage founders who are new to Sacramento’s entrepreneurship ecosystem — with a deliberate focus on founders historically underrepresented in high-growth entrepreneurship, including:

✔ Women
✔ LGBTQ+ people
✔ Immigrants and refugees
✔ BIPOC founders
✔ Low-income community members

We expand who participates in Sacramento’s startup pipeline through three entry pathways:

1) Diverse Tech Professionals

Engineers, data/IT, product, design, and technical operators with strong skills who want a clear on-ramp into entrepreneurship.

2) Domain Experts in Priority Industries

Non-tech professionals with deep industry insight who can translate real problems into scalable, AI-native ventures.

3) Community Innovators with Lived Experience Insight

Community members whose lived experience reveals unmet needs in areas like healthcare access, workforce navigation, food access, housing, or government services — and who want support converting insight into scalable opportunities.

Priority Industries

We prioritize applicants aligned with the City of Sacramento’s priority industries:

  • Food Systems & AgTech

  • Clean Tech & Sustainability

  • Life Sciences & Healthcare

  • Creative Economy

  • Government / Smart Cities

We also remain open to other verticals when founders can demonstrate:

  1. high-growth potential, and

  2. a credible Sacramento activation pathway (customers, pilots, partnerships, contracts, or local traction).

What does “AI-native” mean?

We define AI-native as ventures where AI is the foundation of the product advantage, defensibility, and scalability — not a bolt-on feature.

AI has changed what’s possible for founders:

  • faster MVP creation

  • lower build costs

  • quicker iteration cycles

  • broader access for non-technical founders

Our program teaches practical AI-assisted building methods so more Sacramento founders can ship real products — faster.

What you’ll learn and build

Participants learn to:

  • Validate ideas with real customer evidence

  • Build faster with AI-assisted product workflows

  • Develop clear positioning and messaging

  • Run traction experiments and improve adoption

  • Secure pilots, partnerships, and early wins

  • Build a credible proof package for funding, grants, and partners

By the end of the 8-week Startup Lab, you’ll have:

  • A validated use case backed by customer evidence

  • Clear positioning and an MVP scope

  • A demoable prototype you can show to users and partners

  • A pitch + live demo delivered at our Product Showcase

  • A traction plan to carry into the Alumni Traction Lab

Timeline (2026–2027)

Cohort Applications

Cohort 1: Applications open April 1, 2026 · close April 30, 2026
Cohort 2: Applications open May 1, 2026 · close July 15, 2026
Cohort 3: Applications open August 1, 2026 · close September 15, 2026

Cohort Start Dates + Showcase

Cohort 1: May–July 2026 · Product Showcase in July 2026
Cohort 2: August–September 2026 · Product Showcase in September 2026
Cohort 3: October–December 2026 · Product Showcase in December 2026

Alumni Traction Lab

Runs after each cohort through March 2027 with monthly traction cycles.

Program Structure

  • From direction → validation → demoable product

    We run three 8-week cohorts designed to move founders from idea-stage to a validated use case and a demoable MVP/prototype.

    Stage 1 includes:

    • Weekly in-person sessions

    • 1:1 mentorship

    • Office hours and build sessions

    • Coworking and community

    • Accountability + milestone tracking

    • A final Product Showcase (pitch + live demo)

    Stage 1 milestones you’ll complete

    By the end of 8 weeks, founders will reach core milestones such as:

    • Select a reachable customer and ICP

    • Complete 8–12+ customer interviews (with evidence logs)

    • Validate a problem/use case based on patterns, not opinions

    • Competitive/substitute scan + positioning

    • Define MVP scope and success metric

    • Build and iterate a prototype using AI-assisted tools

    • Deliver a pitch and live demo at a public Product Showcase

    Stage 1 outcomes (12 months):

    • Deliver a minimum of 40 validated, demoable MVPs

    • Host 3 Product Showcase events

  • From demo → traction → investor/grant readiness

    After Stage 1, companies enter the Alumni Traction Lab through March 2027. This stage helps founders convert validation into measurable momentum.

    How it works

    • Goals refreshed every 30 days (traction cycles)

    • Biweekly mentor check-ins and office hours

    • Targeted support based on your bottlenecks

    • End-of-cycle review to document results and reset goals

    Stage 2 support may include

    • Product iteration, onboarding, and reliability improvement

    • Legal support (incorporation, IP considerations, contracts)

    • Marketing, branding, and visibility support

    • Strategic partnerships and introductions

    • Pitch training and funding education

    • Investor and grant readiness support

    • Coworking and alumni community building

    Stage 2 outcomes

    • Deliver a minimum of 30 companies with measurable traction and improved investor/grant readiness

Interested in joining a cohort?

Next cohort applications open April 1, 2026.

Apply Here (Opens 4/1/26)

Program Snapshot

Cost: Free (City of Sacramento-supported)
Stage: Pre-company to early MVP (pre-revenue)
Format: In-person + build support + alumni traction lab
Location: Sacramento (final location shared with accepted participants)

Eligibility

This program is designed for founders who are:

  • Pre-company, idea-stage, or early MVP (pre-revenue)

  • Building a scalable, tech-enabled venture (AI-native encouraged)

  • Able to attend weekly in-person sessions in Sacramento during the cohort

We prioritize founders from historically underrepresented communities and applicants aligned with Sacramento’s priority industries.

FAQ

Do I need a company already?
No. We accept participants from “pre-company” through early MVP stage.

Do I need to be technical?
No. We teach AI-assisted building workflows and validation practices that support both technical and non-technical founders.

What does success look like after Stage 1?
A validated use case, clear positioning, and a demoable product you can show to real users and partners.

What happens after the 8-week cohort?
Companies move into the Alumni Traction Lab to pursue pilots, traction, and readiness for grants or investment.