Startup Science unifies the startup ecosystem in one platform, primarily making money through software subscriptions. We support 89,000 founders across 200+ accelerators and universities. We’ve completed two acquisitions and raised $5.75M to date. We’re building Startup Science to unify the startup ecosystem into one platform.

Founders fail because the startup ecosystem is fragmented. The right guidance often arrives too late or out of order.

“After building and exiting 12 companies over 35 years, I saw the same failures repeat again and again. Founders weren’t failing because of bad ideas or lack of effort. They were failing because the ecosystem itself was broken. Startup Science exists to fix that.”

Founder and CEO, Gregory Shepard

For more than 30 years, the global startup failure rate has remained near 90%. No other industry would accept that level of waste. Outcomes have not improved despite more tools, capital, and faster company creation.

The number one driver of startup failure is the fragmented startup ecosystem. This fragmentation results in founders not finding what they need when they need it. This leads to compounding mistakes from a startup’s inception that are entirely avoidable given the right framework, software, and services to support a founder.

Startup Science is the first platform that addresses the root causes of startup failure. We unify founders, mentors, universities, accelerators, investors, and service providers into one structured operating system that brings clarity, timing, and alignment to the founder journey.

Artificial intelligence has made it much easier to start a company. Founders can now build working products in days instead of months. As a result, more people are starting startups than ever before.

At the same time, the systems that support founders have not improved.

1. Tools are still disconnected.
2. Advice is still inconsistent.
3. Programs still operate in silos.

As startup creation speeds up, these problems grow faster and cause more early mistakes. Without structure, speed leads to more failure. This moment requires a shared operating system that brings clarity, timing, and alignment to the entire startup journey.

Startup Science gives founders a single operating system that shows them where they are in their journey, what decisions matter next, and who they should work with. It replaces disconnected tools with a shared system that guides founders through each stage with clarity and timing.

Founders learn exactly what they need to know at the moment they need it, not months too early or years too late. They manage planning, learning, mentors, advisors, programs, providers, and later investors in one place. This structure keeps them focused on the right work instead of jumping between disconnected tools.

The platform includes:

1. Education matched to where founders are in their journey
2. Mentor and advisory matchmaking with assignments and progress tracking
3. Program management software for accelerators, universities, and governments
4. A marketplace with $4M+ in potential savings for founders
5. Tools integrated with all business critical services like business insurance, cap table management, and many more
6. AI-powered matching across founders, mentors, programs, and providers
7. Communities based on stage, sector, and geography
8. Portfolio tools for investors launching in 2026

Startup Science combines the Startup Lifecycle framework with a single software platform. This platform brings the startup ecosystem into one place so founders and the people who support them can work from the same system at the right time.

Founders

Founders get clarity on their current stage and what to focus on next. The platform delivers stage-specific guidance, mentors, peer support, and access to vetted tools and exclusive savings—all through a single profile that follows them across programs and the broader ecosystem.

Accelerators, Incubators, and Universities

Startup programs run their programs from a single system built for founder support. Applications, curriculum delivery, mentor matching, progress tracking, and reporting all live in the same place. This reduces manual work and improves consistency across cohorts. Programs gain clearer insight into founder progress and produce stronger, more reliable outcomes for funders and partners.

Mentors and Advisors

Mentors see each founder's progress and readiness at a glance so they can focus on the right topics at the right time. The platform supports session tracking, resource sharing, and ongoing visibility into founder progress, making mentor time more effective and relationships become more valuable.

Software and Service Providers

Software and service providers connect with founders at the moment their solutions are most relevant. Startup Science places tools and services directly inside founder workflows. Providers gain clearer engagement data and better conversion while founders avoid irrelevant offers. This creates better outcomes for both sides.

Investors

Investors get deal flow aligned with their thesis and clear visibility into founder progress. Startup Science provides a structured environment where readiness and milestones are tracked over time, enabling faster diligence, cleaner deal flow, and stronger portfolio insight. Operating from a shared system improves timing, reduces confusion, and creates a repeatable framework for startup success.

The core platform already delivers an excellent experience for both Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) and founders. Basic features are in place for mentors, advisors, sponsors, and investors. By early 2026, we'll complete their experiences and cover every persona in the startup ecosystem.

Acquisitions are core to our growth strategy. We’ve already made 3 with 20+ planned over the life of our company.

Startup Stack

Became the Marketplace module in Startup Science, offering startup founders $4M+ in potential savings. On track for 1,000+ software and service providers by the end of 2025 to become the largest startup marketplace in the world.

Startup Benefits

Supports our international expansion with a rich database of hundreds of thousands of grants, software, and services, and investors worldwide (emphasis on Europe). This will power the Capital module rebuild in Q1 2026.

Sphere

Becoming the Mentorship module to connect tens of thousands of mentors and mentorship support software to our founder community.

Startup Science generates revenue through three connected streams.

Program Subscriptions

Accelerators, incubators, universities, and government programs license the platform to run their startup programs. Applications, curriculum, mentorship, progress tracking, and reporting all run from one system. Programs use the built-in Sponsorship module to offset subscription costs, which deepens retention and embeds Startup Science into daily operations. Each ESO brings its founders onto the platform, driving ecosystem-wide adoption.

Provider Revenue

Software and service providers pay to reach founders inside active workflows rather than through crowded marketing channels. Revenue comes through featured placements, affiliate deals, cost-per-lead fees, and API-based billing. Providers get better conversion. Founders get relevant solutions at the right moment.

Direct Founder and Advisor Revenue

Founders outside of ESO programs subscribe directly for structure, curriculum, and ecosystem access. Advisors subscribe for matching, analytics, and workflow tools. When founders hire advisors for paid engagements, Startup Science earns a share.

These three streams fuel each other. ESOs bring founders who create demand for advisors and providers. Providers bring sponsorship and partner revenue. Every new participant increases the value of the platform for everyone else.

The startup ecosystem is a $7 trillion global asset class.

That's larger than private equity and approaching the scale of public equities.

Market Dynamics

Every year, three million startups launch, and AI is about to make that number skyrocket.

History shows disruption drives entrepreneurship: after the dot-com crash, 2008, and COVID, new businesses surged. AI now lets founders prototype, test, and operate faster and leaner than ever.

More startups will only magnify the 90% failure rate. Without structure, more capital is wasted and more founders fail.

That’s where Startup Science comes in. We unify the fragmented ecosystem, guide founders through the lifecycle, connect them to the right resources, and coordinate stakeholders—turning chaos into sustainable growth.

Our Position

Startup Science sits at the center of this market surge. Startup Science sits beneath accelerators, founders, mentors, and providers. As startup activity grows, the need for shared infrastructure grows with it. As AI fuels startup creation, Startup Science becomes the operating system ensuring those companies survive, grow, and exit.

Gregory Shepard has spent 35 years building, scaling, acquiring, and exiting companies in fragmented, chaotic markets. He's founded 12 companies across biotech, adtech, govtech, and ecommerce, and has led more than 20 acquisitions on both the buy and sell side. His entire career centered on one skill: bringing structure to messy ecosystems and unlocking value in the process.

Today’s startup ecosystem has too many tools, too many disconnected players, and no shared operating system. Startup Science applies the same playbook: unify the market, create structure, and build outsized enterprise value.

Gregory's Track Record

1. Built and sold 12 companies across BioTech, TransitTech, AdTech, and MarTech
2. Led more than 20 acquisitions across buy and sell sides
3. Received 4 private equity awards for transactions from $25M to $1B
4. Played a critical role in scaling Delerrok from $0 to $42M exit in three years
5. Invested in 8 companies as an angel and LP through BOSS Capital Partners
6. Author of The Startup Lifecycle, published globally by BenBella Books
7. Host of the Forbes Podcast and contributor to more than 200 articles and podcasts
8. TEDx speaker and co founder of the Fulbright Entrepreneurship Initiative
9. Frequent keynote speaker at major global conferences

Gregory grew up in poverty, neurodivergent, and often overlooked. He knows what it feels like to fight for a chance and what it means when an idea finally works. His mission is simple. He wants to create a world where anyone, anywhere, has a real shot at building a company that succeeds. Startup Science is the platform that makes that possible, built by someone who has spent his entire career unifying fragmented ecosystems and leading them to successful exits.

Gregory is surrounded by a team that has already built and sold companies together and knows how to execute as a unit. Several leaders, including our CTO and Operations leader have built and sold multiple previous exits with Gregory. Nearly every leader at Startup Science has founded, scaled, or sold a company of their own, bringing firsthand operating experience and empathy with our users. Together, they combine technical depth, operational leadership, product expertise, and growth execution from the startup and enterprise worlds. This is a product built by founders, for founders, that is uniquely equipped to deliver the operating system the ecosystem has been missing.

Startup Science is built for strategic acquisition, and there are two clear categories of buyer.

The first is investment institutions looking for fresh deal flow. The data that powers PitchBook and Crunchbase is scraped, which means by the time an investor sees it, everyone else already has. A platform with millions of founders at the earliest stages of company building is a source of deal flow no one else has seen yet.

The second is large technology platforms. Companies like Microsoft, Google, HubSpot, Salesforce, and GitHub all run entrepreneur programs, and they spend $30,000 to $40,000 in credits to acquire a single startup customer. That number tells you what a founder is worth to them. A platform with millions of founders represents an acquisition cost savings that justifies a significant purchase price on its own.

Fresh businesses need everything: software, services, capital, infrastructure. That makes founders among the most valuable customers in any market. The key driver of our future valuation is founder acquisition, and everything we build is designed to grow that number.

Startup Science is currently valued at $19.75M pre-money. Our long-term goal is to build a platform that becomes large and valuable enough to support a strategic acquisition. This round is focused on execution, not speculation.

We are raising up to $1.2M with a clear, milestone-driven plan. The goal is to reach break-even and transition into self-sustaining growth. Capital from this round will be used to accelerate what is already working and complete key parts of the product roadmap.

Funds will be deployed across five focused areas.

#1: Product Development

1. Expand our engineering team to accelerate the long product roadmap.
2. Invest in AI-driven development capabilities to accelerate our platform growth with limited headcount.
3. Integrate additional tools and features that enhance founder workflows and drive retention.

#2: Strategic Acquisitions

1. Continue acquiring “spot solutions” in the startup ecosystem (like Startup Stack and Startup Benefits) to expand platform functionality and create cross-sell opportunities.

#3: Sales & Marketing Expansion

1. Increase participation in industry conferences to drive visibility and adoption.
2. Scale cold outbound, partnership-driven sales, and growth channels to accelerate customer acquisition.
3. Build targeted campaigns to deepen adoption among accelerators, universities, and government programs.

#4: Team Growth

1. Add headcount in sales and customer success to support growing user numbers.
2. Ensure strong onboarding and retention support as we scale to tens of thousands of founders.

#5: Path to Profitability

1. Every dollar is allocated with the dual objective of achieving profitability while continuing to push for growth.
2. This structure avoids dependency on future fundraising rounds and positions Startup Science as a self-sustaining, cash-flow positive business.

Startup Science is building the infrastructure that supports founders at every stage of their journey. By investing, you are backing a platform designed to bring clarity, coordination, and consistency to a fragmented startup ecosystem.

Gregory Shepard’s 12 exits and decades of primary research shaped this system. The lessons learned over decades now power a system designed to help founders make better decisions, earlier, and with the right support.

For over 30 years, the global startup failure rate has remained near 90 percent. This is a systemic problem. Startup Science exists to change the system so that more companies survive, grow, and reach meaningful outcomes.

Invest in Startup Science and own a piece of the operating system powering the future of entrepreneurship.