ShowPoints
“In 30 days, ShowPoints went from idea to MVP. With the support of Builders + Backers and Capital One, I'm building momentum in an overlooked vertical.”
Matthew Stroud
Founder, Fortune 500 Communications Leader
About Builders + Backers
Entrepreneurship foreveryone, everywhere.
We are Builders + Backers, the team behind Builders Studio®. We help everyday people turn the ideas they cannot shake into real ventures — with less noise, less clutter, and a much clearer first step.
Take the first step
No pitch decks. No insider networks. No startup experience required.
Why we exist
“I’ve spent years watching people with genuinely good ideas talk themselves out of finding out if they’re real. That’s what we built Builders Studio® to fix.”
Donna Harris, CEO and Co-founder. Former Managing Director of Startup America and co-founder of 1776.
Our story
A method proven on the ground, now built into a platform.
We started with a simple belief: the next great venture can come from anyone, in any town, with any background. Over four years, our Idea Accelerator helped launch more than six hundred companies and equip over a thousand builders — most of whom had never started anything before.
Builders Studio® takes everything we learned guiding those builders and makes it available to anyone, anywhere.
600+
companies launched
1,000+
builders equipped
3,000+
experiments run
#528
Inc. 5000
Builders
Builders who started exactly where you are.
Real people, real jobs, real ideas — now real ventures. Here are a few examples of what the first step can lead to.
CerTracker
“When we started CerTracker, it wasn't with a grand strategy deck. It was with lived experience, a real problem, and a belief that nurses deserved better systems.”
Devin Patterson
ER Nurse, Director of Innovation, Founder
JetSetGo
“What seemed like a far-fetched idea when I pitched it to my flight instructor has now become an early-stage viable business.”
Jeremy Johnson
Founder & CEO
SprinkleMe Sugar
“Their support played a pivotal role in helping us launch the first-ever exclusive macaron vending machine in the U.S.”
Raina Shults
Luxury Brand Founder
Hidalga Technologies
“Starting Hidalga Technologies was deeply personal, born from firsthand experience navigating the broken systems that delay care for cancer patients.”
Joshua Upshaw, Ph.D.
Founder
Tag! Fundraising
“The pebble fund mattered more than I expected. It created space to experiment, to mess up and rebuild, to focus on learning instead of chasing perfection.”
Joy Moore
Founder
Jasper Float Spa & Wellness
“That seed funding let us validate our concept and launch our storefront. Two years later, we're thriving and have created almost 10 jobs with real economic impact.”
Antwanette Crutcher
Founder & CEO
Can We Talk
“If you're an entrepreneur, or even just sitting on an idea you believe in, I encourage you to apply. This program changes everything.”
KyeJuana Avery
Author, Founder & CEO
Making the Future
“Builders + Backers showed me that innovation doesn't begin with perfection. It begins with action.”
Payal Patel
Industrial Design Engineer, Product Developer
LOVE Mobile
“They were one of the first groups to invest in LOVE Mobile, and they are at it again.”
Koddi Dunn
Co-Founder & CEO
Swipe to see more builders.