xlabs · Ventures
We build companies
with founders.
xlabs Ventures partners with domain-expert founders to turn high-conviction ideas into product-led companies. Capital, design, product and engineering — on the cap table, with you.
How It Works
xlabs Ventures operates as a co-founder-equivalent — venture capital combined with a full-stack build team. We fund, we build, we hold equity.
You stay CEO and own the vision; we handle the heavy lifting on product, engineering, design and go-to-market.
Capital
xlabs invests cash alongside the build contribution. Deal size scales with stage, market size and build complexity.
Execution
A senior product, design, engineering and AI team embedded in your venture from day one. The same team that ships in the Studio.
Go-to-market
Positioning, early-stage sales support and investor-ready storytelling. Built for founders who need a credible commercial motion before Series A.
Equity alignment
Standard founder vesting — 4 years, 1-year cliff. Board or observer seat. No surprises.
Our Process
Idea to venture, in six steps.
Structured, founder-friendly, optimised for speed without skipping the work that matters.
Qualification
A short, no-pressure conversation. No deck required. We're listening for problem clarity, founder conviction, market timing and fit with how we build.
Investment memo
A one-page internal memo — market, competition, build complexity, team fit, equity structure, deal size. If we're not excited writing it, we don't move forward.
Term sheet
A standard xlabs Ventures term sheet (SAFE, convertible note or direct equity). Take it to your counsel.
Validation sprint
A 2–4 week sprint before full build. Prototypes, smokescreens, early user conversations, demand-signal testing and business-model stress-tests.
Build
A studio-grade team spins up around the venture. Product-led design, engineering and AI in two-week sprints. Weekly co-founder syncs. Continuous loops with real users.
Stewardship
We stay on the cap table. Monthly check-ins, performance reviews, investor introductions, follow-on support and ongoing product and GTM guidance.
Ready to build together?
If you have an idea with a clear problem and the will to go all-in, xlabs Ventures is where the idea becomes a company — not a project.
Featured Ventures
Recent ideas that we have backed.
More in the pipeline.
Complio
Complio is a secure, PII-protected compliance platform built for South African organizations. It keeps every compliance, infosec and third-party risk (TPRN) document in one place — with versioning, expiry tracking, health scoring, approval workflows, and token-based client portal access.
By maintaining a single source of truth for every document requirement, Complio turns third-party risk reviews from a weeks-long scramble into a fast, repeatable process — so any TPRN request or form can be completed and submitted in a fraction of the time.