Your company just got the best news there is. Your product is working, customers are lining up, the world wants what you’ve built.
Now an incubator asks you to leave.
“Congratulations. It is time for you to graduate.”
Moving a startup is expensive. Moving a biotech startup is incredibly expensive. The average biotech startup can expect to pay between $100,000 and $500,000 and lose 4-12 weeks of productivity. The cost of a lab move includes biosamples and sensitive reagents, instruments, cell lines, data management, recruiting, equipment, and more.
The Hidden Cost of “Congratulations, Now Leave”
- Productivity: Moving can interrupt experiments, force recalibration of equipment and lose critical research time.
- Staffing: Relocation can cause key scientists to leave. Many won’t commute to the new location.
- Lab equipment and supplies: Recruit new instruments and purchase previously shared equipment. The new location will need to qualify equipment. This can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Management: Rather than focus on milestones and fundraising, management is consumed with contractors, leases, build-outs and moving.
Why Traditional Incubators Push You Out
The core issue is that most incubators operate on a business model that doesn’t take into consideration what’s best for companies. They have limited space. To fit in the new class of startups, the old class of startups has to go. It’s not malicious; it’s the way they’re set up.
The solution? Find an incubator that understands that biotech can’t be treated like software. A software startup can be moved over a weekend. Moving a biotech startup is like moving a hospital while they’re working on a groundbreaking new treatment.
BADASS Labs started when founder, Dr. David Kiewlich, spent 18 months looking for a lab and realized there had to be a better option.
“What if the incubator worked for the founder, not the other way around?”
The BADASS Labs Alternative: Stay Until You Are Ready
There is no graduation day at BADASS Labs. We’re a biotech incubator built around what’s best for founders. We want your company to grow here. We’re so confident in our model that companies get the following benefits at BADASS Labs:
1. Research Continuity Preserves Data Integrity
Your reagents are already in our freezers. Our team is trained on your needs. Your equipment is qualified. Your data integrity is safe. We know the importance of continuity, especially with complex, expensive, IND-enabling studies. We know what’s at stake. We’re here to help.
3. Companies Can Scale Without Disruption
Some startups take off quickly while others take their time. At BADASS Labs, your lab can start with two people and grow to twenty. You’ll always have the option to scale your lab within BADASS Labs with flat-fee pricing, 24/7 access and flexible terms with only a 3-month commitment. Cell therapy and synthetic biology take off in different directions with varying timelines. We don’t think your startup should be limited by an arbitrary deadline.
4. Zero Equity Means Your Success Stays Yours
Most incubators charge 5-10% of your company for lab space. BADASS Labs charges 0%. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit incubator, we don’t make claims to IP. We exist to help scientists advance science. Your hard-earned success belongs to you.
5. Long-Term Community Builds Long-Term Outcomes
There are plenty of one-night stands out there but BADASS Labs wants a relationship. Our entrepreneurs have an 89-95% success rate and have raised over $900 million dollars. Companies thrive at our Alameda, CA location. We’re looking forward to our next location in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“Succeed or learn, there is no fail.” Your data is valid, even when results are unexpected. Learn, iterate, try again. Surround yourself with a supportive, collaborative, empathetic community of peers and mentors who have seen it all.
In a highly selective funding environment, your lab is more than four walls. It’s a strategic decision that can make-or-break your company. Don’t let an inflexible incubator derail your valuation. Learn more about flexible lab space at BADASS Labs.
“Congratulations. It is time for you to graduate.”
For many startups, receiving that message from their incubator is exciting. For many others it can be stressful, especially for biotech startups who require additional time to prove their science.
Here at BADASS Labs we’re shaking up the biotech incubator world with a new approach to startups. BADASS Labs is a biotech startup incubator with no equity and no intellectual property (IP) claims. We provide lab space for biotech startups on flexible terms so founders can focus on science, fundraising, and growing their startup. We’re shaking up the status quo and winning.
What the Data Tells Us
At BADASS Labs our success rate for startups ranges from 89-95%. That’s a far cry from the accepted success rate for early-stage startups within the biotechnology industry of a mere 10%.
We define success as startups that have achieved their next milestone whether it be raising capital, advancing their pipeline, commercializing their technology, etc. The reason we’re so successful? We don’t have a graduation date.
Startups receive 24/7 access to their lab, receive flexible terms with a 3 month minimum, pay a flat-fee, and BADASS Labs never takes equity! Startups in our incubator have raised over $900M and counting.
Dr. David Kiewlich, founder of BADASS Labs spent 18 months looking for lab space for his own biotech startup. He was looking for lab space that worked for him as a founder but couldn’t find anything. After his own personal frustration he asked himself a simple question: “What if the incubator worked for the founder, not the other way around?”
BADASS Labs was his answer, a new approach to biotech startup incubators that provides affordable wet-lab space for scientists. Today, BADASS Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, mission-driven organization helping biotech startups bring life-changing technologies to market.
The Broader Lesson: Infrastructure Is Strategy
Biotech is not software. Moving an active wet lab in the middle of a critical IND-enabling study is not a logistical inconvenience, it is a threat to timelines, data integrity, and credibility with investors. Founders know this intuitively, which is why incubator terms deserve the same level of due diligence as lead scientists or key patents.
In 2026, capital remains selective. Investors are asking for earlier-stage de-risking but have less patience for operational stumbles, including infrastructure-related delays. Startups that demonstrate scientific rigor, disciplined execution, and strategic use of resources stand apart. Choosing an incubator that supports continuity, including flexible timelines, reliable space, and strong networks, is part of that discipline.
What This Means for Biotech Founders in 2026
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you search for an incubator:
- Understand graduation policies: Traditional incubators are space-constrained and thus are built on a “throughput” business model. Most incubators have an 18-36 month graduation policy. Founders should ask what happens after graduation. Will there be an extension? Will they receive a warning ahead of time? Many founders have been blindsided by these arbitrary timelines. Startups should be in control of their timelines, especially biotech startups. Different sectors within biotech, including cell therapy and synthetic biology have unique timelines that don’t follow traditional venture-backed startup timelines.
- How much equity are incubators asking for?: Many incubators require significant equity for short amounts of time. Some ask for as much as 7% for 24 months. Startups should be careful to understand the cost of incubators. Many times it makes sense to utilize an incubator, but founders should understand the value they’re receiving and make informed decisions.
- Who owns your IP?: In the event of a sale or acquisition, who owns the IP? Founders should be sure they own their IP and make informed decisions about incubators who ask for ownership.
- What happens when you grow?: Many times biotech startups join an incubator in the earliest phase with a core science team of two. When you’ve raised money and grown to twenty people, do you have room in the incubator? Are there other opportunities if you need to stay longer? BADASS Labs has seen many long-term startups who love being part of our family. These entrepreneurs return their wisdom and experience to BADASS Labs startups. Many times this wouldn’t happen if they were forced to leave.
- Is there 24/7 access?: Science doesn’t always happen during the day. Startups should be sure they have 24/7 access to their lab in case they need to check on cultures or complete time-restricted assays. At BADASS Labs our startups have 24/7 access to their labs.
The Bottom Line
Many times an incubator makes sense, especially for early-stage startups looking for an affordable and efficient way to setup lab space. Founders should be strategic when it comes to choosing an incubator and understand the implications of arbitrary graduation dates. Biotech startups are unique and deserve an incubator who understands this.
At BADASS Labs our goal is to help startups “Succeed or learn, there is no fail.” Learn more about BADASS Labs and our approach to helping entrepreneurs by booking a tour of our lab in Alameda, California, or apply here. BADASS Labs will be opening soon in Salt Lake City, Utah, stay tuned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do most biotech incubators force companies to graduate?
Limited space and business models requiring throughput mean new cohorts need room. That approach does not account for varying biotech development timelines or the complexity of relocating wet labs.
How long can a company stay at BADASS Labs?
There is no forced graduation timeline. Companies can stay as long as needed, with a minimum commitment of just 3 months and infrastructure that scales with their teams.
Does BADASS Labs take equity or claim intellectual property?
No. BADASS Labs takes zero equity and makes no IP claims. Your intellectual property remains entirely yours.
What does “89–95% success rate” actually mean?
It refers to member companies achieving key milestones, including securing funding, advancing development programs, or successfully commercializing technology.
How does 24/7 lab access improve research outcomes?
Biological systems do not operate on business hours. Unrestricted access lets scientists monitor cultures and run time-sensitive experiments when their research requires it, supporting reproducibility, data quality, and speed.
Ready to stop building someone else’s pipeline and start building yours?
If you are tired of incubator models that treat your company as a tenant rather than a mission, schedule a tour of our Alameda facilities, connect with our community, or apply for lab space. Your science deserves a home that does not come with an eviction date.