Imprint Lab
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersLong Beach, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Imprint Lab does
Imprint Lab is a privately held, seed-stage creative incubator and venture lab headquartered in Long Beach, California, operating since 2006–2009 with a team of 1–10 people. It runs two interlocking arms: Imprint Culture Lab (ICL), a 17-year-old conference and events series — now anchored by the annual Unexpected Connections flagship — that convenes creative professionals, founders, and cultural figures for cross-disciplinary dialogue, and Imprint Venture Lab, which incubates early-stage startups by providing strategic frameworks, brand and marketing support, and operational guidance. Revenue is generated through professional services across incubation engagements and event production (ticket sales, sponsorships, co-production partnerships), with no disclosed pricing or institutional funding.
The company's portfolio spans diverse verticals and includes Knockaround (eyewear, with a reported 6,000% ROI for Imprint), Skillshare (online learning), Momofuku (restaurant group), and MAEKAN (creative media platform). Its go-to-market is event- and community-driven: flagship conferences, Imprint Presents talks, partnerships with civic organizations such as the Long Beach Economic Partnership and Sunstone, and co-production with media partners like MAEKAN and Creative Class Collective. Distribution channels are event-led and global in aspiration but concentrated in the Western US (Los Angeles, Long Beach, with historical New York activity).
Imprint Lab's core technology is essentially none — the firm does not operate a software platform but rather a relationship and content ecosystem. It is tightly connected to interTrend Communications through founder and CEO Julia Huang, who leads both entities, and CSO Tanya Raukko, providing access to Fortune 500 client expertise. The business model is bespoke, professional-services oriented, and reliant on the parent firm's resources rather than external venture capital.
Imprint Lab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Imprint Lab
- Legal name
- Imprint Lab
- Website
- https://imprintlab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Imprint Lab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Startup Incubation Services
- NAICS
- Other Management Consulting Services (541618), Management Consulting Services (54161)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects) (EDANAKAI)
Keywords
Where Imprint Lab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Long Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Imprint Lab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Incubation Services: Imprint Lab incubates innovative ideas and founder teams, providing strategic frameworks, marketing, operations support, and growth guidance to portfolio companies.
- Event Production: The company produces culture conferences, workshops, and networking events that generate revenue through ticket sales, sponsorships, and partnerships.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Imprint Lab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Imprint Lab operates as a dual-entity creative incubator and venture lab. Imprint Venture Lab finds, funds, and stewards innovative startups and founder teams by providing strategic frameworks, brand strategy, positioning, integrated marketing, and operational support. Imprint Culture Lab produces global culture conferences and event series (including the flagship Unexpected Connections and the Imprint Presents talk series) that gather creative professionals, industry leaders, and founders to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue, cultural insight, and long-lasting collaborations.
Product overview
Imprint Lab operates as a dual entity consisting of Imprint Culture Lab and Imprint Venture Lab. Imprint Culture Lab is a global culture conference and events series that organizes flagship events like Unexpected Connections (formerly Imprint Culture Lab) and the Imprint Presents talk series, bringing together creative leaders for dialogue and collaboration. Imprint Venture Lab functions as an incubator for innovative ideas and founder teams, providing strategic guidance in brand strategy and marketing. The portfolio includes investments in Knockaround (sunglasses), Skillshare (online learning), Momofuku (restaurants), and Maekan (creative media platform).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Knockaround achieved 6000% ROI for Imprint through incubation support
Companies that use Imprint Lab
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Imprint Lab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Imprint Lab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Long Beach Economic PartnershipcoreLBEP is an action-oriented organization that sustains, grows business, and expands citywide economic opportunities with a global vision that is locally focused. They partner with ICL for events supporting the creative economy in Long Beach.
- SunstoneminorSunstone launched the Long Beach Venture Fund to empower future growth in Long Beach. They sponsor Unexpected Connections events to support the creative economy ecosystem.
- MAEKANcoreMAEKAN is a Hong Kong-based multimedia platform that champions creative culture and storytelling. They co-present the Unexpected Connections event with Imprint Lab, bringing together global luminaries and industry leaders from different disciplines to find new perspectives in creativity.
- Creative Class CollectivecoreCreative Class Collective is a non-profit organization with programs including Long Beach Walls, Art Renzei, Unexpected Connections, and Port City Creative Guild. The organization facilitates, supports, and encourages new and innovative ideas in arts, music, education, and creative outlets. ICL co-produces events with Creative Class Collective.
- Intertrend LabcoreIntertrend Lab engages in deeper conversations about race, identity, culture, and communication. As a driving force for cultural events and business ventures, Intertrend Lab fuels important cultural insights which drive creative campaigns and connects to Imprint Lab's parent company interTrend Communications.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Imprint Lab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Science Inc. Science Inc. is a startup studio and venture investor that builds and scales consumer brands (Dollar Shave Club, HelloSociety), making it the closest direct peer to Imprint Lab's venture lab model of incubating and scaling creative consumer companies.
- Idealab: Idealab is a long-running technology and consumer incubator founded by Bill Gross, operating a similar model of finding, funding, and stewarding early-stage startups — directly comparable to Imprint Lab's incubation approach.
- Mucker Capital: Mucker Capital is an early-stage venture firm and startup studio that provides operational support to portfolio companies in consumer and SaaS, paralleling Imprint Lab's incubation-plus-investing model for creative startups.
- gener8tor: gener8tor operates a global network of accelerators and venture funds with concierge mentorship for early-stage founders — closely comparable to Imprint Lab's intensive-incubation model for creative startups.
- Techstars: Techstars runs a global accelerator network with industry-specific verticals including consumer and creative industries, providing structured mentorship and capital — analogous to Imprint Lab's incubation services but at significantly larger scale.
- Dreamit Ventures: Dreamit Ventures is an accelerator and venture fund that runs cohort-based programs with corporate partners — similar structured acceleration offering to Imprint Lab's portfolio support services.
- Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play is a global innovation platform and accelerator running vertical-specific programs (brand & retail, media, etc.) that matches corporations with startups — directly comparable to Imprint Lab's ecosystem-building model.
Broad incumbents
- Newlab: Newlab operates an innovation hub and venture studio focused on frontier technology, sharing the 'lab' and venture-builder positioning with Imprint Lab, though at much larger scale and with a hardware/tech orientation rather than creative industries.
- Y Combinator: Y Combinator is the world's leading startup accelerator, providing seed capital and structured mentorship — the dominant incumbent against which all venture-building peers (including Imprint Lab) are benchmarked for deal flow and founder credibility.
Others
- MaRS Discovery District: MaRS is a large urban innovation hub offering programming, mentorship, and community to founders — an adjacent ecosystem participant that, like Imprint Lab's Psychic Temple hub, provides a physical location and curated programming to support early-stage companies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Imprint Lab social profiles
Digital presenceImprint Lab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Imprint Lab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Imprint Lab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Imprint Lab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments8 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Imprint Lab
What does Imprint Lab do?
Imprint Lab operates as a dual-entity creative incubator and venture lab. Imprint Venture Lab finds, funds, and stewards innovative startups and founder teams by providing strategic frameworks, brand strategy, positioning, integrated marketing, and operational support. Imprint Culture Lab produces global culture conferences and event series (including the flagship Unexpected Connections and the Imprint Presents talk series) that gather creative professionals, industry leaders, and founders to foster cross-disciplinary dialogue, cultural insight, and long-lasting collaborations.
Is Imprint Lab a public or private company?
Imprint Lab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Imprint Lab founded?
Imprint Lab was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Imprint Lab based?
Imprint Lab is headquartered in Long Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does Imprint Lab make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Incubation Services are the primary driver. The others are event Production.
Who are Imprint Lab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Science Inc., Idealab, Mucker Capital, gener8tor, Techstars, Dreamit Ventures and Plug and Play Tech Center. Broad incumbents are Newlab and Y Combinator. MaRS Discovery District is listed as an others.
Does Imprint Lab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Imprint Lab.
What industry is Imprint Lab in?
Imprint Lab's product category is Startup Incubation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAEAGAI, Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming), with a secondary code of EDANAKAI, Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects). Its NAICS code is 541618 and its SIC code is 8742.