REC Innovation Lab

What REC Innovation Lab does

REC Innovation Lab (Regional Entrepreneurship Center) is a startup incubator operated within San Diego Miramar College as part of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD), founded in 2021. The organization runs a 16-week intensive program that takes aspiring entrepreneurs from initial concept through to investor presentations, with the core curriculum delivered through formal college courses (BUSE 229A-D) that confer three transferable credits and an Induction Certificate upon completion. Its participant base is intentionally focused on underserved founders — women, people of color, veterans, and first-generation college students — drawing students from colleges across the San Diego region via the SDCCD enrollment system.

The program's core products include the Incubator Program itself, the REC Connect networking platform (therecconnect.com), and a mentorship service pairing student founders with CEOs, founders, and angel investors from the San Diego innovation ecosystem under a 'pay it forward' culture. Supporting service modules cover technical development (via partnerships with local code schools), legal assistance (via New Media Rights, LLC), professional video production (via We Are Kingdom Productions), branding and design, crowdfunding guidance, and one-on-one business advising through the SBDC partnership. AI and VR technologies are made available to participating founders as resources. The program culminates in an Innovation Showcase where startup teams present to industry leaders, venture capitalists, and angel investors.

REC's business model is structurally non-commercial: it generates no direct revenue from participants, takes no equity in participating startups, and charges no monthly fee beyond standard community college tuition. The program is funded through community college educational funding and grants, with institutional anchoring through SDCCD and Miramar College providing course credit frameworks, scholarships, and operational infrastructure. Distribution is driven by community-led and institutional channels — organic social media, workshops, the REC Connect platform, and SDCCD enrollment — rather than any paid acquisition motion.

Name

REC Innovation Lab

Legal name

REC Innovation Lab

Website

https://recinnovationlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

REC Innovation Lab is a non-profit startup incubator at San Diego Miramar College that runs a 16-week program providing mentorship, technical, legal, and business resources to underserved early-stage entrepreneurs and college students at no cost, without taking equity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubation / Entrepreneurship Education

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Startup incubation
• Entrepreneurship education
• Business mentorship
• Innovation programs
• Early-stage ventures

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Institution Funding: REC Innovation Lab operates as a program of San Diego Miramar College within the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD). It generates no direct revenue from startup participants and does not take equity. The program is funded through community college educational funding and grants, with participants only paying standard community college fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

REC Innovation Lab operates a free, cohort-based startup incubation and entrepreneurship education program at San Diego Miramar College. Its core deliverables are structured mentorship, an entrepreneurship curriculum, and community-building events designed for early-stage founders. The program additionally surfaces exposure to AI and VR technologies to support participant ventures.

Product overview

REC Innovation Lab operates as a startup incubator offering a unified program that combines mentorship, technical support, legal assistance, and educational services for early-stage entrepreneurs. The core offering is the 16-week intensive incubator program located at San Diego Miramar College, supplemented by the REC Connect networking platform and various support modules including professional video production, branding services, legal consultations, and educational workshops. The program targets diverse entrepreneurs including women, people of color, veterans, and first-generation college students, providing free services (no equity or monthly fees) alongside access to AI and VR technologies. Participants can earn academic recognition including certificates and transferable credits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Startup Incubation Program (cohort-based) A free, cohort-based startup incubation program for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs — primarily students and community members at San Diego Miramar College — delivering structured mentorship, entrepreneurship curriculum, and peer support to help participants ideate, validate, and launch ventures.
• REC Connect Community Platform An online community/networking platform for REC Innovation Lab founders, mentors, and alumni to stay connected, access resources, and support one another beyond active cohort participation.
• Founders' Roundtable Events Recurring in-person or virtual roundtable sessions where participating founders discuss venture progress, share feedback, and learn from mentors and peers.
• Pitch Practice Sessions Structured practice sessions where founders rehearse and refine their venture pitches in front of mentors and peers, preparing them for external investor and stakeholder presentations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Entrepreneurs completing the program receive an Induction Certificate and three transferable course credits

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• New Media Rights, LLCcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNew Media Rights, LLC provides individual legal consultations to REC startup companies, offering critical legal support for startups including legal structures, intellectual property guidance, and regulatory compliance assistance.
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSBDC provides one-on-one meetings with entrepreneurs to help refine business strategies and manage and grow their operations. Existing business owners are invited to use free services offered in partnership with the SBDC.
• We Are Kingdom Productions (Mike Clark)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMike Clark from We Are Kingdom Productions provides professional video production services, creating high-quality promotional videos for each REC startup company.
• Local Code SchoolscoreTechnology or IntegrationLocal code schools partner with REC by pairing startups with coders and developers who help build apps or websites, providing technical development support for early-stage ventures.
• San Diego Miramar CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREC Innovation Lab is hosted on the campus of Miramar College as part of the San Diego Community College District, integrating students from colleges across San Diego into the startup ecosystem.
• San Diego Community College District (SDCCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe parent institution enabling REC's operations, providing educational framework, credits, and institutional infrastructure for the startup incubator program.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MassChallenge: Non-profit, non-equity global accelerator providing mentorship and resources to early-stage startups; closely mirrors REC's equity-free, support-heavy model.
• Village Capital: Impact-focused, non-equity accelerator supporting underestimated founders; comparable to REC in mission alignment with diverse and underserved entrepreneurs.
• Halcyon: Non-profit impact incubator supporting social entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds; directly comparable in mission, equity-free model, and emphasis on diverse founders.
• gener8tor: Non-equity startup accelerator network offering mentorship-driven programs to early-stage founders; directly comparable to REC's no-equity, mentor-supported cohort model.
• Black Founders Fund (Included VC): Diversity-focused startup support initiative funding and mentoring Black and underrepresented founders; directly comparable to REC's mission focus on founders of color.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Large global accelerator network providing mentorship and capital to early-stage startups; broader incumbent in the same accelerator category that REC operates in.
• Y Combinator: Largest and most recognized startup accelerator; broader incumbent that defines the cohort-based accelerator model REC adapts to a community-college context.
• 500 Global: Global venture fund and accelerator investing in early-stage founders across geographies; broader incumbent serving a similar founder-development role.

Emerging players

• Newlab: Innovation hub providing venture-building programs and resources to early-stage technology startups; comparable as an emerging incubator-format player.

Others

• Small Business Development Center (SBDC): Nationwide SBA-affiliated network providing free advisory and education to small business owners; already a partner of REC and serves an adjacent, complementary role in the early-founder support ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@RECInnovationlab
• Facebookfacebook.com/RECInnovationLab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rec-innovation-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about REC Innovation Lab