Redemptive Labs FAQ

WHAT IS PRAXIS?
Praxis is a venture-building ecosystem with a redemptive imagination, supporting founders, funders, and innovators motivated by their faith to address the major issues of our time. Learn more about what we mean by redemptive here. Our ecosystem began with a single Accelerator program to support faith-motivated founders in 2010, and has grown to support over 200 ventures across 43 countries. We lead several programs, develop content and frameworks to broadly support entrepreneurs, and have a long-term focused community that works to build redemptive ventures together.
INTERESTED IN HOSTING A LAB?
If you’re currently leading a city-based ecosystem, you understand that hosting gatherings and experiences for entrepreneurs is incredibly meaningful but hard work. Hosting a Lab will support you in creating a venture-building ecosystem in your city, but it will take dedication and a lot of time to organize. It’s important that you consider all of the factors in hosting a Lab before you take on the commitment.
WHAT IS A LAB?
A Lab is a 3-day, 2-night venture development event to support and form Christian entrepreneurs. It is hosted by a Labs Team at an offsite location and includes a small group of humble and ambitious Christian founders. Local mentors with senior leadership experience are invited into a single-day mentoring experience, featuring plenary interviews, group discussions, and one-on-ones with founders. Across the gathering, founders are introduced to the Redemptive Frame, share vision presentations, discuss the content of the Praxis Redemptive Playbooks, and synthesize their learnings for personal and venture application. Lab Teams are encouraged to customize their experience as either a Nonprofit Lab or Business Lab for sector-specific application of the redemptive framework.
WHAT A LAB IS NOT:
- A Lab is not just a faith and work conversation. Its purpose is to gather entrepreneurs to pursue redemptive venture building.
- A Lab is not a marketing or networking event. Its goal is learning and building together, therefore it is not a gathering for selling products or services, regardless of if you are hosting or attending the Lab.
- A Lab is not organized by or for special-interest groups, such as those aligned with particular political, denominational, or commercial agendas.
- A Lab is not a profit-generating event; a Lab cannot be used for fundraising purposes.
- A Lab is an independently organized event and is not to be co-branded with another organization, regardless of who might be supporting it.
- A Lab is not a platform for individual thought leaders or speakers (including coaches or consultants).
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A LAB TEAM?
Praxis looks to partner with place-minded builders who have a passion to see redemptive entrepreneurship advanced in their context. Each location should have a team of 2 people who are trained and work together to run Labs. We look for:
- Humble and ambitious Christian builders with entrepreneurial experience, a desire to serve founders, and help them integrate the Redemptive Framework
- Convening power with founders, mentors, and funders in their city.
- Visionary, yet action-oriented individuals, who are able to execute a world-class experience
- A team of 2 with complementary skill sets (1) a Lead who is ultimately responsible for the license, vision, budget, recruiting and (2) an Integrator who leads planning and execution.
- Leaders with an existing or emerging network of founders, funders, and mentors
- Individuals who are connected to (or working for) strategically aligned organizations that will engage and collaborate with Labs hosts in building their ecosystems
- Leaders who enjoy hospitality and community-building
- Leaders who have long-term aim for an ecosystem of redemptive entrepreneurship, beyond a single Lab gathering
Labs are not a fit for individuals:
- Interested in hosting a Lab to build their own leadership brand or platform
- Working in communities not focused on entrepreneurship, but instead interested in taking the Labs content and tailoring it to other workplace applications (faith and work experiences, leadership development programs, etc.)
- Seeking to use the Lab brand to platform other organizations serving entrepreneurs or investors (conferences, networks, Accelerators, investing groups, financial services, etc.)
- Associated with extremist organizations
WHAT SHOULD A HOST CONSIDER PRIOR TO FORMING A LAB?
‍While we encourage anyone interested in hosting a Lab to apply for a license, it is important to evaluate if you and your community are resourced appropriately and ready to commit to hosting a Lab.

Here are some questions to consider:
- Is our ecosystem mature enough to support a Lab through a critical mass of interested founders, funders, mentors?
- If you as host are not also an entrepreneur, broadly defined, is there a founder in the community ready to spearhead the effort to launch a Lab?
- How will the Lab model further a local venture-building ecosystem?
- Do I and others on a “core team” have the bandwidth and capacity to go through the required Labs training, planning, and execution processes?
- Do we have the financial and physical resources required to host a Lab?
HOW ARE LABS FUNDED?
Labs are designed by Praxis, but independently hosted by the local Labs Team. The Labs Team is responsible for the costs involved with running a Lab. The good news is Praxis has done several things to help:
- The Labs Team Training is free. Labs Teams just need to pay for their transportation and lodging (2 nights) for the in-person training event in New York City.
- All templates, tools, content and the Labs License are offered for no cost.
- The local Labs Team can (at their discretion) charge a program fee to the founders who are going through the Lab. The program fee is for the operational costs of running the Lab only (lodging, meals, transportation costs) and not meant to pay staff or make a profit.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED WITH RUNNING A LAB?
The cost to run a Lab may vary greatly based on your location and the decisions you make as a team. We encourage Labs Teams to do research on the following to develop an estimated budget:
- Transportation to NYC for training
- 2 nights of Lodging in NYC for training (estimate ~$350 per room, per night)
- Labs venue for a 3 day, 2 night event with lodging for 10-20 people depending on the size of your Lab
- Labs meals (2 dinners, 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, plus optional snacks and drinks)
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE IN A LOCAL LAB?
There are 3 groups of people involved with the Lab: The Labs Team that runs the event, Founders who are going through the Lab, and Mentors.‍
- The Labs Team: typically includes 3 people (a Lead, an Integrator, and a Host)
- Founders: we recommend starting off with 6, but there can be as many as 12.
- Mentors: you'll need a 1:1 ratio between mentors:founders (6 founders = 6 mentors).
- In total, most Labs will have 15-20 people. They are meant to be small, curated gatherings where the group has the chance to go deep with one another and know everyone in the room.
WHAT SHOULD A LABS TEAM LOOK FOR WHEN RECRUITING FOUNDERS AND MENTORS?
During the Labs Team Training, the local Labs Team gets several tools to empower them to recruit and invite founders and mentors to their Lab. Here are some general guidelines for each.

Labs are meant to serve Founders:‍
- of Businesses or Nonprofits (depending on the type of Lab being hosted) who are the lead decision makers
- who are building ventures (organizations vs. solo entrepreneurs) that are past the idea stage — generally 1–3 years in and gaining some traction (this will vary depending on the Lab)
- seeking to apply the Redemptive Frame to all aspects of their venture and leadership
Labs seek to find Mentors:
- who have deep experience as a founder of a venture that has experienced significant growth and gone through the ups and downs, so they can empathize with the founders experience
- who are familiar with the Redemptive Framework and seeking to live in to it in their life and work; or if they are not familiar with the framework, it's something they resonate with and there's evidence that they've already lived their life in line with the principles
- have specific experience and insights on Redemptive Strategy (if Business: Products, Brand; Nonprofit: Story, Programs) or Redemptive Operations (if Business: Culture, Business Model, Partnerships; Nonprofit: Team, Board, Funding)
- are familiar with the role of a mentor as one who seeks to come alongside founders to help them by asking great questions, sharing observations and experiences, and looking for ways to help
HOW DOES THE MENTOR MODEL WORK AND DO RELATIONSHIPS CARRY ON AFTER THE LAB?
The Mentor experience is designed to be able to engage even the most busy people for a concise yet impactful experience. Mentors just join the Lab for Day 2 from 8am - 8pm, so they do not have to do an overnight.
Additionally, there is no commitment for Mentors to carry on relationships after a Lab. The experience is designed for organic relationships to begin that could potentially carry on, but there is no expectation or obligation to do so. We simply ask that Mentors will close the loop on anything that was discussed with Founders during the event (ex: a Mentor tells a Founder they could introduce them to someone).
HOW DOES THE LABS LICENSE WORK?
Labs are designed by Praxis but hosted locally by a Labs Team who have gone through the Labs Team Training. As part of the training, the Labs Team submits an implementation plan. Upon approval, they are granted a Labs License.
The Labs License allows the Team to host Labs in their location for 1 year. Locations are typically at the city level (i.e. Austin, TX; Nairobi, Kenya). Teams commit to a minimum of 1 Lab during the year, but can host as many as they would like.
In the months leading up to the License ending, the Praxis team meets with Labs Team to discuss renewal.
Licenses are free of cost to the Labs Team.
I’M READY TO HOST A LAB. WHAT ARE THE FIRST STEPS?
To host, you'll first need to complete Labs Team Training and be granted a Labs License. Labs Team Training sessions are published here. Those interested should submit an Interest Form and let us know which sessions you're available to join. Labs Teams are invited to the trainings on a rolling basis until seats are full.

Please share your interest in the next Labs training through this interest form.
WHAT IS THE LAB EVENT AGENDA?
Day One:
5:30PM Founder Arrivals & Check-In
6:00PM Welcome, Dinner, and Introductions
7:30PM Personal Story Sharing
Day TWO:
8:00AM Breakfast & Mentor Arrivals
8:30AM Welcome & Introductions
9:45AM Venture Pitches
10:30AM Strategy Interview & Discussion
11:30AM Operations Interview & Discussion
12:30PM Lunch
1:30PM Founder : Mentor 1:1s (4 sessions)
4:30PM Break & Happy Hour
5:30PM Dinner
7:30PM Mentor Thank Yous & Departures
8:00PM Founder Social Time
Day Three:
8:15AM Breakfast
9:00AM Leadership Session
10:15AM Reflection & Synthesis
11:00AM Founder Departures

Frequently Asked QuestionsLabs

WHAT IS PRAXIS?

INTERESTED IN HOSTING A LAB?

WHAT IS A LAB?

WHAT A LAB IS NOT:

WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A LAB TEAM?

WHAT SHOULD A HOST CONSIDER PRIOR TO FORMING A LAB?

HOW ARE LABS FUNDED?

WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED WITH RUNNING A LAB?

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE IN A LOCAL LAB?

WHAT SHOULD A LABS TEAM LOOK FOR WHEN RECRUITING FOUNDERS AND MENTORS?

HOW DOES THE MENTOR MODEL WORK AND DO RELATIONSHIPS CARRY ON AFTER THE LAB?

HOW DOES THE LABS LICENSE WORK?

I’M READY TO HOST A LAB. WHAT ARE THE FIRST STEPS?

WHAT IS THE LAB EVENT AGENDA?

Day One:

Day TWO:

Day Three:

Frequently Asked Questions
Labs

**WHAT A LAB IS NOT:**