There has been an explosion of new ideas, startups, and outside groups in-and-around the Democratic Party over the past two years. Higher Ground Labs has helped focused, disciplined founders begin to build profitable, high-impact companies that are now saving thousands of campaigns time and money. I’m as ecstatic about the surge of innovation and entrepreneurship as I am anxious over our collective ability to endure and sustain ourselves cycle-over-cycle.
We believe that for-profit startups can serve as a cornerstone of progressive technology and innovation. Over the past two years, we have diligenced hundreds of start-ups and led investments into 40…
Higher Ground Labs started as an experiment. Progressive politics was not innovating quickly enough to keep pace with broader technological change and shifts in American attention. Presidential campaigns historically served as the only hubs for innovation, and their episodic reality prevented new technologies from having lasting impacts. If progressives were to realize an enduring electoral majority, it had to be built on the backs of campaigns and causes armed with world-class modern technology tools.
In 2017 and 2018, we raised $5.0 million and seeded 27 start-ups against this theory. We wedded private-capital to talented founders and provided programming, mentorship, business…
Shomik Dutta
Co-Founder, Higher Ground Labs
