Startup Studio Spotlight: Devland
Welcome to another Startup Studio Spotlight feature! In each spotlight, we cover a different startup studio, their history, current projects and successes, and a discussion with the team. In our last spotlight, we chatted with eFounders on their approach to developing B2B SaaS startups.
In this spotlight, we spoke with Devland, a startup studio based in Houston, TX. Founded in 2016 by Miles Dotson and Devon Fanfair, Devland has established itself as a disruptor, building innovative startups designed to scale.
Recent notable portfolio companies and projects include:
- Content X is a program built to explore new concepts with entrepreneurs, creators, and technologists that are developing paths to integrate technology in the immersive media space.
- There are emerging opportunities on the horizon where gaming and additional use cases around immersive technology begin entering our daily life in a way that is normal and consistent.
- Devland envisions this happening in the form of telepresence, spatial audio, as well as new vision and imaging technology.
- Wildfires are a global threat impacting air quality and putting lives and assets in danger. If unaddressed, asset damages in the next 20 years are projected to reach $300 billion annually.
- Devland is developing industry-leading solutions for wildfire response using autonomous vehicle technology, computer vision, robotics, photonics, and advanced algorithms.
- With the help of leading research institutions and a talented team of advanced venture builders, Devland is aggressively pursuing five solutions to this industry category in the next six years.
As you’ll read further into the interview, Devland has a mission that they hold near and dear to their heart. At their core, Devland strives to empower minority entrepreneurs to develop socially responsible startups.
Without further ado, let’s kick off this spotlight interview!
Interview:
Q1: What sets you apart from the rest of the competition in the startup studio space?
Response: Devland is focused on the illumination of founders who are not located in coastal hubs or have not historically had ease of access to capital to grow businesses. We work with clients from all around the country, and we develop concepts that are equally aligned with the entrepreneurs’ level of maturity and expertise.
We stage, review, and analyze the project’s synergy in real-time to remove as many hurdles as possible before moving into the launch phase.
Q2: How has the startup studio model allowed you and your studio’s companies to navigate the pandemic?
Response: It has been a tough experience. Several companies and three of our internal projects were faced with internal challenges due to interruption of travel and markets which was a big blowback.
Our industry focus has sharpened, and now we have been able to build traction in industry 4.0 categories and attract new stakeholders that are helping to make our model more portable. If we take a project that grows, we take our work to where they are, team members are spread across the country and in the process of launching in other locations.
Q3: How would you describe your studio’s approach to developing new ideas? What services do you offer your startups?
Response: Our team represents amazing gifted engineers, academic researchers, computer scientists, people builders, and tenured business leaders. We support entrepreneurs with our combined knowledge and overflow support by advisors and mentors.
We provide the supporting shared services structure including industry partnerships, university relationships, over $1M in startup perks, and a direct funding path so that entrepreneurs in our studio do not have to waste bandwidth fundraising.
Q4: How do you source your clients, and how do you decide which ideas to take into your studio for further development?
Response: We source clients through events, conference speeches, and content about entrepreneurship and digital marketing. We have launched an “open pitch” series where we invite entrepreneurs from different backgrounds in open sessions with the intent to encourage entrepreneurs to vocalize their ideas and be open to feedback.
Our application requests entrepreneurs provide three idea opportunities they are willing to investigate. This allows us to assist the entrepreneur in choosing a path that shows validation signals from the beginning. Devland has also joined several undergraduate-sourced programs to create a fit bridge to help college students explore their career opportunities with our mentorship and provide the necessary tools to learn the core of entrepreneurship and launching a business in a real setting.
Q5: What unique benefits does the startup studio model provide entrepreneurs?
Response: We work to validate and iron out the idea from start to a place of early traction. After launch, our goal is to have created a space for the entrepreneur to thrive. Upon entering the market we pivot from contributing actively to operations to helping position new personnel and resources that will help the company scale up. The primary benefit of the studio is being able to mature the cash flow used in a business without tranche, optimize the lead entrepreneur’s contribution, taking fundraising and other distractions away to focus on building something of value for people or other businesses.
We hope you enjoyed this spotlight feature of Devland! We’d like to thank the Devland team for contributing to this spotlight. It was a pleasure hearing from the studio about their latest projects. We can’t wait to see what new, exciting startups they will develop next. With an already impressive portfolio of disruptive startup projects set in motion, we know that this startup studio team is destined for great things!
Want to know more about what this startup studio is all about? Check out their manifesto and discover the values upon which they built their studio and subsequent startups.
Stay tuned for more upcoming startup studio spotlight features and learn more about the startup studio model by subscribing to Startup Studio Insider and following us on social media.
