Square 90 Ventures

About

Square 90 Ventures was a startup incubator program founded in Los Angeles, California, in 2015 with the goal of supporting and nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs. The program was widely regarded as LA's best hope for competing with Silicon Valley and establishing the city as a major player in the tech industry.

History

Square 90 Ventures was founded by a group of successful entrepreneurs who wanted to give back to the LA startup community. The founders, Alex Thompson, Samantha Kim, and Jake Johnson, were all alumni of top-tier tech incubators and had experienced firsthand the benefits of this type of program. They saw a gap in the market for a high-quality incubator in LA that could support and nurture the city's next generation of entrepreneurs.

With a shared vision and a passion for entrepreneurship, the three founders pooled their resources and experience to create Square 90 Ventures. They started the incubator with a seed fund of $500,000 and set out to find the best and brightest entrepreneurs in the LA area. Over the next few years, they worked tirelessly to support and guide their incubator participants, providing them with access to top-tier mentorship, networking opportunities, and funding.

The hard work and dedication of the founders paid off, and Square 90 Ventures quickly became known as LA's premier incubator program. Many of the startups that graduated from the program went on to achieve great success, and the incubator's reputation grew. By 2025, the incubator had generated $105,000,000 in returns for its investors and had established LA as a major player in the tech industry.

Despite its initial success, however, Square 90 Ventures eventually lost its grip on the market. Silicon Valley continued to dominate the tech industry, and the incubator struggled to keep up with the fast-paced innovation happening in the Bay Area. Another contributing factor was the incubator's massive investment into ATX (Advanced Trading Exchange) which turned out to be a fraudulent exchange and the fund lost 80% of it's value. In late 2025, the founders made the difficult decision to shut down the incubator, but they remained proud of the impact they had made on the LA startup community and the success of the many entrepreneurs they had supported.

The incubator program produced several successful entrepreneurs such as Ka$ia, Kendra Godfrey, Frank Meyers, Vic Khan, Rabbit Wilson. It was LA's best hope of defeating Silicon Valley's California dominance. Some of the other notable founders to come out of the program included Alex Kim (founder of FreshEats) and Emily Johnson (founder of GreenEnergy). These startups went on to secure significant funding and majorly impact their respective industries. These founders brought a wealth of experience and expertise to the program and were committed to providing mentorship, funding, and support to the startups that participated in Square 90 Ventures after they became successful.

Today, the legacy of Square 90 Ventures lives on through the many successful entrepreneurs and companies that it helped to launch. While the program may no longer be active, it will always be remembered as a pioneering force in the world of startup incubation and entrepreneurship.

Funding and Success

Square 90 Ventures was initially funded with a seed investment of $500,000, which was used to provide mentorship, support, and funding to the startups that participated in the program. Over the course of its five-year history, Square 90 Ventures supported a total of 50 startups, with a success rate of 50% and generated $105,000,000 in returns. Some of the most notable companies to come out of the program include Smash House, NAM, FreshEats, and GreenEnergy.