BAD IDEASBuild with us

●3 experiments open — 2026

BAD
IDEAS.

There are no bad ideas.
Only untested ones.

A venture studio that builds, tests and backs new companies.

We turn ideas into real products, put them in front of real people, and let the data decide what deserves more time and capital.

Most will fail. We're looking for the ones that don't.

See what we're testing ↓Pitch a bad idea
Build it before you believe it. /// Bad ideas welcome. /// Most of this won't work. Good. /// Data > opinions. /// Prove it. /// Kill it or fund it. /// No pitch deck can save bad data. /// Ideas don't deserve companies. Traction does.
02Methodology

We don't
guess.

Every experiment gets put in front of the people who would actually use it. Behavior decides. Not instinct, not a deck, not us.

Case study / Customer validationLive data coming soon

Live data coming soon.

Nothing goes on this page until it's real.

03Philosophy

Ideas are cheap.

Building them isn't.

Anyone can have an idea.

We turn them into something people can actually use, buy, reject, love or ignore.

We prototype quickly. We put our own money behind them. We measure actual behavior.

And we try not to fall in love with our own bullshit.

Build→Test→Measure→Decide
04The Lab

Currently
in the lab.

Building things before we believe in them.

EXP #001BuildingStatus / Concept

Yes, Chef

FOOD / AI / COMMERCE

Anything can become a recipe.

The bet
People will turn food inspiration into grocery transactions if we eliminate the work between "I want that" and "I can make that."
Testing
Recipe/video → instructions → exact quantities → preferred retailer → cart.
Primary metric
Cart creation rate
Capital status
Initial experiment
Open the file →
EXP #002TestingStatus / Concept

Actually Good

MEDIA / COMMERCE

Is it actually worth buying?

The bet
Independent product testing can earn attention and convert that attention into commerce.
Testing
Products → honest review → content → purchase intent.
Primary metric
Revenue per 1,000 views / purchase conversion
Capital status
Initial experiment
Open the file →
EXP #003IdeaStatus / Concept

HomeStay

CONSUMER SERVICES / AGING

Stay home longer.

The bet
Families will pay recurring monthly revenue for a trusted household operating layer that helps older adults remain independent.
Primary metric
Paying households / MRR
Capital status
Research / queued
Open the file →
05How it works

We don't
start companies.

Not yet.

  1. 01 —

    Idea

    Something might be interesting.

    Ideas are worth almost nothing until tested.

  2. 02 —

    Experiment

    Build the smallest version capable of answering the biggest question.

    Days or weeks. Not years.

  3. 03 —

    Traction

    Real people use it, buy it, return to it or tell other people about it.

    Now it earns more time and capital.

  4. 04 —

    Venture

    Repeatability begins to emerge.

    Assign dedicated leadership, resources and additional capital.

  5. 05 —

    Company

    Independent company. Dedicated CEO. Dedicated team. Independent capitalization.

    Bad Ideas remains an owner and strategic partner.

06The Graveyard

The
graveyard.

Good ideas die here every day.

Most experiments shouldn't become companies.

That's the point.

Nothing here yet.

Give us a minute.

07Scoreboard

Keep
score.

Real numbers only. No pitch deck can save bad data.

00

Experiments

00

Graduated

00

Killed

—

Capital deployed

08Why Lucas

Who gave
this guy money?

Lucas Bradbury

Founder / Builder / Capital Allocator

Austin / San Antonio, Texas

The full file →

I've spent nearly two decades building businesses — from kitchens to boardrooms. I've operated and scaled companies, built brands, raised capital, bought businesses, sold businesses and made plenty of expensive mistakes along the way.

I've learned I'm most useful at the beginning.

Finding opportunities. Building concepts. Creating brands. Figuring out the economics. Getting things moving.

The goal isn't for me to become CEO of everything we build. It's to prove ideas and eventually put exceptional people in charge of the ones that work.

09What we build

What we
build.

We're industry agnostic.

Consumer. Software. AI. Commerce. Services. Media. Food. Things we haven't categorized yet.

We care less about what industry an idea belongs to and more about whether it solves something real, can be tested quickly, and has the potential to become meaningful.

What gets our attention

Real problem
Someone actually gives a shit.
Fast test
The core assumption can be tested without burning millions.
Asymmetric upside
If we're right, this can become substantially larger than the experiment required to prove it.
Distribution
There's a plausible way to reach customers.
Substance
We're not interested in building shit nobody needs because AI made it easy.
10The people we want

Come build
something weird.

Builders

Product / Engineering / AI / Design / Growth

Build with us →

Operators

Want to take something from traction to company?

Join the operator network →

Founders

Have something you can't stop thinking about?

Send us your bad idea →

Investors

Want to see what graduates from the lab?

Join the investor network →

Watch us
break things.

New experiments. Real numbers. Dead ideas. Occasional winners.

Have a
bad idea?

Ideas don't deserve companies. Traction does. But traction needs an idea first.

Send the bad idea →