FAQs

Two weeks at a camp in the woods just outside of NYC where you build, test, and pitch your company on camera, alongside John and Vitalii, visiting founders and investors, and about a hundred other founders doing the same thing.

Sunday, October 4 to Monday, October 19, 2026 at The Acres, 3287 Hancock Highway, Equinunk, PA 18417. It is a private 400-acre camp about two hours from Manhattan.

Thirty founding teams, the Stan team, a production crew, and the team hosting you at camp, Allaway. Your group has a Stan counselor. They are your first call for anything about the program.

Nope! All you need to cover is getting yourself to New York for a 9am sharp pickup on Oct 4. Housing, meals, and the bus to and from New York are covered from there.

Everything you need is on site. If you urgently need something we do not have, tell your counselor, and we will sort it.

Outside alcohol, drugs, weapons, pets, drones, and open flames anywhere other than the designated fire areas that are managed by the camp staff. Smoking is in designated areas only.

Everyone arrives together on Sunday, October 4. Buses leave 10 Hudson Yards, New York, NY 10001 at 9:00 AM sharp and reach The Acres late morning. Allaway staff checks you in at the bus.

Land on Saturday, October 3 and stay the night in New York City so you make the 9:00 AM bus.

Buses return to 10 Hudson Yards on Monday, October 19, leaving camp in the morning at 10 AM. If you need to leave early, talk to your counselor. Individual transport off property is arranged case by case and may carry a cost.

A welcome from the Stan team, a short walk so you know where everything is, lunch, then your cabin and your bags before you meet John and Vitalii and get your first challenge.

Heated, with attached bathrooms, up to four people per cabin in full-size beds. Every bed has linens, a pillow, and towels. Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are provided.

Founders room together by gender. Your assignment is waiting when you arrive.

Yes, 3x during your stay on specific days. You get a laundry bag on arrival. Put everything in it before you head to breakfast that morning and it comes back to you the next day. Linens are changed twice as well, and housekeeping comes regularly through during the run.

Three meals a day in the Lodge, plus delivered and self-serve snacks throughout the day.

The Lodge and the Barn have snack and drink stations, stocked every day. Espresso drinks are available in the Airstream (next to the Barn) and Cafe Lounge, the camp store has additional snacks available for purchase, as well as essentials you may have forgotten that you'd get at a Target. Late-night (keep building fuel) snacks will also be provided at the Lodge.

Not day-to-day. There will be a couple of celebratory moments for guests 21 and over, with ID. Outside alcohol is not permitted on property.

Tell us in your signup form, and you are covered. The Acres has a dedicated dietary chef with your name and needs on file before you arrive. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options are at every meal, and the kitchen is nut-free.

The Barn is HQ. Each team has a round table, and access to basic office needs and printing on request.

Free, fast, and property-wide. Push big uploads from the Barn or the Lodge rather than your cabin (where wifi can dip a bit). Cell service is strong on Verizon and spotty on AT&T and T-Mobile, so lean on wifi.

John and Vitalii hold office hours in the Cafe Lounge, most days. Sign up on the whiteboard in the Lodge: write your team's name, show up.

HDMI and AirPlay screens are shared across the workspaces on a sign-out. Bring a USB-C to HDMI adapter if your laptop needs one. Ask your counselor for printing.

Quiet hours start at 10:00 PM in cabins and common areas. The Barn, the Lodge and the Lounge stay open around the clock for late work and snacks.

A lake with kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and a fishing dock. Pickleball, tennis, basketball and beach volleyball. A ropes course, climbing wall and archery. Eight miles of trails, a gym, a heated pool and campfires. Mornings have hikes; evenings vary, some are campfire nights, some you will want to work. There's plenty to do, but also, shouldn't you be building right now?

The fitness center, tennis courts and basketball courts are open any time. The waterfront, pool, ropes course, climbing wall and archery are open only when The Acres team is staffing them.

October in the Poconos: highs in the 50s and 60s, lows in the 30s and 40s, rain about a third of the days. Mornings are cold and foggy over the lake. Afternoons are often gorgeous. Pack for a little bit of everything, layers win.

Every morning at 7:30 there's something optional before breakfast: a hike, a run, yoga, a lake swim, paddleboarding. Show up at the meeting point or sleep in, your call.

No. Any physical activity is optional, and a non-physical alternative is always available.

Think summer camp in autumn, not a hotel. If you cannot live without it, bring it.

• Layers: a fleece or hoodie you will live in, a warm jacket for campfire nights, a rain jacket
• Closed-toe shoes that can get muddy, plus something comfortable for long days in the Barn
• Laptop, chargers, headphones (noise-cancelling if you have them), a power bank, and any adapters you actually use
• Prescription medication, and your own epi-pen or inhaler if you carry one
• Toiletries beyond the basics. We provide shampoo, conditioner and body wash
• Something warm to sleep in. Cabins are heated, but you are in the woods
• Swimsuit and workout clothes if you will use them, a hat and sunscreen for the good days
• Hair dryer, steamer or iron if they matter to your day-to-day
• Linens and towels are provided. Bring your own if you prefer (full-size beds)

Your Launchpad kit is on your bed when you arrive.

The Acres has wilderness first responders, lifeguards, and medical staff on site. Bring your prescription medication with you. Over-the-counter medication is available for purchase. An emergency vehicle and driver are available 24/7, and the nearest hospital is 18 minutes away.

Yes. The Acres is gated with 24-hour armed security, roaming and at the entrance, with cameras throughout. Only registered attendees are allowed on site, and The Acres team is on property for the whole run.

Mornings start in the Barn with John and Vitalii setting the day. Then you work. Challenges land through the two weeks. Speakers and investors visit, and you will know that morning. The daily agenda lives on the Launchpad home base and on the board in the Lodge.

You stay. Every team is at camp through October 19 with full access to housing, meals, activities and the Barn. Eliminated teams keep building in their own workroom, your counselor still checks in, and John and Vitalii's morning sessions are recorded so you do not miss them.

The Official Rules, which every accepted team receives and signs, govern the prize and the judging. Demo Day is Sunday, October 18. Stan takes no equity in your company, and any investment from the panel is at the investor's discretion.

Launchpad is filmed from check-in to checkout. Cameras are in the Barn, at meals, at the campfire and around the property. Assume you're on camera most of the time.

Never in bathrooms or showers. Not inside your cabin unless you invite the crew in. If you need a moment off camera, tell any crew member and they will give it to you.

Yes. Your own phone content is yours. Be a good neighbor about other teams' screens and whiteboards. Everyone's IP is live in the same room.

Anything that changes is posted here the night before, or announced at morning kickoff. It's also on the Today at Launchpad board in the Lodge.

Yes. You keep your phone. Use is limited during filming times, and results are under embargo: do not share outcomes until Stan releases them.

Demo Day is on Sunday, October 18, in the Barn, with invited investors. The start time is confirmed at kickoff. Any interest an investor shows, on camera or off, is non-binding until you both sign a written agreement, negotiated off camera. Stan does not guarantee any investment.

Your laptop, charger and a backup of your deck on a drive.

You do. You and your company keep everything you build. Stan's rights are limited to program footage, under the Participant Agreement.

In order: your signed Participant Agreement (including the media release and code of conduct), then the Official Rules. Stan may change the format or schedule during the program; this page is kept current.

During camp: your Stan counselor for anything about the program, and The Acres line at 570-493-2280 for anything about the property or in-room needs. Scan any QR code on property for the Launchpad homebase (launchpad-camp.stan.com): the map, the daily agenda, and this FAQ.