Become a lab leader
Optimistic Labs is a platform for practitioners who are done choosing between independence and infrastructure. As a Lab Leader, you bring the expertise, the vision, and the relationships. We bring everything else.
The pitch
Most consultants and advisors hit the same ceiling. They're good at the work, but the overhead, the business development, the brand-building, the admin, all competes with the thing they actually want to do.
So they stay smaller than they should. Or they join a firm and trade autonomy for stability.
Now, there's a better option. Optimistic Labs is built for people who want to lead their own practice, and have a real team, a real brand, and real infrastructure behind them while they do it.
Proof
Led by Aliza Goodman. The first lab with a dedicated practice, and the model for how a lab leader brings the community while OL brings the apparatus.
Led by the OL co-founders. An impact-focused strategy studio and activation engine for institutions working to restore civic trust and advance policy through connection, clarity, and creativity.
A dynamic advisory and activation platform for the full philanthropic ecosystem, from major foundations and philanthropic investors to grassroots NGOs and emerging philanthropists.
How it works
Start with the mission and the people you already serve. Pitch us the lab you want to build: the vertical, the point of view, the community you have momentum with. This is a conversation, not an application.
We architect it together: the methodology, the packaged offerings and tiers, the positioning, and the co-branded lockup. Community has to be designed, so we design yours on purpose, not by accident.
Your lab goes to market with the strategy, platforms, brand, and trusted network behind it. You step into leadership on day one with the operating system already running underneath you.
We support the practice as it scales: demand generation, new offerings, shared learnings from across the ecosystem. Your lab gets stronger, and so does every lab next to it.
The economics
Lab Leaders earn a substantial percentage of direct client revenue, referral revenue for clients sent to other Labs, and profit-sharing in the platform as it grows.
Your existing contracts stay 100% yours, outside the platform arrangement entirely. New client work, renewals, and expansions are structured collaboratively during onboarding, with the goal of keeping as much income in your pocket as possible while sustaining the platform.
We're not taking a cut so you can use our logo. We're taking a cut because we're helping you sell, deliver, and grow.
Open Opportunities
Here are some of the labs we're sourcing for next. If you're interested in leading one of these labs, or are considering building one in a different vertical, apply today!
Who this is for
Lab leaders are experienced practitioners and community leaders, operators with a real audience and a real point of view who want to build a practice, not just a personal brand. If you've already earned trust in a community and you're ready to turn it into something durable, this is built for you.
Not ready to lead a Lab but want to plug in? We also work with subject matter experts on a more limited basis, as a spot consultant, facilitator, or fractional contributor to specific projects. See the ways to work with OL →
The team behind the platform
Seth believes there is tremendous power at the intersection of storytelling, community, and action. He brings more than 25 years across media, philanthropy, and civic leadership, most recently as Chief Impact Officer at Forbes, where he founded the Forbes Impact Lab, and before that at the Schusterman Family Philanthropies.
Liz believes strong communities depend on strong, easy-to-use systems. She designs the operational foundations that let communities grow, drawing on more than a decade across SaaS, emergency management, and GovTech, most recently as VP of Customer Success at Forerunner.
Lauren is a political theorist and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and co-founder of the Excelsior Center for Civic Innovation. She advises Optimistic Labs on pluralism, narrative change, and civic capacity-building, drawing on nearly two decades of scholarship and two published books.
Aliza believes lasting communities are built on infrastructure, not just inspiration. She brings more than 20 years designing and scaling professional development programs in Jewish and Israel education, including 16 years as a senior leader at The iCenter for Israel Education, where she built two of the field's most recognized programs. She holds an MBA in Social Policy and Management and an MA in Jewish Professional Leadership from Brandeis University.
Plus a trusted network of fractional executives and specialists who support our clients across strategy, technology, content, and community operations.
Questions
That window is open now. The platform is being built with early Lab Leaders, which means you get a hand in shaping it, better economics, and first access to the client and referral network as it grows.