Atlanta is home to a new venture studio.
Brightlane Labs, just launched by veterans of the local technology and enterprise scene, is designed to build B2B fintech startups from the ground up. Unlike other venture models that are popular in the startup world, Brightlane Labs looks to build “validated, market-ready ventures that solve industry problems from Day 1,” the team said in a press statement.
The studio’s first wave of ventures will target FinTech ideas around compliance automation, risk oversight, and trust-driven operational resilience.
Behind Brightlane Labs is Co-Founder & CEO Chris Johnson, Co-Founder & CEO, Co-Founder & Managing Partner Barclay Keith, and Managing Partner Alex Han, all Atlanta-based entrepreneurs.
Johnson previously served as an EVP at Momnt, where Keith served as the CEO from 2019-2024. Han previously served as the Director of Innovation & GM of New Ventures at Cox Communications.
As Brightlane Labs gets underway, the team is looking to connect with FinTech investors, financial institutions, and founders. Following the launch, we dug into the platform, what the team is looking to build, and what is next for Brightlane Labs.
Here is a look at our Q&A with Alex Han:
Question: Do you have a target of the number of FinTech companies you are looking to create (in first year,
Answer: “We are targeting to spin out 3-5 ventures in our first year (distilled from hundreds of ideas and multiple validation tests prior to spin out), and we would look to grow that volume in future years if all goes according to plan.”
Question: What makes targeting technologies that will help banks and credit unions under $10B in assets the most interesting for your team?
“It’s a space that our team (Chris and Barclay) have deep domain expertise in, and have seen first-hand how hard it is to operate in. From a mission perspective, banks and credit unions
Question: I see you have some upcoming ventures listed on your website. What was the process of testing/validating those initial ideas?
“We proceed systematically through ideation -> validation -> launch. Ideation: we have a network of operators within our target market, and we tap directly into the problems they face and the inefficiencies they deal with. We are also in the process of leveraging this network to build up our Industry Design Partner community – this will effectively act as an engine to help us uncover ideas directly from our target market. We layer on top of this our own studio research (primary and secondary) to look forward and see what needs may come in the future that our market have to deal with. Validation: We are an AI-native studio, meaning we leverage the latest tools across just about everything we do. We are also hypothesis-driven. The combination of these allows us to quickly spin up working prototypes that solve for our value hypotheses. We then test these rigorously against our target market. We ask for initial feedback, iterate, release, and repeat until we’re comfortable we’ve gotten to a true MVP that delivers on a key value hypothesis. Launch: with the confidence that we have signs of product-market fit, we then leverage the industry partners to “hot-launch” our ventures into institutions that have already been using the solution in its early form. A great part about having a focused market, is that our channels and partnerships get stronger with each startup we spin out which also creates a value proposition for the Founders we bring in to take the startups forward.”
Question: Where is Brightlane’s funding coming from?
“We have existing runway from our core team, but we are planning to issue a friends/family round to accelerate our operations and our venture building. We would also be looking for investors to have conversations with to further accelerate what we’re doing!”
Question: Why did you pick the name Brightlane?
“Brightlane has been with Chris for a number of years and has been a strong presence within the FinTech space (mostly on the consulting side helping to launch banks, solve operational challenges, etc.), but we are intending to have Brightlane Labs be the primary name and brand going forward. Brightlane represents a continuation of the strength and impact that Chris has had within the FinTech space, and also represents our mission of democratizing growth for these community banks and credit unions. Putting them on a fast track to a brighter future.”
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