Elevator Labs raises $20 million for LA-based ideas

New idea incubator and product factory secures initial funding from KGC Capital

Idea incubator Elevator Labs, founded by former Virgin Digital executives Zack Zalon and Brendon Cassidy, announced Thursday that it has raised $20 million in initial funding from KGC Capital.

Here’s the elevator pitch from... Elevator Labs:

“We believe strongly in the power of ideas. The core belief of Elevator Labs is that the right idea executed at the right time – and in the right way – is the only proven key to building value,” said Zalon. “Our mission is to apply our vision to value methodology, working intimately with our portfolio companies to create meaningful businesses that stand for innovation; that drive revenue; and most importantly that have a positive impact on people’s lives.”

The company also plans to focus on Los Angeles-based innovators specifically seeking to extend that culture of innovation to existing Los Angeles technology, media and government organizations.

Here are three startups already in Elevator’s portfolio:

Fat Cloud, currently in invite-only private beta, aims to “supercharge” Microsoft.NET by providing management tools for high-performance .NET applications.

Hello Music wants to help artists attain the same “industry opportunities” available to musicians signed on record labels, especially in regards to equipment, recording time and distribution.

Wilshire Media Group is an interactive product agency connecting brands with consumers digitally. Clients include the likes of AOL, Comcast and Yahoo.

Elevator Labs says that even more ventures are in the works, though they won’t be announced for a few months.

The organization is part of what seems like a growing trend toward not just incubating businesses but incubating ideas too. Firespotter, a group that launched in May with funding from Google Ventures, places all the focus on taking an idea, quickly developing that idea into reality and seeing how it fares in the real world with real people.