HOW WE ADD VALUE

A peer group of exceptional potential

Finding the right cofounder has the potential to exponentially accelerate your trajectory. At EF, our best cofounding teams more than double each other’s productivity.

To facilitate this process we curate cohorts of exceptional, hand selected talent from leading academic institutions and tech communities around the world, allowing you to find a cofounder that matches your potential and complements your skills. 

Importantly, everyone on the program is ready to found RIGHT NOW. We only select those who are fully dedicated to building a company, having forsaken impressive alternative career opportunities elsewhere. We offer full commitment from a peer group of the exceptional. That’s our unparalleled promise.

Over the course of the first 8 weeks we encourage people to form and reform teams at pace, allowing founders to test the productivity of their cofounder relationships freely without the stigma or hurdles of breaking up. Part of this team building process also enables founders to quickly iterate and develop their ideas alongside other talented individuals.

Individual support from a dedicated Talent Investor

Our Talent Investors are responsible for identifying people with extraordinary potential and catalyzing them towards creating a generation-defining startup. They are your trusted partner through the earliest parts of the startup journey, making sure you achieve extraordinary results. Talent Investors are experts in the field and have worked with thousands of founders on building the right idea, amplifying founders’ ambition, and providing guidance and support where needed. 

They’ve developed a unique instinct and taste for what good looks like and are there to help hold you accountable. They are your greatest ally and will go above and beyond to support you along the way; sharing their own experience, knowledge, and ambition to achieve your mutual goal of success.

Access to world class advisors

The best advisors are those that have deep experience and a strong relationship with the founders they work with. Our advisors are former founders and operators and will push you to greatness by challenging your assumptions and progress during your weekly check-ins. 

When you join EF, you will gain access to more than 50 leading experts globally. These advisors have all started, grown or funded companies in a variety of industries and verticals. They will support you from the earliest ideation stages, through to fundraising and beyond as your company starts to scale. 

EF is backed by the founders of some of the world’s most successful tech startups, including Stripe, LinkedIn, GitHub and WordPress. Hear their off-the-record founder stories over intimate Fireside chats delivered throughout the San Francisco phase of the program, alongside key company building workshops and training.

Immersion in the Bay Area ecosystem

After forming a team and idea in their local hubs, we help international founders relocate to San Francisco to build their products and launch on the world’s global tech stage with the best Seed round possible. To facilitate this transition and navigate the US market, we connect you with an experienced founder or operator with deep experience of building and raising in the Bay Area.

We provide 24/7 office space and support that culminates with an in-person Demo Day in San Francisco previously opened by Reid Hoffman and Patrick Collinson. We also launch your company on EF’s online global investor platform to an exclusive selection of global investors. 

Post Demo Day, we will work with you to close your round with tailored advice. At our networking events, you’ll have the opportunity to meet and connect with an extensive fundraising network of Silicon Valley’s top VCs and angels, including the likes of a16z, Sequoia, First Round Capital, and Khosla Ventures.

A powerful global alumni network

Your community as a founder is one of your strongest assets. When you join EF you automatically receive access to >3K exceptional founders, with hubs around the world hosting many in-person events. 

Founders are encouraged to use this asset to leverage the knowledge and insights from thousands of successful entrepreneurs with shared values, experiences, and aspirations. Being part of the EF network means being able to instantly connect with a valuable group of experts willing to pay it forward.

Additional benefits include:

• Early customers and traction from within the EF ecosystem
• Internal hiring opportunities, either to build your own team or join another EF startup
• Discounted tools and products via our global partnerships scheme

Direct

• All founders receive an equity free Talent Investment (grant)*. This is part of our investment in you, designed to cover living costs whilst on the program so founders can fully concentrate on building their company fast. The grant does not need to be paid back
• Founders will have the opportunity to pitch to our Investment Committee for up to $250,000 of investment. This investment gives EF 8% of your company, plus an incremental equity amount in the form of an MFN that is fixed when you raise money from external investors. You can see an illustrative cap table example of how this might look here.

*Please see local program investment terms (USA, London, Paris, Bangalore) for specific details.

Indirect

• Access to a shared office space in prime city locations for the duration of the 12 week FORM program in their local hub
• Visa assistance and relocation support for the second 12 week LAUNCH program in San Francisco, as well as 24/7 access to premium office space in the heart of SF
• > $200,000 worth of free credits or exclusive partnerships with AWS, Stripe, Vercel, OpenAI, GCP, HSBC, Hubspot, and many more
• Additional resources to help you build including compute, lab access, and hardware partners