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>pre-idea, pre-team Assuming this was true for you? do you have an idea & team now? How long were you funded/hired without these two in place? Theoretically

>pre-idea, pre-team Assuming this was true for you? do you have an idea & team now? How long were you funded/hired without these two in place? Theoretically how long can one last in the program if you dont find these 2? How long have you been burning their cash, have you raised other funds? You could be considered an even Riskier (debatable) investment than the alternate of an actual startup with an MVP actively looking for funding, so does their percentage reflect that? Did you pay an entrance fee as well? Thanks!

graphene 11y ago
They fund individuals for a fixed, three month period, during which you are free to work on whatever and with whomever you want. After three months, they invest £10000 (in exchange for 8% equity) in all teams that are settled on an idea and seem promising. There are no fees of any kind. (disclosure: I'm on the current cohort)
sorenbs 11y ago
I think the EF model recognises that a lot of technical people create way more value than they are able to capture working in a traditional company. Some then go out and start companies of their own, but there’s a fairly large gap from labouring away at Google to going without salary for six months while you get yourself in a position to get into y-combinator et al. EF tries to bridge that gap and capture a slice of the value in the process. It’s not for everyone, but I think more people should really consider this option. Graphene detailed the economics, so I will just add that yes - the valuation is lower than what you could do had you spend 6-12 months on your own first, but in an endeavour that is likely to fail iteration speed is critically important. I have moved faster and learned more during 3 months with EF than I would have 6-12 months on my own. I’m still young but I won’t be forever - so I’m willing to give up a fraction of potential upside to decrease potential downside. Personally I actually joined EF with a co-founder an idea and a product which is quite unusual. Two weeks into the program we decided to start from scratch and we are better off for doing so. EF is the kind of environment that encourages you to do this and an environment i missed during my time at university.

graphene 11y ago

They fund individuals for a fixed, three month period, during which you are free to work on whatever and with whomever you want. After three months, they invest £10000 (in exchange for 8% equity) in all teams that are settled on an idea and seem promising. There are no fees of any kind. (disclosure: I'm on the current cohort)

sorenbs 11y ago

I think the EF model recognises that a lot of technical people create way more value than they are able to capture working in a traditional company. Some then go out and start companies of their own, but there’s a fairly large gap from labouring away at Google to going without salary for six months while you get yourself in a position to get into y-combinator et al. EF tries to bridge that gap and capture a slice of the value in the process. It’s not for everyone, but I think more people should really consider this option. Graphene detailed the economics, so I will just add that yes - the valuation is lower than what you could do had you spend 6-12 months on your own first, but in an endeavour that is likely to fail iteration speed is critically important. I have moved faster and learned more during 3 months with EF than I would have 6-12 months on my own. I’m still young but I won’t be forever - so I’m willing to give up a fraction of potential upside to decrease potential downside. Personally I actually joined EF with a co-founder an idea and a product which is quite unusual. Two weeks into the program we decided to start from scratch and we are better off for doing so. EF is the kind of environment that encourages you to do this and an environment i missed during my time at university.