Studio Program
Partner with us to build your new venture
We care about working with brilliant, ambitious people. That’s why we’ve built a program that welcomes founders regardless of stage.
Perhaps you have your own idea of a solution you’d like to bring to the world, or perhaps you’d like to partner with us on an opportunity we have identified. Either way, we’re confident that our support will drive your venture further and faster.
Explore the idea together
then pitch it back to our investors
We want to get to know you before we start a business together and we bet you do too. So come in and spend some time with us. If it doesn’t work out then we will help you with your next steps. No hidden catch.Get a total of £250K starting capital
(in two tranches) and get going
For this and our support for 12+ months we take 25% of the new venture. Our support and network has an exponential impact on your business; that makes this the most valuable starting capital you can get.We build a team around you and
give you the first £100k
We will assemble a team around the new venture dependent on your needs. We take care of all the admin so you can get going with building the business.Create the company, join the accelerator program,
and unlock an additional £150k
By this point you should have something that is ready to grow and lucky for you that’s exactly what the accelerator program is for. You’ll work with some new faces from our team as we help you raise future funding rounds.Come and build your startup with Founders Factory
Apply with your own startup idea.
- Even if it’s just a passing thought, we want to hear it.
- If it doesn’t work out then we will help you find your next step no strings attached.
Apply now 
See our current opportunities.
- Our venture design team works with our partners to identify big market opportunities and unfair advantages.
- That we then turn into startups with founders.
See what we are working on
There’s 70+ of us in London and we’re all working with our startups.
We’re a team
We work across different functional teams to make sure you have the right mix of skills to hand when you’re on the program.
Meet our team
Working with our partners
Our corporates are all household names with huge scale, now imagine them being put to work for your start-up. We call that unfair advantage. With their market insights, relationships, purchasing power, data, distribution channels and further capital up for grabs your startup could find itself with a completely unique edge.
Read about our partners
It’s worth mentioning that there’s nothing forcing you to work together and there’s no hidden clauses. Our goal is to help you build a huge business not a feature for our partners. We do however think that working with them is a great way to do just that. Our partners can help you find quickly find ways that your product will resonate with customers then push home that advantage by helping you scale
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You might be wondering
How did you get to 25% equity?
We looked across hundreds of angel investments and saw that £250K gets you 20-30% of a seed stage startup. With our support, corporate investors, track record and the network with the ability to give exponential value on top of just the cash we’re confident that 25% is a great deal.Do I have to pay for the support?
The simple answer is “no”. However the salaries of dedicated team members will need to be paid from your funding. For example, if a developer or a designer spends more than half of their time on your business then we will charge you back some very friendly rates. All of our other teams won’t charge you for their support.What about other costs?
We will give you a little slush fund for marketing experiments, travel and any software you may need. We won’t charge you for desks until there’s more than four of you, even then we’ll keep it to mates rates.Who employs me before the business is created?
Until spin-out we take care of all administrative overheads, using Founders Factory as an umbrella company, so you can focus on product & business. That means we will give you an employment contract with Founders Factory until the point we create the business.How much do founders pay themselves?
Whilst on the program we strongly suggest that you pay yourself no more than £50k. We think this is more than fair, however we’re trying to make the program as inclusive as possible so we are open to being flexible in certain situations.Do your corporates have any special rights?
They don’t. We make the investment as Founders Factory so they won’t even be on the cap table. Which, if you’re not familiar, is how a company represents who owns what percent of the business.Are there any additional benefits?
We’ve negotiated deals for our portfolio with lot’s of providers you’re probably going to need to work. From software to specialist legal services we’re vetting and negotiating on your behalf. As an added treat, every Thursday and Friday you’ll get free lunch with all of us and the portfolio.If you’re wondering about something that’s not on here then just get in touch.