Founders Inc opens summer residency spots

Founders, Inc. opened applications on May 19 for a summer residency aimed at students, dropouts and recent graduates, according to the company’s social post and application page. The San Francisco startup campus said the program will run for six weeks and include free lunches, $20,000 in perks, mentorship and the possibility of follow-on funding. The company said the cohort is capped at 48 spots. Its application page says applicants to the next program or sprint should expect to hear back by mid June. ### What exactly is Founders, Inc. offering this summer? Founders, Inc. described the offer as a six-week residency for young builders who want to work in person at its campus in San Francisco. In its May 19 post, the company said the program is open to students, dropouts and recent grads, and listed free lunches, $20,000 in perks and access to funding of up to $250,000 as part of the pitch. The company’s website says its campus is a 42,000-square-foot space at Fort Mason. Founders, Inc. says it provides desks, office hours, events and other founder services alongside capital for selected teams. ### Where does the $250,000 figure come from? Founders, Inc.’s fund page says it writes checks of up to $250,000 to founders it backs. The same page says founders also get access to daily lunches, office hours, talks, fundraising support and other campus resources. The company’s homepage describes its usual initial investment range more narrowly, saying it provides “100-250k in first checks” to build companies at the Fort Mason campus. (f.inc) A separate program page for Artifact, another in-person Founders, Inc. program, says the company has historically invested in roughly the top 10% of teams with first checks of $100,000 to $250,000. ### Who is the residency meant for? (f.inc) The May 19 promotion singled out students, dropouts and recent grads. Founders, Inc.’s broader site says it backs founders in areas including AI, AR/VR, hardware, content creation and robotics, while adding that what matters is that applicants are building. Its fund page says the firm looks for founders who are “prolific at building,” technical, curious and already showing traction or a clear plan for what they will do with capital. (f.inc) The page also says applicants should have a strong point of view on what they are building. ### Is this an accelerator or something else? Founders, Inc. says its programs resemble accelerators in some ways but are set up as part of a longer-term campus model. (f.inc) On its fund page, the company says accelerators are time-bound, while its own goal is to provide a longer-term home for founders to keep building after an initial program ends. The company says many founders accepted to Founders, Inc. later attend other accelerators and then return to its campus. (f.inc) It says its equity ask is typically 4% to 7%, though the summer residency promotion did not specify whether every participant would receive capital on entry. ### What should applicants watch next? Founders, Inc.’s application page says the current form is a general application to its campus and to be considered for its next program or sprint. (f.inc) The page says applicants should expect to hear back by mid June. May 19 is the date application details were posted for the summer residency. The next concrete step for candidates is submitting through Founders, Inc.’s application page and waiting for responses the company says will begin by mid June. (f.inc 1) (f.inc 2)