Formation

The first months of creating a startup are the least understood and explored.  Our aim is to change that. Whether it’s finding a co-founder or figuring out what idea to pursue, Foundation is a set of resources, services, products and  programs to increase the odds of creating a breakout company.
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Broadly speaking, our industry has devalued the importance of picking great startup ideas. The importance of a high quality idea has been replaced by test and iterate and “we’ll pivot” eventually to the right idea. Or “all the best ideas start out looking like bad ideas.” While this certainly does happen, we believe picking an idea or “the pick” should get more airtime and be unpacked in a more systematic way. The area is under analyzed and under talked about — and state of the art is “just talk to customers.”
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The same goes for finding a co-founder.  State of the art is starting a company with a former colleague or classmate or asking around if anyone knows anyone to start a company.  This makes no sense.

First Round Foundation is our exploration to help more talented people increase the odds of building important, lasting companies.
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What’s next for you?

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Technical Founder Track

It’s a big leap to go from sharpening your skills as an engineer to taking on the titles of Co-Founder and CTO.
As we’ve gathered engineering advice and stories on the First Round Review over the years, we’ve noticed that whether you’re a chief architect, leading a large engineering team or an experienced IC, there’s still a gap in the support needed to start your first company. We want to help close that gap.

Technical Founder Track helps bring support and structure to engineers still in their full time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. From the big mistakes to avoid and the nitty-gritty details you need to know, to the CTOs who’ve been in your shoes before and the frameworks they’ve used to build from the ground up, we’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday”
to “I’ve got a game plan.”
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Not a technical founder? New founder tracks coming soon. Sign up here for updates

Co-founder Assist

Finding the right Co-Founder shouldn’t be a random act left to chance.  Right now Co-Founders normally meet by having worked or gone to school together.
As we’ve gathered engineering advice and stories on the First Round Review over the years, we’ve noticed that whether you’re a chief architect, leading a large engineering team or an experienced IC, there’s still a gap in the support needed to start your first company. We want to help close that gap.

Technical Founder Track helps bring support and structure to engineers still in their full time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. From the big mistakes to avoid and the nitty-gritty details you need to know, to the CTOs who’ve been in your shoes before and the frameworks they’ve used to build from the ground up, we’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday”
to “I’ve got a game plan.”
LEARN MOREAPPLY
Not a technical founder? New founder tracks coming soon. Sign up here for updates

The Pick

Our industry has devalued the importance of picking great startup ideas.
As we’ve gathered engineering advice and stories on the First Round Review over the years, we’ve noticed that whether you’re a chief architect, leading a large engineering team or an experienced IC, there’s still a gap in the support needed to start your first company. We want to help close that gap.

Technical Founder Track helps bring support and structure to engineers still in their full time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. From the big mistakes to avoid and the nitty-gritty details you need to know, to the CTOs who’ve been in your shoes before and the frameworks they’ve used to build from the ground up, we’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday”
to “I’ve got a game plan.”
LEARN MOREAPPLY
Not a technical founder? New founder tracks coming soon. Sign up here for updates

Find and Talk to Customers

The process of getting your first few customers and customer feedback hasn’t changed for the last 10...until now.
As we’ve gathered engineering advice and stories on the First Round Review over the years, we’ve noticed that whether you’re a chief architect, leading a large engineering team or an experienced IC, there’s still a gap in the support needed to start your first company. We want to help close that gap.

Technical Founder Track helps bring support and structure to engineers still in their full time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. From the big mistakes to avoid and the nitty-gritty details you need to know, to the CTOs who’ve been in your shoes before and the frameworks they’ve used to build from the ground up, we’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday”
to “I’ve got a game plan.”
LEARN MOREAPPLY
Not a technical founder? New founder tracks coming soon. Sign up here for updates

Formation Resources

Here is writing from inside and outside of the First Round Community that we believe will increase your odds of building the next big thing.
As we’ve gathered engineering advice and stories on the First Round Review over the years, we’ve noticed that whether you’re a chief architect, leading a large engineering team or an experienced IC, there’s still a gap in the support needed to start your first company. We want to help close that gap.

Technical Founder Track helps bring support and structure to engineers still in their full time roles, who are contemplating the ambiguous challenge of starting something new. From the big mistakes to avoid and the nitty-gritty details you need to know, to the CTOs who’ve been in your shoes before and the frameworks they’ve used to build from the ground up, we’ll give you the guidance and access you need to go from “I’ll start a company someday”
to “I’ve got a game plan.”
LEARN MOREAPPLY
Not a technical founder? New founder tracks coming soon. Sign up here for updates