Step 1
Meet your cofounder
We select the world's best technical individuals for our programmes. You don't need a team to apply, as we believe that we are the best place to find your co-founder. If selected for the cohort you'll have the opportunity to co-found with some of the brightest technologists in the world. Others have earned their engineering stripes at companies such as Google, Palantir, Amazon, Apple, AirBnB and Uber. During the first three months EF funds you as an individual (£1,200 per month in London; S$5,000 per month in Singapore) to allow you to explore co-founding relationships
Step 2
Develop an idea
Developing good ideas is hard, but we can help you with this. We have helped more than 300 founders to develop their ideas. Some people bring ideas into EF (often inspired by academic projects or industry experience), but often people apply without a fixed idea. We don't select on the quality of your idea - instead, we'll help you develop the best idea for your skill set by discovering your Edge during the programme.
From Day 1 you'll be mentored weekly by one of our Partners. We have some of Europe's top exited founders, who have built businesses worth billions, as part of our team. You'll meet your Partner weekly and develop a close relationship. They'll help you build something technically ambitious, find your first customers and avoid the mistakes commonly made by first-time founders.
Step 3
Build a product
During the second half of the programme your Partner will help you focus on turning your initial concept into a product people want. To support those building cutting-edge research technology, we can connect you with our Science Partners who include world-leading academics such as Zoubin Ghahramani (University of Cambridge) and Phil Blunsom (University of Oxford /DeepMind).
EF provides you with capital to live in London/Singapore during the programme, alongside making an investment of £10,000/s$25,000 in the company you create. We also provide a further 18 months of hands-on support from our Partners after Demo Day.
Step 4
Raise money
At the end of Month 6 your company will present at Demo Day. This is an opportunity to pitch to Europe’s top investors for funding. EF companies raise the largest seed rounds in Europe. We'll help you navigate your seed round and ensure you get access to the best investors in Europe, the US and Asia.
Step 5
Scale and grow
Once you make it to Demo Day, you will receive an additional 18 months of support from EF.
We'll continue to work with you as you build your team and scale, with continued Partner mentoring, hiring support and advice, as well as working with our dedicated funding team. You’re joining more than just a programme: we back our founders for life.