The Saturday Morning Club by Entrepreneur First and Galion.exe
What is it?
The Saturday morning club is a structured meet up and co-working session for exceptional people who are in a full-time job but want to found a startup. Its purpose is to introduce people to potential co-founders, launch part-time projects, and fund people so they can go from part-time to full-time. Saturday morning club is only for people who are serious. It’s not a talking shop; we will screen for commitment, and will only continue to invite and support people if they demonstrate sincerity and progress on the task of starting a company. We will be highly selective; only people we think could be exceptional founders will be invited.
Who is it for?
You are an early career person who is in a full-time job. You are probably technical - you are either an engineer/scientist with a technical academic background or you have upskilled yourself in your own time. You already have conviction that you want to start your own company. You are willing to commit 10+ hours of your time per week to building on the side; you will certainly drop out of your full time job if your startup gets funding.
Why are we doing this?
EF exists to make great companies happen that otherwise wouldn’t. We think that the most urgent way to build a company is to be full-time from the beginning, and this is how our core product, Form, is structured. But we recognise that this doesn’t work for some people - for example, people who have financial obligations that make it hard to live off our stipend, or others who don’t want to make the leap without finding a co-founder first. Our bet is that there are exceptional people who won’t drop out of their jobs immediately, but could build great companies by finding the right co-founder and making progress initially on the side.
What will EF offer you?
We will offer you a curated group of exceptional people who could be your co-founder. We will give you office space every Saturday, and we will initially structure the meetups to maximise your chances of finding someone to work with (e.g., by running ‘co-founder carousels’ so you talk to everyone, providing frameworks for how to introduce yourself, and offering you advice on your starting points). One of our team members will be there to discuss your idea and next steps with you, should you wish. You will also get breakfast. If you show meaningful progress on your idea, we will introduce you to an EF advisor for regular check-ins. If you want to raise money and go full-time, we will offer you the opportunity to pitch your company to our investment committee and give you a funding decision within days, on EF’s standard terms ($125k for 8%, and the opportunity to go to San Francisco, work out of our office there as you prepare to raise seed, and participate in an EF demo day).
Why partner with Galion.exe ?
Galion.exe is an early-stage VC fund that has already funded some EF companies (Jimini AI...) and has a strong entrepreneurship DNA. This partnership offers entrepreneurs the possibility of joining a community of seasoned entrepreneurs as soon as they raise funds, The Galion Project. This allows them to connect with 450 experienced individuals who can support them beyond the Seed stage to IPO, and beyond.
How do you apply?
Click the link and fill in the very brief application form.
Next Steps
We will accept applications on a rolling basis. The next session will take place at the Galion House on Saturday 2nd November.