The most consequential companies usually start as illegible, even heretical ideas. They aren’t obvious or easy. They carry high technical risk, high market risk, and asymmetric reward.

As AI accelerates execution speed, what you decide to work on is even more important. It’s easier than ever to get a bit of traction, sell investors or collaborators or employees on a vision you don’t yet believe, and find yourself after years of work stranded at a local maximum.

The SPC Founder Fellowship is purpose-built for this problem. We help you set aside good ideas in pursuit of great ones. We look for founders exploring the most interesting, technical, illegible opportunities and back you with patient capital and bespoke support to find your global maximum.

SPC is the most talent-dense early-stage environment for starting venture-scale companies, designed to help you go from -1 to 0 by the people who defined -1 to 0. Our approach is intentionally boutique and hands-on. There are no mandatory demo days or fixed timelines. Fellows remain active members of SPC for as long as it takes to build conviction and raise the next round of financing.

You don’t go through -1 to 0 to build something merely good or marginally better. You do it to build something generational. To turn the illegible into the inevitable.

Apply here by August 3rd.

FAQ

What is the Founder Fellowship?

SPC’s Founder Fellowship helps entrepreneurs start a venture-scale company by targeting support at the “-1 to 0” idea stage. We give founders their first outside investment, help them ideate and iterate to a viable product, find early customers, and assist in raising funding from the best VCs in the world.

How is the Founder Fellowship different from other accelerators or incubators?

We help founders even before they have conviction in an idea (though we also welcome founders already working on one).

$1M in funding. We offer $400K for 7% up front and $600K in your next outside-led round so you can pitch investors from a position of strength.
Small cohorts with direct partner mentorship. Each company works directly with partners several times per week.
No idea necessary. We run the only truly pre-idea, pre-seed program—built to help you discover the right market and uncover the right idea. We help you reach Founder-Market Fit so you can get to Product-Market Fit.
No fixed timelines. Work on validating ideas and fundraising on a timeline that makes the most sense for your company.

What are the Fellowship terms and funding?

Terms: $400k upfront for 7% on a standard SAFE, plus an additional $600k guaranteed in your next external funding round.
Credits: We offer over $900k in credits and perks from companies including Baseten, OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure, GCP, AWS, Render, RunwayML, Figma, and many more.

How long does the Fellowship last?

Upon acceptance, Founder Fellows get immediate access to SPC’s community, partners, and programming. The Fellowship has no fixed end date, but does have two distinct phases: 1) bootcamp and 2) residency. During bootcamp, teams work closely in-person to build, demo, and share feedback in San Francisco. Afterward, teams enter residency, a flexible phase with full access to SPC spaces and partners that lasts as long as needed to reach conviction and prepare for a fundraise.

Immediate Membership. You become Fellows and members of SPC as soon as you are accepted and sign investment terms. We fund teams immediately—you don’t have to wait for the official fellowship kickoff. You gain immediate access to all SPC offices, events & programming, and our online community.
Bootcamp. Small cohorts with direct partner mentorship. Each company works directly with SPC partners several times per week on everything from customer discovery and product development to branding, storytelling, and pitching. Fellows also join weekly demos, pitch practice, skill workshops, and exclusive events.
Residency. We want you to work on the right idea, not necessarily the first idea. This can take time, so the residency period lasts as long as you need. Fellows remain full SPC members with access to offices, programming, and partner support. Once you’re ready to raise your seed round, SPC partners will help you prepare your pitch and make white-glove introductions to investors.

Do I need an idea to apply?

You do not need an idea to apply.

That said, a great idea is critical to long term success. If you do not have an idea, we still need to assess your ability to generate them. Be prepared to discuss markets you find interesting, previous ideas you have considered and discarded, and the insights you find compelling and why.

If you already have an idea or product, you are also welcome to apply. We’ll help you build conviction that it’s worth betting the next decade of your life on.

Is the Founder Fellowship limited to specific industries or domains?

No. Our Fall ‘25 fellowship is open to founders exploring any venture-scale opportunity.

Can I apply as a solo founder?

Yes. If you apply as a solo founder, we have a strong bias for applicants who have the skills to build and prototype. If you are accepted as a solo founder, you may benefit from a co-founder, and we can help in the search process —previous fellows have found co-founders in the SPC community.

What are the upcoming cohort application deadlines, program dates, & location logistics?

Application Deadline: 11:59pm PT on Sunday, August 3rd.
Interviews: All applicants will hear back about whether they have received an interview invitation by August 29th.
Program Dates: The Fall 2025 Fellowship Bootcamp (FF F25) runs from October 6th to early January.
Kickoff: We host a kickoff week starting with a private retreat in Northern California and in our San Francisco office.
Location: All fellows are required to work for the duration of the 8 week bootcamp from our San Francisco office. After the bootcamp, teams can relocate to where they plan to build their company, though we encourage teams to remain in a city with an SPC location (SF, NYC, or Bangalore).

Who is behind the Founder Fellowship?

The Founder Fellowship is organized by South Park Commons and run by SPC investors Ruchi Sanghvi, Aditya Agarwal, Finn Meeks, Evan Tana, Arian Agrawal, Prateek Mehta, Marco Sanvido, Jonathan Brebner, Danh Trang, Dylan Itzikowitz, Gopal Raman, & Ankit Chowdhary. We are builders, entrepreneurs, technologists, & investors who love helping founders win.

Former Fellowship Companies

We have partnered with a number of breakout companies at the earliest stages of their journeys. We are sector-agnostic and focus on exceptional people. Previous Founder Fellowship companies include Doppel, Profound, Deep Cogito, Orb, Column Tax, Comun, Ascend, Pulley, Keplar, and many more.

SPC Founder Fellowship Fall 2025