Entrepreneur First and Brexit: open for business as usual
The EU referendum vote in the UK was a shock and is very disappointing for all of us at Entrepreneur First.
We wanted to make it clear though that Entrepreneur First, of course, remains open for business as usual and we plan no changes to our application process or programme. We concur with many of our friends in venture capital in saying that entrepreneurs in the UK and across Europe can and will stay calm and continue to build great businesses.
EF is absolutely committed to be the best place for the world’s most talented and ambitious to start a technology company. That is unchanged and we will continue to fund and support Europe’s best founders, irrespective of the UK’s status in the EU. We expect European founders to continue to make up a significant portion of the cohort for the foreseeable future.
In particular, we want to emphasise that:
- EF has a very strong track record of finding ways to support the best founders, no matter where they come from. We are a government-accredited seed competition, which means we can sponsor Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visas for founders we fund
- EU citizens will be eligible to live, work and start businesses in the UK for the full duration of EF7, 8, 9 and 10 at minimum
- Entrepreneur First is extremely well capitalised and we have committed funding for EF7, EF8, EF9 and EF10 at minimum
- The best startups thrive whatever the economic climate. We believe the UK’s exit from the EU will introduce significant macroeconomic uncertainty, but startup outcomes are largely uncorrelated with the macroeconomy. We’re proud to work with the best founders and we know that they always find a way to win.
Startup life always throws out new challenges, but we always “honey badger” them out — and we know you will too.
If you want to build a world-class technology business alongside the world’s most ambitious founders, there is no better time: apply now.
