When is the right time to apply to EF?
This is the sixth part in a 10-part series celebrating Entrepreneur First’s 10th London cohort, which starts in April 2018. Alice Bentinck, EF’s cofounder, shares when the right time to apply to EF is. If you think EF would be a good fit for you, apply by 31st December at joinef.com/apply
Recently I have had a number of people ask me what they need to have to apply to Entrepreneur First.
They tell me they’ve been working hard on their idea and that in six months it might be ready for EF.
To be ready for EF, this isn’t what you need. You just need to be ready to commit.
What you DON’T need to get into EF
- An idea
- A team
- Customers
- A product
EF is not an accelerator, or a seed investor. So you don’t need to have a startup to apply. In fact, we prefer individuals who apply without an existing startup.
When you apply to EF we assess you; your skills, intelligence and insightfulness (you can read more here about how we select from our UK MD Alex Diaz). EF selects based on an individual’s talent and potential.
So, what do you need to be ready to apply?
There is one thing you DO need to be ready for EF.
Commitment.
You need to be ready to commit to building a startup. For most of our cohort that means quitting a highly paid career, dropping out of academia or finishing their PhD thesis, or turning down an amazing job offer.
You need to be ready to mentally commit to a startup being the number one thing in your life, to live on a fraction of your current income (we fund you £2k/S$5k per a month while you build your team) and to locate yourself in London or Singapore.
If you’re not sure whether you’re ready to commit, read Alex Crompton’s post on the Ambition Trap. As he says “Pick your trap, or someone else will pick it for you”.
When you are ready to commit, joinef.com/apply
Alice Bentinck is Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First (EF.) EF runs full-time programmes that fund the most talented scientists, engineers, developers and industry experts to find a co-founder, then helps those teams grow their businesses and raise funding. We’ve built >100 companies worth >$1B so far.
We currently run programmes in Berlin, Singapore and London, you can apply here or sign up below to get advice from the EF team on your startup journey.
