The 5 pillars of STATION F’s Founders Program
It’s been almost a year since the Founders Program has started. With 250 companies already having participated in the program, we know some entrepreneurs have different interpretations and understandings of what the Founders Program is.
We feel it’s time to set the record straight: this is what the Founders Program is all about, summed up in 5 key points.
The 5 pillars of the Founders Program
All Founders Program startups share the following values and ambitions:
1 — You are an early-stage company
“Early-stage” can mean many things to many people. For the Founders Program, selected startups are invited to join after the ideation phase once they have developed an MVP. We select companies with teams of 10 members or less. However, once the company hits 15 employees, we no longer consider them early-stage.
2 — You are an active member of the community
Founders Program members take their participation at STATION F and in the Founders Program seriously. This means, they are on campus daily and participate regularly in Guild Meetings. We expect all of our entrepreneurs to help one another and to share their knowledge and resources whenever possible.
3 — You set ambitious goals and work hard to achieve them
Having a startup isn’t a 9–5 job. Founders Program members go above and beyond to achieve their goals. They work hard and are committed to the goals they set. Plus, they are proud of your growth metrics and share them with your program managers and fellow Guild members.
4 — You are a sucker for resources
While at STATION F, we expect our startups to take advantage of all the resources they can get their hands on: workshops, perks, VC meetings, office hours, you name it. Our startups are hungry for what the Founders Program and STATION F campus has to offer.
5 — STATION F is your mothership
Our startups consider the Founders Program as more than just a nice logo to put on a slidedeck. Co-founders and teams are based on campus and take their presence seriously.
New startups, one philosophy
Startups grow and progress at different rates, this is why our program was never one-size-fits-all. Currently, among our 250 companies we have a huge variety of company profiles: some companies now have a large team (15 people and more), some have raised funds and some have offices outside of STATION F.
We need to make sure that our program continues to serve early-stage companies that share our ideals and philosophy.
That’s why a few of our companies will leave us by the summer to make room for batch 3.
Yes, this means new startups will be moving in! We cannot wait to tell you all about them. The selection process is currently ongoing.
UPDATE: Applications are currently open until April 1st, 2019 and startups selected will join the program in July 2019. Apply now!
