Entrepreneurs First, investing before there is a company

Entrepreneurs First was founded in London in 2011 by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck. It calls itself a talent investor: it assesses applicants as individuals, then puts them in a room with others like them to find a cofounder.

The London program starts with FORM, twelve weeks in the London office. Everyone who signs gets a £6,000 talent investment. If no company comes out of it, Entrepreneurs First takes no equity and nobody owes anything. By its own count, 80% of participants find a cofounder within eight weeks.

Teams that pass the investment committee move to San Francisco for LAUNCH, the final twelve weeks. The money: $125,000 on a post-money SAFE for 8% of the company, plus an optional $125,000 on an uncapped MFN SAFE once the team relocates and incorporates in Delaware.

Companies that came out of the program include Cleo, PolyAI, Tractable, Aztec and Gensyn. Sonantic was bought by Spotify, Papers with Code by Meta. Entrepreneurs First puts the value of its portfolio at over $16B.

The next London cohort starts in April 2027.