Note: Given our strong footprint in the French community, most of the club's first members are associated with it. However, many are based in the US, and non-French people are encouraged to apply. They actually tend to attract more interest within the group.
Finding a co-founder is hard: high-quality people are rarely available, and available people are rarely high-quality. We know this pain well, having spent the last decade backing the very first days of the best French entrepreneurs.
The ideal scenario, obviously, is to meet people before they are fully available (while they are still employed, mostly), and for the encounter itself to be the catalyst that makes them take the leap.
But how can one know a priori that an abstract discussion with a stranger won't be a waste of time? And what is there to discuss at such an early stage when nothing is defined, not even the will to quit one's job?
We have solved these two problems with a club designed to let tomorrow’s best entrepreneurs exchange in a setting that maximizes signal and ruthlessly minimizes noise.
First, by selecting profiles with the deliberate precision we uphold as Day One investors. This is where the Club’s fundamental value lies, as it is not meant to host more than a few dozen members out of thousands of potential ones.
Second, by framing the conversation around the concept of Unique Insight. A Unique Insight emerges when a founder masters a new technological breakthrough and identifies a significant (often ancient) problem it solves. Discussing it allows one to reveal their worldview, their way of thinking and acting. It's the ultimate introduction.
The Club is a space where the identity and current Unique Insight of every member are visible to others. Debates tend to focus on the nuances of new possibilities offered by specific technologies, and on the Unique Insights discovered by peers.
All members share the following characteristics:
- A significant probability of starting a company with global ambitions within the next 12 months. In Paris, SF, or elsewhere
- Top 0.1% of potential founder profiles: people we could imagine backing at Day One
- Each guest applies with their "best" Unique Insight. While it's likely to change over time (if only through the act of partnering), it is a medium to share one's worldview
- Co-founding teams not yet formed. We are not looking for early employees, even "founding" ones
We have been hand-picking the first members one by one and already generated a successful partnership. While we will keep inviting extraordinary people we meet organically, applications are now open.
Apply here: www.frst.vc/UITC
