Supporting Super-Early Stage Entrepreneurs in Europe
Supporting super-early stage entrepreneurs in Europe seems to be suddenly in vogue. Back in March, “Project Europe” was launched to great fanfare by podcaster and VC Harry Stebbings with a small $10 million fund to back founders aged only 25 and under, riffing on the ‘Peter Thiel Fellowship’ model of old. Now a new fund hopes to go one better — but this time with $68 million.
Introduction to EWOR
EWOR (shorthand for “entrepreneurship without risk”) has launched its own ‘founder fellowship’, committing €60 million, which will offer selected founders €500,000 in capital for a 7% stake. It claims that, on average, alumni have gone on to raise €1million to €11M during the fellowship. The money will be going to 35 entrepreneurs a year who fit the mould of “visionaries, technical prodigies, deeply driven operators, and serial entrepreneurs.”
Fellowship Details
Fellows will get virtual-first support, with 1:1 mentorship (including 1 to 5 hours per week with a ‘unicorn founder’), access to 2,000 mentors, VCs, and subject matter experts. By contrast, Project Europe offers its founder-investor network of 128 backers. As part of the €500,000 investment, this includes €110,000 from EWOR GmbH and an additional €390,000 from the investment fund via an uncapped convertible note or similar instrument.
Founders and Previous Successes
Founded in 2021, EWOR is run full-time by six entrepreneurs who were previously inside companies such as SumUp, Adjust, ProGlove and united-domains: Daniel Dippold, Alexander Grots, Florian Huber, Petter Made, Quinten Selhorst, and Paul Müller. One example of a previously backed startup includes Aspect Health, a startup that was built in Moldova, raised funding in Silicon Valley and New York, and ended up with a $50M. Previous EWOR fellows include Ricky Knox, who achieved two 9-figure exits with Azimo and Tandem Bank; and Tim Seithe, who led Tillhub to a bootstrapped exit at almost €100M.
What Sets EWOR Apart
In a call with TechCrunch, Dippold contrasted EWR’s fellowship offering with Project Europe. While the latter trumpeted taking entrepreneurs with ‘just an idea’ he said EWOR will easily match that offering: “We do two fellowships, ideation and traction. You can literally — like we had a year ago with the youngest machine learning researcher from Cambridge— have no co-founder, no idea. You can start at inception, no problem.” EWOR fellow Jörgen Tveit, founder of Thaleron, added: “The founders of EWOR are deeply technical and understand the challenges of building a world-changing tech company.”
Current Cohort and Future Plans
Ten founders have so far been accepted into this year’s cohort. They include UK-based Mark Golab, a 3D printing pioneer applying the technology to organ transplants with Cambridge Surgical Models, after surviving a life-threatening infection himself. And Vienna-based Viktoria Izdebezka, who is working on lead generation with Salesy. With a strong focus on supporting super-early stage entrepreneurs, EWOR is set to make a significant impact in the European startup scene.
Conclusion
In conclusion, EWOR’s founder fellowship program offers a unique opportunity for super-early stage entrepreneurs in Europe to receive funding, mentorship, and support. With a strong track record of success and a commitment to backing visionaries and technical prodigies, EWOR is poised to help shape the next generation of European startups. As the program continues to grow and expand, it will be exciting to see the impact that these young entrepreneurs have on the world.
