When we opened the studio to founders, we had to decide what we were actually offering. The easy answer would have been money. We decided the money should come second.
What founders need first
At the very beginning, most founders don't have a capital problem. They have a building problem. The product isn't real yet, the first users haven't arrived, and every week spent on setup is a week not spent learning.
That is the part we know best. We have shipped six products of our own, and each one left us with tools, infrastructure and habits we can share. So when we work with a founder, we start there: our stack, our code and our engineering time, aimed at getting a real product in front of real people.
Next come introductions. We open our network to help founders find their first users, their first hires and their earliest partners. These are people we know well, not names on a list.
Where the check fits
For some founders, we also write a small angel check, often the first money in. It is a high-conviction bet, but a small one. Its job is to give the founder breathing room while we build together, not to replace the work.
We are not a venture fund, and we don't want to behave like one. A fund's main tool is capital. Ours is the studio. The check is there because we believe in the founder, and it means more coming from people who are already writing code next to them.
Why the order matters
Leading with help changes the relationship. Founders get to judge us by what we build with them, not by what we promise. We get to know how they think and work before we put money in. By the time a check is written, both sides already know whether they want to keep going.
If you are at the very beginning and want to build this way, write to us at [email protected].