Invest Like The Best
Episode 285 Building a Start-Up Machine
Invest Like The Best

Episode 285: Building a Start-Up Machine

Invest Like The Best

Episode 285

Building a Start-Up Machine

Alice Bentinck is a co-founder of Entrepreneur First. We cover how EF helps talented entrepreneurs find co-founders, what markers of success to screen for in candidates, and why there aren't more incubators like EF.

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[00:02:33] - [First question] - Overview of what Entrepreneur First is today

[00:05:57] - How she identifies the people to bring into each cohort and convince them to quit their job to join EF for eight weeks

[00:10:10] - Categories of the main types of people who join the EF program

[00:12:32] - What she’s learned about negative screening at the first stage of recruits 

[00:14:07] - Positive signals she looks for in early admissions 

[00:17:46] - What the program itself feels like as a participant

[00:21:29] - Reasons partners tend to fail and whether or not EF advises equity splits between founders

[00:24:49] - How important the idea is that the team will be working on 

[00:28:04] - Exercises she enjoys doing with the new cohorts around social norms

[00:30:38] - How the experience looks physically in each city 

[00:32:57] - Categories of data collected as the cohorts unfold and making investment decisions

[00:36:46] - Ways the companies mature after EF and what kinds of investors fund the next stage of their startups

[00:40:55] - Why aren’t there ten EF style initiatives or organizations

[00:44:26] - Motivations for the change in their holding company structure

[00:46:48] - The love of product and ideas she’s playing with right now

[00:51:49] - Cities she has her eye on that EF is not a participant in today and criteria that makes a city desirable for EF

[00:54:03] - A piece of software that EF could benefit from that doesn’t exist yet

[00:55:30] - The keys to her harmonious relationship with her co-founder Matt 

[00:59:01] - National and international impediments that directly impact company building

[01:01:36] - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for her

Building a Start-Up Machine

Introduction

Patrick
My guest today is Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First. Entrepreneur First, or EF invests pre-company by systematizing the way that talented individuals find co-founders, develop ideas, and scale into companies. They're an incubator of teams and ideas on a mission to create impactful companies that without their help wouldn't exist. I first spoke with Alice's co-founder Matt Clifford over two years ago, and have been fascinated with EF's model of investing ever since. Please enjoy my conversation with Alice Bentinck.

Building a Factory for Startups

Patrick
So Alice, I've been looking forward to this one. We've had to push it back a few times, but actually it's been a good thing because the world of investing in early stage companies has changed quite a lot since the first one of these that we had scheduled maybe at the end of last year. You are one of the co-founders with Matt Clifford of Entrepreneurs First, and because it's a very interesting international organization that effectively produces new companies, I'd love you to just start by giving an overview of what EF looks like today, before we get into all the origins and the history and the way you operate, which are all really interesting.

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