In today's VC world, the narrative revolves around investing solely in the top 0.1% of founders to secure unicorns in portfolios. However, our approach differs. We emphasize an open platform for all founders, believing that venture building encompasses more than just unicorn pursuits.
Consider this - out of approximately 400 million companies worldwide, only around 10,000 have achieved a billion-dollar valuation. This means merely 0.003% reach this milestone. Perhaps the flaw in the current VC landscape lies in its exclusion of the remaining 99.997% of companies and individuals.
In today's VC world, the narrative revolves around investing solely in the top 0.1% of founders to secure unicorns in portfolios. However, our approach differs. We emphasize an open platform for all founders, believing that venture building encompasses more than just unicorn pursuits.
We do things differently. At our platform, every founder is welcome — regardless of pedigree or background. We value traction, grit, and execution over Ivy League resumes.
But we also recognize the realities of today’s funding landscape. To help founders better navigate investor expectations, we’ve created a new founder ranking system — designed to give clearer insight into your positioning in the capital markets. We would like to discuss this with you.
Rank 1: No prior entrepreneurial experience
Rank 2: Previous entrepreneurial ventures
Rank 3: Recognized achievements like University graduates or Hackathon winners
Rank 4: Ivy League/Elite university graduates, PHDs, Executives with Leadership position
Rank 5: Ivy League/Elite university PHDs, C-Level executives with leadership experience in Top 1000 companies/employee experience in Big Tech (Magnificent 7)
Rank 6: Notable accomplishments such as Olympic champions, regatta winners, Corporate C-Level positions in Top 1000 Companies, or leadership roles in Big Tech (M7)
Rank 7: Past exits worth 1 million USD, successful funding rounds
Rank 8: Exits or funding rounds exceeding 10 million USD as a founder
Rank 9: Exits or funding rounds surpassing 100 million USD as a founder
Rank 10: Reserved for exceptional individuals like Elon Musk, unicorn founders, or Nobel Prize winners
This ranking will be applied to all founders on our platform foundance.org.
It's important to note that while these rankings offer insights into funding possibilities, they may not fully capture the diverse paths founders have gone through. You might say you can not compare a university degree with a hackathon victory, but to achieve funding for a tech venture this might be not too far apart. And we know a lot of questions will come up like: Which is an elite university? Is your corporate career underrated? Well, yes, it is about entrepreneurs.
