Who are your members?
Around 80% of our members are founders who aspire to start a company and 20% are domain experts and researchers looking to go deeper in new fields (e.g. contribute to open-source software, write books, conduct research, etc). While most members are technical, we do make exceptions.
We have roughly 175 active members and over 800 alumni. Our active members are primarily split between hubs in San Francisco and New York City. We opening a new community hub in Bangalore, as well.
Do I need to be located in San Francisco, New York City, or Bangalore to be a member?
Yes. Members are expected to come into SPC at least 3 times a week, which usually means that folks need to be located in SF, NYC, or Bangalore.
What is the difference between Community Membership and the SPC Founder Fellowship?
Community Membership and the Founder Fellowship are both paths to joining South Park Commons. Community Membership supports technologists that are earlier in the process of taking their ideas from -1 to 0 and are not ready for funding. Members on this path spend up to 6 months at SPC exploring and learning about new areas, meeting potential collaborators, and building conviction in their ideas. The Founder Fellowship supports technologists that are further along in their -1 to 0 journey, usually with an early team and a high-conviction north star (market, idea, or product). The Founder Fellowship offers $1M in total funding and more structured partner support to get you from -1 to 0 and then 0 to 1. Many people also start as Community Members and join the Fellowship once they have a firm idea.
What are the expectations of SPC members?
We have only one expectation of our members: that they show up. By “showing up,” we mean being fully present as a member of the community. More concretely, this means working out of our spaces 3 or more times per week, being active on Slack, cultivating relationships with other members, and contributing in your areas of expertise.
Is there a membership fee?
No, we do not charge membership fees or dues. The community is supported by our community fund.
Who should apply to SPC?
Anyone who is in the midst of a professional and/or personal life transition and looking for a community of like-minded intentional builders. We expect members to be full-time at SPC.
What is the application process?
First, apply on our website for either Community Membership or our Founder Fellowship. We go through every application and you’ll generally hear from us within 2-4 weeks. If we're moving forward, we'll invite you to an interview to learn more about you.
Are there specific application deadlines?
We accept new members and new fellows on a rolling basis and will start processing your application whenever you apply. We welcome new members every month and hold fellowship kickoffs twice per year.
Can I be a member while I have a full-time job?
Generally, no. We look for members who are excited about participating in the community and have found that those who commit full-time get more out of their SPC experience. We recognize that there are many edge cases with employment (visas, vesting, etc) and very occasionally make exceptions.
Can I apply if I already have a company?
Yes, though we consider your company's progress in our evaluation. SPC is primarily a place for technologists the -1 to 0 stage of figuring out what’s next. We also offer paths like our Founder Fellowship that serve technologists who want funding on their way into SPC.
Can I apply if I don’t want to start a company?
Yes! Typically, 20% of our members are domain experts or people who don’t plan on starting a company.
Can I apply if I’m in school?
Yes, we consider applicants who want to leave academia to become full-time SPC members. In the past, we’ve had academics, from PhDs to professors, join the community.
What if I’m planning to fundraise soon?
We encourage applicants at this stage to consider our Founder Fellowship program, which offers a $400k investment upon joining SPC, plus an additional $600k guaranteed in your next venture round.
Should my cofounder also apply?
Yes. If you have a co-founder when you are applying to SPC, please ask them to apply as well. Please note in your respective applications that you are co-founders.
Do you sponsor visas?
Unfortunately, we cannot directly sponsor visas. We would be happy to discuss your circumstances directly.
What is community membership?
Community membership supports technologists that are beginning the process of taking their ideas from -1 to 0 and are not ready for funding. Members spend their time at SPC exploring and learning about new areas, meeting potential collaborators, and building conviction in their ideas. About 80% of our members go on to start companies in an area of interest. The other 20% of our members pursue other endeavors like AI research, building open-source software, writing books, or joining a company. There is no expectation that you launch a company at SPC. Success for us means that people graduate from SPC with a clearer sense of what their life’s work will be.
What do SPC members do?
First and foremost, our members take the time that they need to explore and learn about new areas. We are a highly selective community and you will find the most value by meeting and learning from your fellow members. We run a variety of lightweight accountability groups and learning forums to help you connect with others. We also run a popular speaker series and workshop series to accelerate your learning.
How long does membership last?
Membership at SPC lasts 6 months. After these 6 months of exploration, many members graduate to work on their companies or projects full-time. Founders who receive funding from our community fund are welcomed to SPC as lifetime members, which means they’ll have access to the SPC community and spaces in perpetuity as we work with you to build an enduring company.
What is the SPC Founder Fellowship?
SPC’s Founder Fellowship is a different way for entrepreneurs to start a high growth, venture-scale startup. We give founders their first outside investment, help them ideate and iterate to a viable product, and assist them in raising from the best VCs in the world. As a founder fellow, you become a lifetime member of the South Park Commons community.
We take a boutique approach to helping founders. Our cohort sizes are small, with one partner for every two companies. We do not have a demo day, and when the time is right for you to raise, we’ll make introductions to the best investors. We do not force strict timelines.
We offer $400,000 in exchange for 7% equity via a SAFE, plus $600,000 guaranteed in your next venture round. We help you identify the right market, support you as you build your first product, find your first customers and teammates, and help you raise follow-on funding.
We group Fellows into two cohorts a year, and we can fund teams in a rolling capacity, ahead of the cohort start dates.
Why do we have a fund?
After two years of private sponsorship, we looked for the best way to make SPC financially self-sustaining. We decided that raising a venture fund to invest in members’ companies had the greatest chance of success while also leveraging our strengths as a community. We believe that the fund model, as opposed to a paid membership or consulting model, creates the strongest incentives for a transformative and enduring community.
Our fund invests in companies started at SPC as well as companies referred to us from outside SPC. The management fees generated by the fund cover the operational expenses of the community. Ultimately, we want to build a sustainable community that can last many decades. As part of that, a portion of the fund’s eventual profits will exist in a permanent endowment for the community.
What is the fund’s relationship with the community?
The fund exists to make the community financially self-sustaining, and our community supports the fund. Membership is non-transactional (fee-free and equity-free). As founders build conviction in starting a company, we look forward to partnering with them to accelerate their journey as pre-seed or seed investors.
If I form a company, what investment rights does SPC have?
Joining SPC as a member is non-transactional. You do not reserve any right for SPC to participate in your fundraise, but you do commit to pitching our Partners if you decide to raise capital while you’re a member.