Over the last 6 years of building ODF we've helped over 1,000 companies get started and raise nearly $3B — many of them finding co-founders through the community While building ODF we noticed something important: solo founders are significantly underestimated in the startup ecosystem
Despite solo-founded companies like Midjourney, Vercel and ODF startups like Loyal, Pave, and Settle proving the model works, many investors continue to push founders to find co-founders before taking them seriously.
We're changing that narrative, starting today.
We're launching two initiatives to help encourage and support solo founders:
- Solo Club — a community for solo founders. Early members have raised from top investors, are successful second-time founders, etc.
- Solo Founders Program — a three-month program for ~6 solo founders in SF.
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Housing in SF with an additional full-floor office
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Incredibly talented founders who want to spend 3 months building alongside each other
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$800K+ in perks/credits
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Stipend for personal costs (as an investment)
Our first cohort for Solo Founders Program starts May 15th.
We have already accepted some incredible people (>25k stars on GitHub, one just signed a term sheet with a top VC; etc). Only 2-3 slots remain — apply today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd-IFnr7I0&embedable=true&transcript=true&video=false
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd-IFnr7I0&embedable=true
Why are we doing this?
Twenty years ago, Y Combinator challenged convention by backing young technical founders when others wouldn't. Today, we believe solo founders represent a similar opportunity - an undervalued group building remarkable companies.
Through ODF, we've seen that while finding great co-founders works for many, others thrive on their own. We want to support both paths.
If you're a solo founder building something exciting — join us:
If you apply for the Program you are automatically considered for the Community.
We aim to normalize solo founding and create a future where finding a co-founder isn't the only path. We also know that a lot of startups can increase their chances of success with the right co-founder. If this is you, apply to ODF25.