Your Profile's on Fire!
The Foundance community needs a quick way to understand your level of entrepreneurial experience. Does it tell the whole story, not even close, but it does give an indication as to whether you have ever been around the block.
The original idea from Chris was discussed in this LinkedIn post. Over time both the algorithm and visual style will evolve, and it will always be described here.
The Rationale
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.
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.
The Calculation
- 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.
Why Should You Care
Over time we will build more into the algorithm, and the algorithm will impact more of the platform. Are you looking to join a team, engage an advisor, raise money? Your rank will not decide anything, but it will help with your visibility, you'll appear nearer the top in searches and our systems will recommend you more often. Want to join the soonami EIR scheme? Crowdfunding your project? The more completely we, or our AI can see your entrepreneurial journey, the more streamlined your journey will be. Maybe it will pay to complete your profile!