Court Lorenzini, a technology industry veteran who co-founded e-signature giant Docusign and three other companies, is launching a new endeavour called Founder Nexus that wants to help entrepreneurs supercharge their businesses.
It’s the latest effort targeting startups with community-based offerings and other related services. Foundations in Seattle and Vanport in Portland are two recent examples that are also just getting off the ground.
Lorenzini has advised hundreds of startups over the course of his career as a serial entrepreneur and investor. He’s seen, over and over again, the pitfalls that can lead to startup failure. And he wants to provide a place for founders to get help and avoid those common mistakes.
“The founder’s journey is very lonely and stressful,” Lorenzini said. “You need answers, but you have limited places to turn for guidance.”
Founder Nexus describes itself as a highly curated community for venture-scale founders. It is anchored by bi-monthly events that feature group sessions organized using an algorithm developed by Lorenzini designed to match entrepreneurs dealing with similar problems and opportunities.
Members take lengthy surveys that include questions about their personal history and personality. The data is used to help pair them effectively.
“By the time you’re finished with an event, you’ll have a met a number of very talented, experienced founders who have been able to opine on their own personal experiences in areas that you care about,” Lorenzini said.
Founder Nexus members will be required to have co-founded at least one company and served at least two years as a startup executive, and at least three years leading teams.
“There is a huge number of people who have great experiences. Let’s let them share that with other founders,” Lorenzini said. “Let’s create this entirely new web of connective tissue for these very unique humans that are the engines of our society and growth.”
The organization is starting in Seattle but wants to expand globally, with chapters in different cities across the world. Each chapter is limited to 250 people.
Founder Nexus does not have time or cohort-based structures that are common with accelerators such as Y Combinator and Techstars.
Members will pay monthly ($375) or annual ($4,000) membership fees.
If a member hires someone from the Founder Nexus community, or launches a new entity with fellow members, then they are expected to pledge a small warrant in their company to Founder Nexus. If that company exits in the future, cash from the warrant will be dispersed among Founder Nexus community members and the entity itself.
The model is designed so that members are economically incentivized to help each other, Lorenzini said.
Lorenzini declined to say what percentage of equity is expected from the warrants.
“This isn’t a moneymaker,” he said of Founder Nexus. “This isn’t going out and looking at it as, ‘Court’s going to make a lot of money.’
“What this is going to do, if it’s working right, is create an incredibly new and vibrant tool in the ecosystem.”
Lorenzini is providing the capital to operate Founder Nexus. He’s working with a small team of developers but expects to add help as the community expands to more cities.
Founder Nexus was inspired in part by the creation and growth of VC Lab, an accelerator for new and emerging venture capital fund managers. Lorenzini was an early investor in the organization.
Lorenzini helped launch Docusign in 2003 and left the company in 2008 to start Primus BioVision. He also co-founded a receipt data processing startup called MetaBrite, but shut that down in 2018. Lorenzini is a limited partner in Seattle firms including Graham & Walker, Ascend, and Unlock Venture Partners.
https://ift.tt/xmyTKLE July 22, 2024 at 02:00PM GeekWire
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