Manifesto
Foundations’ Vision & Mission
Seattle, while excellent for building businesses, lacks the ecosystem necessary for founding them. Foundations, an invite-only community of tech founders, aims to change this by providing the essential scaffolding for the most capable and ambitious local entrepreneurs.
Our vision is a thriving startup ecosystem where established leaders, up-and-comers, and new entrants can connect, share experiences, and grow together.
We're building a fabric for our startup community that fosters deep relationships and knowledge sharing, crucial for a high-performing ecosystem and anchored by a physical space in the center of Seattle. Our goal is to support founders efficiently, respecting their most valuable asset: time.
The Importance of Community and Diversity
We've identified two distinct groups of potential members who want to engage with the community in different ways:
Founders in Residence: 0 to seed founders who are working torward product/market-fit and are in the first six months of their membership. For founders in residence, the Foundations space is their full-time office.
Members: Active or former founders and operators who look to Foundations for peer mentorship, the opportunity to connect, and/or the desire to give back to those a few steps behind them on the journey. For members, the Foundations office is their third space and visited up to a couple of times a week.
The Role of Physical Space and Structured Programs
Foundations is located in a 5,000 sf office space on Capitol Hill designed to handle events of up to 75 people. It includes:
Five meeting rooms and three phone booths
A deep-work space and two casual hangout spaces
Free gym membership and an affordable adjacent parking garage
50 desks
Structured programs include:
Founder Circles
Member-only events (Friday happy hour, monthly founder fireside chat, First Thursday demo day)
Public events (Monthly community happy hour)
A founder in residence program where early-stage members can access free desk space and mentorship throughout a 6-month process
Ownership & Leadership
Foundations is designed to support the Seattle startup ecosystem: Full-stop. Our board (to be announced soon) consists of some of the most respected local founders, VCs, and operators dedicated to our mission. Additionally, 70% of the equity in Foundations will be granted to our first 200 members, vesting over 5 years of active membership.
The Sustainable and Long-term Approach
Foundations is organized as a benefit corporation with the goal of becoming financially self-sustaining, owned by the community it serves, and with a long-term mandate to evaluate additional mission-aligned revenue opportunities. These may include:
Membership dues
A formal incubator
An accelerator
Investment vehicles
The distribution of dividends
This approach ensures that Foundations can continue to serve and grow the Seattle startup ecosystem for years to come.
Joining Foundations
Foundations is launching in September with 100+ founding members. We will be accepting our first batch of founders in residence in early October and members will be added in monthly batches starting thereafter.
If you are interested in joining in either capacity, please join the mailing list.