Who are your members?
Around 70% of our members are founders who aspire to start a company and 30% are researchers and experts 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 1300 alumni. Our active members are primarily split between hubs in San Francisco, New York City, and Bangalore.
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 throughout the week, which usually means that folks need to be located in SF, NYC, or Bangalore.
What is the difference between Member Residency and the SPC Founder Fellowship?
Member Residency and the Founder Fellowship are both paths to joining SPC. The Founder Fellowship supports technologists who know they want to start a company and are ready for funding to help. Member Residency is open to technologists who may or may not know they want to start a company and are not yet ready for funding. Members 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 journey, usually with an early team and a high-conviction north star (market, idea, or product), offering $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 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 throughout the week, staying active in our private Slack, cultivating relationships with other members, and contributing in your areas of expertise.
Is there a membership fee?
No, we do not charge fees or dues. The Member Residency is supported by our fund.
Who should apply to SPC?
Anyone who is in the midst of or thinking about a professional and/or personal life transition and looking for a talent-dense community of intentional builders. We look for people who are excited about participating in SPC and ready to make figuring out what they want to do next their primary focus.
What is the application process?
First, apply on our website for either Member Residency or our Founder Fellowship. We go through every application and you’ll generally hear from us within 1-3 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 on a rolling basis and will start processing your application whenever you apply. We welcome new members every month. Founder Fellowship applications are open twice per year and have deadlines.
Can I be a member while I have a full-time job?
Generally, no. We 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 in 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, 30% of our members are technologists doing independent research, building open-source software, writing books, or pursuing other non-founding endeavors.
Can I apply if I’m in school?
Yes, we consider applicants who want to leave or take a sabbatical from university or academia. Technical researchers are the second most common member profile, after founders. In the past, we’ve had academics, from undergrads to PhDs to professors, join SPC.
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 Member Residency?
SPC membership is a 6 month exploratory residency. Members spend their time at SPC learning about new areas, meeting potential collaborators, and building conviction in what they want to work on next. About 70% of our members join with the intent to start a company, while 30% pursue other endeavors like AI research or building open-source software. We believe this kind of flexibility is critical for exploration.
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 accountability groups, learning forums, speaker series, workshops, and roundtables with industry experts to accelerate your learning and connectivity amongst one another.
How long does Member Residency last?
Member Residency at SPC lasts 6 months. After these 6 months of exploration, many members join the Founder Fellowship or graduate to work on their next endeavor full-time.
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, with applications deadlines ahead of the cohort start date. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis while the application is open. We fund teams immediately on acceptance to the program, even if the official start date isn't for a while.
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. Member Residency 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?
As a member, the SPC Fund has no right to invest in any company you start. We do expect members to pitch the fund if you raise money for a company you worked on at SPC, but you are not required to take our money. We expect to earn that right.