Environment
San Francisco with no operating drag
Housing, office space, and a stipend are part of the program so founders can spend the full two-month residency in a tighter loop of work, feedback, and momentum.
Main program
The Founder's Dojo FU ND Residency
The main program is a recurring two-month San Francisco residency with batches that begin every two months, starting with six companies on June 1, 2026. It is designed for founders who already have meaningful traction or impact and need sharper leverage across product, distribution, hiring, capital, positioning, and network access.
Offer
Six companies. Two months. Full-team support.
We remove all physical, financial, and logistical friction so you can focus entirely on compound growth.
Mentor access
Industry leaders, exited founders, VCs, and angels
The advisory layer is meant to be useful in practice, not ornamental. Founders should expect hard feedback, specific introductions, and decision-shaping context.
FU ND model
2 percent for concentrated help and long-term alignment
The economics are intentionally lean because the FU ND wants to keep backing companies after the residency instead of treating the two-month program as the end of the relationship.
Founder fit
Who this is actually for.
We look for highly capable, impact-driven builders who already have outcomes on the board.
Traction
Already producing outcomes
The best fit already has revenue, adoption, customer pull, distribution proof, or another credible signal that the company is working.
Impact
Already making a decent dent
The target founder can point to people, systems, or markets that are materially better because the company already exists.
Scale
Ready for the next order of magnitude
The residency is built for founders who need leverage, not generic startup encouragement.
Tempo
Able to use pressure well
A two-month residency only works if the team is ready for concentrated conversation, rapid iteration, and honest operator feedback.
Partner fit
A company the partners can materially help
The FU ND wants situations where David, Rishi, the advisors, and the Dojo network can produce non-generic leverage.
Backability
Strong enough to syndicate after graduation
Every residency company is a candidate for continued backing through the FU ND, which is why the bar is higher than a typical accelerator funnel.
How the Dojo works
The older startup-program language turned into a sharper operating model.
Clear targets, straight-line execution, and the total avoidance of startup theater.
Dojo philosophy
Capital, talent, and wisdom
The Dojo connects capital, talent & wisdom to accomplish the amazing.
How work gets done
Vision, hypothesis, experimentation
The formation phase starts with a vision - how the world should change. A hypothesis - if we do this, that will happen, and experimentation to adjust the vector towards the vision.
Growth philosophy
Straight, fast, and frictionless
The older startup-program copy is blunt about the intended style: achieve clarity, map the simplest path to the next objective, and keep avoidable pain low.
Support
What founders actually get once they arrive.
Direct co-pilot operating support from managing partners and a vetted network of elite builders.
Partner time
Direct involvement from David and Rishi
The program is designed around direct managing-partner time rather than broad but shallow programming.
Network access
A community that already knows how to help companies move
The Dojo works with companies in a broad range of roles primarily capital deployment, advisory and project management.
After the residency
Graduation is the start of the next relationship
The FU ND intends to syndicate strong companies after the residency, making each cohort part of a longer support arc instead of a one-off batch experience.
Proof pattern
The Fund already understands this kind of company.
A selection of high-yield exits and decentralized cloud giants built within our orbit.
DTC exit
Native Co
The Dojo orbit helped shape Native Co before its sale to Procter & Gamble in a $100M outcome.
Decentralized infrastructure
Akash
Akash appears in the Dojo story as a category-defining decentralized cloud project with value measured above the billion-dollar mark.
Developer tooling
Scout Monitoring
Scout Monitoring is described as a leading distributed monitoring system that later sold to SolarWinds.
Global consumer brand
Linjer
The Dojo story positions Linjer as a leading global fashion brand and one of the largest DTC operators in its category across the Pacific Rim.
Imported media
The San Francisco environment is part of the offer.
A premium, inspiring workspace in the heart of the city designed for deep collaboration.
Residency rationale
Each batch is deliberately small so every company gets real partner time.
Six spots is a design choice, not a scarcity gimmick. The June 1, 2026 inaugural batch sets the pattern: a cohort small enough that each founder actually feels the weight of the team, advisors, and network around them.