What EF Wants to See in Founders at Zero
In a rapidly evolving pre-seed landscape, Entrepreneurs First focuses on working with and supporting founders before there is a company, a product or a team.
Join us for a conversation with Alice Bentinck, the Co-Founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First (EF) — the talent investor that has helped launch more than 500 companies (now valued at $16B).
Since founding EF in 2011, Alice has backed ambitious individuals before they have an idea or a team, and have built one of the most distinctive models for company creation in the world. In this session, we focus on the questions that matter most:
A Different Path In — What led EF to rewrite the rules for pre-seed, and why it opens doors for a different kind of founder;
The Talent Investing Thesis — How betting on individuals before ideas, co-founders, or traction became EF's edge — and what it means if you're early in your journey;
What Outlier Looks Like — The specific signals and traits EF looks for that conventional investors might miss.
There'll be time for Q&A at the end. Most useful for ambitious founders, technical builders, and anyone curious about how the best investors identify breakout talent at the earliest stage.
Speakers:
Alice Bentinck: Alice is the Co-Founder and CEO of Entrepreneur First. She pioneered talent investing as a category, co-founded Code First Girls — the UK's largest provider of free coding courses for women — and co-authored How to be a Founder, winner of the 2023 Best Startup Book of the Year.
About Us: Backed by a16z and Y Combinator, Metal is an AI-native operating system for founders raising venture rounds.