#pre seed

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.

Formed as a partnership between the Haas School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, SkyDeck combines the consulting know-how of traditional accelerators with the vast resources of its research university.This robust partnership is coupled with SkyDeck’s unique mentorship program to create a powerful environment for startups. Its SkyAdvisors, Partners, and large network of accredited investors connect their SkyTeams to the expertise and capital they need to launch and grow…to the moon.

Conviction is a new venture firm built specifically for the next generation of AI-native, “Software 3.0” companies—the ones poised to become tomorrow’s defining businesses. If Software 1.0 was driven by human-written code, and Software 2.0 by labeled datasets, Software 3.0 is powered by the ability to shape and steer foundation models. We’re still in the earliest phase of turning these models into real products that reshape entire industries.Pushing into frontiers like this can feel exciting, strange, and a bit lonely. That’s why small, tight-knit communities matter. To support founders working at the edge of AI, we created Embed—an invitation-only program for exceptional early teams. Embed brings together a deep network, hard-earned company-building insight, and an AI-native community where founders learn from each other and gain an edge.We’ve already run three cohorts and had the privilege of working with teams behind Chai, Cognition, Listen Labs, Physical Intelligence, Pika Labs, Reflection, Somite, Yutori, and others. And we’re just getting started.