How it works
Every founder-led company goes the same way: a conversation, a real application, a clear decision, terms in writing, and then the work, in Zincan Venture Studio. Some companies we start ourselves, and those we own outright.
Five steps
Sometimes we have seen your work and invite you. Sometimes you request an invite. Either way it starts with a conversation, not a pitch deck.
// we reach out, or you ask
invitation → sent
request → read
A real application, not a form. It takes an hour or two to do properly, and it saves as you go, so start it, leave it and come back to it.
// you apply
application → saved
application → submitted
Someone at Zincan reads it and starts a conversation with you. Expect questions and pushback. Every message reaches you by email, so you never have to sit in our app waiting.
// we talk it through, and dig in
conversation → open
research → before the decision
Yes or no, with reasons. If it's a yes, you become an Entrepreneur-in-Residence and we agree terms in writing before anyone starts building.
// we decide, clearly
decision → yes or no, with reasons
terms → in writing
Your company opens in Zincan Venture Studio on day one. You talk to Coach, Coach brings in the right specialist, and the work shows up as things you can hold.
// you build, with the studio
coach → bringing in Design
logo → ready for review
The deal
We build with one founder per company, so it has to be the right one. Here is the whole shape of it, before you ask.
Some companies we start ourselves, and those we own outright.
No. Engineering builds it: the website, the app, the pull requests. You review what it makes and decide what ships.
You do. A founder-led company is yours: you keep the majority and control, and Zincan takes a meaningful minority stake that vests like yours does. We agree it in writing before anyone builds.
Some companies Zincan starts itself, with no outside founder. Those, Zincan owns outright.
Yes. It is read by the people at Zincan who run intake, and by nobody else. Other founders never see it, and the conversation about it is between you and us.
Coach is who you talk to in Zincan Venture Studio, the way you would talk to a cofounder. Coach knows your company, brings in the right specialist (Engineering, Design, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, Accounting or Legal), and the work comes back as something you can review: a logo, a pull request, a print proof, a contract.
Yes. A venture is one company, and a company can run several products: a website, a phone app, a prototype you want to test before you commit to it. Each one is built and shipped in the same studio.
Yes. Founders get a monthly stipend so they can focus, alongside studio capital to validate, build and launch. The details go in the terms we agree in writing.
We build with one founder per company, and we read every request.