Venture Fellowship (London) - The Bridge

The Bridge is the fastest way for Europeans to build massive companies in San Francisco from scratch. At Entrepreneurs First, we’ve spent over a decade refining how to identify the most talented potential founders around the globe, help them build teams, ideate and raise funds from the world’s best VCs. The portfolio we’ve built this way is now worth over $15bn.

San Francisco is the most competitive startup ecosystem in the world - if you can win there, you can win globally. It has forged the most valuable companies to ever exist; for those that want to build something generational, there’s no better place to found. That has led us to The Bridge: combining the best European talent with a decade of company-building knowledge, and bringing it to the SF ecosystem. Cohorts of 40-50 founders, living, working and building companies together from scratch, in a house in San Francisco. 8 weeks to go from nothing, to a funded startup. This will be the place the next $100bn company gets created.

At The Bridge (and Entrepreneurs First) we back early career talent; this extends to our team as well as founders. Every year we back up to three people who are at the earliest stages of their careers to spend two years with us learning the ropes of building out their startup network, venture capital, and getting an inside view on what world class company building looks like. At the end of the two years, we back the fellows to take their next step by actively helping them secure roles as either a full time investor, a startup operator or a founder. Previous fellows have gone on to become Partners at EF, work in Tier 1 VC, become startup operators, run government agencies or founded their own companies.

What you'll do:

• Find the world’s next greatest founders: develop and execute theses on where extraordinary talent emerges.
• Sharpen your judgment: learn what exceptional founders and world-changing companies look like.
• Be a trusted partner to exceptional people: advise on career moves, company creation, and fundraising.
• Influence investment decisions: contribute to EF’s selection of founders and teams for the portfolio.

What does that look like:

• Sourcing talent in Europe: you will spend approximately eight months of the year working intensely on finding great people that we want to invest in.
• Shaping talent and companies in San Francisco: you will spend approximately two to three months of the year in San Francisco, supporting the people we’ve invested in, to build their founding teams and figure out the ideas they want to work on.

What you’ll learn:

• Talent spotting: how to assess raw potential before it’s obvious.
• Company building: team dynamics, idea validation, customer development, fundraising.
• Technical literacy: applied tech fluency across multiple fields.
• Investment thinking: pattern recognition, conviction building, and portfolio construction.

Outcomes you can aim for:

• VC: Graduate into an associate role either at EF or externally, after building a rare edge in pre-seed sourcing and founder assessment.
• Operator: Join a fast growing startup in a high-leverage role with a deep network of technical founders.
• Founder: Use EF as your launchpad to start your own company with exceptional co-founders.

Who you are:

Early in your career (graduated within the last two years), hungry to learn by doing, and ambitious. You likely recognise yourself in most of the below:

• Intellectually curious: you dig for first principles, self-teach, and range across domains.
• Driven: you find creative ways through walls; you own your outcomes.
• Network builder: you build meaningful relationships with exceptional people, peers and seniors alike.
• Discerning judge of talent: high standards; optimistic yet realistic about people’s potential.
• Tech-impact oriented: fascinated by how technology, especially via startups, changes the world.

Who this role is not for:

• You want a structured 9-5pm job: Venture Fellows are network builders.
• You want a clear career path: The diversity and malleability of the role creates an unusual level of optionality.
• You want to be managed closely: You will be given an incredible degree of autonomy and creative control from a very early stage.

What success looks like by the end of your fellowship:

• You’ve built a repeatable sourcing engine for exceptional early-career talent.
• Founders trust your judgment; you’ve shaped multiple successful EF teams.
• You contribute confidently to selection and investment debates with clear, evidence-based views.
• You’ve mapped your next step (VC, operator, or founder) and have credible options.

How we’ll back you:

• You will directly influence capital deployment decisions within the first 12 months of your fellowship.
• You will receive direct mentorship from seasoned investors and advisors.
• You will get direct access to the EF alumni and investor network.
• We will find you your next step and back you with capital to take it.