On Deck is a curated community designed to increase your odds of building a successful venture-backed company. We onboard you with a weekend summit then combine an online community, software and events to help you find co-founders, make early hires, build early product momentum, get distribution, and raise capital.
Apply NowDeadline for applications: June 5
Join an upcoming Q&A to learn more
Draw up to $25,000 to cover living expenses
If you need to cover living expenses while you explore, you can draw up to $25,000 from our Access Initiative via ODF Advance. If you build conviction to start a company, the $25,000 converts to 1.4% equity, and we'll invest another $125,000 via ODX. If you don't, we only ask you to pay it forward to the next founder by contributing back to the Access Initiative.
first – Meet your cohort in-person
On Deck kicks off with a weekend summit in the Bay Area.
Having an anchor in San Francisco, where relentless optimism and contagious ambition are ubiquitous, has never been more important.
Our 2-day kick-off summit is designed to help you build foundational relationships with over a hundred founders that will persist beyond the weekend.
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then – Build momentum towards your goals for 4 weeks
Our online community, software tools and carefully-engineered programming will help you find the people and answers you need to accelerate your company.
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Meet your cohort IRL in San Francisco

Find your support network and build deeper relationships

Team up to build and ship something awesome

Reflect on your progress and plan your next steps
Meet your cohort IRL in San Francisco
Find your support network and build deeper relationships
Team up to build and ship something awesome
Reflect on your progress and plan your next steps
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If you’re ready to build, we’re ready to back you
We believe in you and your ideas. When you join ODF, we commit to this handshake deal: if you start a company within the next year, you'll join ODX, and we'll invest on our standard terms of $125,000 for 7%.
finally – Build with a community at your back
After the onboarding you can leverage the community, platform and programming.
For the duration of your membership, you can use On Deck as much or as little as you need. You’ll continue to have access to a vibrant online community, regular programing and frequent IRL happenings.
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Online Community – 2,500+ talented founders to connect with
Whether you’re validating an idea, seeking a co-founder, raising money, or just looking for partners to build with — you’ll find people to help you along the way.
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Community Directory & Asks – find what you need
Easily find the most relevant people and answers you need, when you need them. Get notified when there are new members who meet the criteria you’re looking for.
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Bootcamps – navigate the idea maze, find co-founders and more.
Structured, multi-week experiences designed to help you achieve the outcome you need, when you need it.

First Look – get in front of investors, when you're ready
Pitch your company to investors across the On Deck network, receive early feedback and make connections for your round.

SF Pop-up Space – more collisions, more momentum
This space is as a lighthouse for the community, where we'll host events, fireside chats, co-working days and much more.
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Credits and Perks – everything you need to get started
Over $800k in credits and discounts from AWS, Google Cloud, Ramp, Brex, Carta, Eight Sleep, incorporation law firms and much more.
Access our playbooks right now
We invested hundreds of hours to co-develop On Deck playbooks with industry experts.
Problem validation
Validate ideas & markets with Asher King Abramson
Build a founding team
Hire your early team with Keith Rabois
FAQ
ODF is a community for founders who’re exploring starting something soon, have taken the leap to start, or are an early-stage founder looking to accelerate with the support of a community.
ODF is a 12-month program. It kicks off with a two-day in-person summit in San Francisco on Friday June 23rd. After the retreat, you’ll have 4 weeks of IRL and virtual programming designed to meet your goals. Afterwards, you'll continue to have access to the community for another 12 months.
The first few weeks are a structured onboarding into the community. We strongly encourage everyone to attend the 2-day kickoff summit in San Francisco.
Post-summit, the 4-week programming will offer a combination of networking, building, and actively learning from structured sessions.
For the rest of the year, how much time you invest in ODF is largely up to you. You’ll continue to have access to a vibrant online community, regular programming and frequent IRL happenings, as well as a community hub in SF.
We welcome global founders from all over the world to apply and join our community. We want founders to meet in person, then carry their relationships with them wherever they go. We encourage founders to try to spend as much time in SF as they can during the program. You will get the most value from participation if you take this as an opportunity to invest in building your Bay Area network.
Additionally, the community mainly consists of founders whose companies are selling to US/EU/LATAM-based customers. Our programming is also mostly geared towards US-based startups, and happens mostly on US-friendly hours. If you are not planning to sell to US/EU/LATAM customers, you may find less utility from ODFs.
When you join ODF, you get:
✅ Four weeks of onboarding alongside 100+ high-momentum founders
✅ A year of access to the ODF community, including 2,500+ talented alumni and weekly events
✅ Access to our legendary Slack and Community Platform
✅ Thousands of hours of recorded workshops and how-tos
✅ >$800k in perks from companies like AWS, Brex, and Carta
Absolutely. ODF is for all early-stage founders, anywhere from pre-idea through pre-seed stage.
Participation is held in strict confidence. Even if you’re happy to share, you are requested to respect the privacy of other members who aren’t ready to make their plans public.
On Deck’s Admissions team accepts applications on a rolling basis. Check out ODF Admissions Process to learn more.
You can participate in ODF fully virtually. However, we have thriving alumni communities in many major metros, and host regular IRL events in startup-centric metros like San Francisco, New York, and London.
The next cohort of ODF (ODF18) kicks off in June with an in-person kickoff summit in San Francisco.
Yearly membership for ODF is $2,990. This includes the 2-day kickoff summit, access to the San Francisco community space, 4 weeks of programming and our virtual community.
On Deck lives by four core guiding values, crucial to the culture we strive to foster in the community: Service, Confidentiality, Gratitude, Family.