Explore starting a company
Working on a startup already? Apply to ODX →
In the past 2 years, we've helped 2,500+ talented builders explore their next thing
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On Deck helped us hire our first employee, raise $900k in pre-seed, and accelerate our GTM motion within the network. Our Series B wouldn’t have happened without On Deck.
On Deck helped me recruit our team, find our first beta customers, and build a community of support to get through the challenges of the founder to CEO transition.
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On Deck has been transformational for finding my co-founder and meeting like-minded individuals. It brings together people who are exceptional, ready to start a company and the mentorship needed.
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On Deck was catalytic in the earliest introductions to angel investors which gave us the momentum needed for later rounds of fundraising.
On Deck helped me get conviction on one of the four ideas I had when I joined. Those same fellows became our most valuable early users.
I met my co-founder Alan in ODF2, we hired an account executive and growth marketer through On Deck’s talent programs, and that helped us raise from Felicis and NFX.
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I hired my first engineer and my first designer via On Deck.
On Deck was instrumental to OfficeTogether’s fundraising and early hires. We hired a strategy lead from On Deck First 50 and a designer from On Deck Designers. I’ve also made some lifelong friends.
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On Deck helped find our first users, validate our idea, and connect us with the fund who led our $1.85M seed round.
I met my co-founder and CTO Akshay thanks to On Deck. He's a force of nature and we complement each other perfectly.
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On Deck helped us validate our idea and connected us with our very first users, some of whom angel invested in our first round.
We commit to invest in you earlier than anyone else
The process
Explore starting a company, surrounded by top talent. Whenever you're ready to go full-time, we'll fund you with $125,000.
If you decide not to start a company, let us know and we'll help you figure out your next step.
Apply Now
Apply to the program
We review applications on a rolling basis. The earlier you apply, the better.
Qualify for a Runway Grant, if you need
If you need personal runway to explore, you can apply for a $25,000 Runway Grant.
Join the next cohort starting January 8
We’ll give you access to the On Deck network and help you go from "curious" to "co-founder."
Experience our signature cohort onboarding
Form meaningful connections with hundreds of curated builders from day 1.
Exploration (for up to 12 months)
Our year-long programming will help you explore markets, validate ideas, and find a co-founder.
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 Runway Grants program. If you build conviction to start a company, the $25,000 converts to 1% 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 to the Access Fund as you’re able to.
FIND AN IDEA
Leverage the community to find a problem worth solving
Navigate the idea maze, attend Request for Startups events and community sessions, or dive deep into markets in conversations led by hundreds of top investors and industry experts.
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Shared interests:
Metabolic Health
Sleep
Wearables
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Shared interests:
Creator Economy
Tools
Culture
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Shared interests:
Sustainable Fashion
Community
Shared interests:
Remote work
Marketplaces
Freelancers
FIND A CO-FOUNDER
Find the right partner to build with
Joining ODF means joining hundreds of world-class operators, looking for their next thing right now. Find the right partner with curated 1:1 introductions, social events and real projects.
100+ CO-FOUNDERS Met through ON deck
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BUILD SPRINTS & BUILD WEEKENDS
Gain conviction on your next idea by working on real projects
Test ideas, meet new teammates and build projects through our week-long sprints and signature hackathons.
Events
Featured
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Explore starting a company, surrounded by hundreds of founders
By joining a community of hundreds of other founders, you’ll have diverse perspectives and expertise at your fingertips everyday, and build a handful of deep relationships with partners, advisors, cofounders, and friends.
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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%.
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
Apply to ODF
Apply to ODF
FAQ
ODF is for people at the earliest stages of their founder journey. All you need to join is a special skill or insight, and the desire to build a venture-scale business. If you have an idea or a cofounder already, that’s great — ODF can help you with traction, product, and more. If you are already working full-time on your startup, check out ODX.
ODF is a program for people who are exploring the possibility of starting a company, but are unsure if that’s actually what they want to do. The program helps you navigate the idea maze, find collaborators and figure out if you're ready to build a venture-scaled business.
ODX is an accelerator for people who have the conviction to start a venture-scale company. ODX will help you validate your idea, find customers, hire a team and raise capital.
ODF is for people who are exploring the possibility of starting a company, but are unsure if that’s actually what they want to do. As a member of ODF, you have an All Access Pass to the On Deck network. What you choose to take advantage of is up to you. If you’re looking for a cofounder, our cofounder matching service will help you find the right people. If you want to explore and validate ideas, you can tap into world-leading experts via our Sector Networks. If you want to tighten up your founder skills, you can attend workshops and talks multiple times per week. When you join, you’ll go through orientation and your community manager will help you navigate the many resources available.
When you join ODF, you get 12 months to use your All Access Pass to the On Deck network. At any point during these 12 months, if you build enough conviction to work full-time on your startup idea, you can convert to our accelerator, ODX. Joining ODX restarts the clock and gives you another 12 months, plus $125,000 and all ODX benefits. After your time in ODF or ODX is up, you become a lifelong member of our alumni community.
How much time you invest in ODF is largely up to you. For your first month, we recommend spending at least 4 hours per week attending onboarding sessions and getting to know your cohort. After that, ODF is flexible. Some weeks you may want to spend 20 hours taking calls with fellows or attending sessions. Other weeks you may choose not to do anything. Many ODF fellows are working around families and jobs, and we fully support and respect these commitments.
There is no upfront cash cost to participate in ODF. When you join the community, we commit to this handshake deal via a Memorandum of Understanding: 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%. There's no penalty or cost if you decide not to. Put another way: by joining ODF, you’ve already gotten your first firm investment commitment, even if you’re pre-traction, pre-team, or pre-idea.
Because we recruit founders from all over the world, ODF is fully virtual. However, we have thriving alumni communities in many major metros, and will host periodic in-person events for founders to meet each other in person.
Absolutely! We believe that talent is distributed evenly around the world, and a big part our mission for ODF is to elevate and support founders outside of Silicon Valley. We accept applicants from anywhere in the world.
On Deck commits to backing you earlier than anyone else. If you decide to start a company and build full-time, you'll be automatically given a seat in ODX. ODX support you with $125,000 and an intimate 12-week program, an All Access Pass to On Deck for you to hire talent, raise money and find customers, plus a dedicated Build Partner who will work with you hands-on to hit your next milestones and raise your next round of capital. You can learn more about ODX here.
Sometimes, the conclusion of your exploration in ODF is that you’re not ready to start a venture-scale business. That’s completely fine! We want all members of the community to make the decisions that are right for them. If you leave ODF without starting a company, there’s no penalty and no cost. You also get to remain a member of the community as an alum, and we can help you as you transition towards the next exciting phase of your career.
If you’re not yet ready to work full-time working on your startup, you should apply for ODF (even if your company is already incorporated). If you are prepared to work full-time on your startup, or are already doing so, you should join ODX (even if your company is not yet incorporated).
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.
Rolling admissions means that you can apply to ODF anytime. There is no cutoff date, and if accepted, you will join the upcoming cohort. New ones kick off quarterly.
On Deck lives by four core guiding values, crucial to the culture we strive to foster in the community: Service, Confidentiality, Gratitude, Family.