Founder In Residence, Community Building Through Pickleball

About Us

Platform Venture Studio (platformstud.io) is the best co-founder you could have. Created by founders for founders, our tried and true methodology turbo charges startups’ velocity to success.

Our studio team does real work, we don’t waste time, and we’ve been there. Platform’s creators, serial entrepreneur Jeremy Burton and 2020 Midas List investor Tim Connors, have 30+ years of experience developing highly successful startups.

In addition to support from our studio team and other portfolio companies, we have a guild of coaches, investors, and advisors, and ~60K+ Platform’s deep network contacts.

We don't chase fads, and we do no harm. Our mission is to build companies that change the world for the better. Each of our startups aligns with our vision and fits into at least one of our themes: the new economy, climate, social justice, and civic engagement.

About the Founder-in-Residence Role

A Founder-in-Residence (or "FIR") is an entrepreneur we partner with to solve an Unmet Need. Typically, we begin a partnership with a FIR to develop an idea that is still in its infancy.

We offer income to FIRs because we believe that the inability to work without income is often a big part of what prevents some founders—particularly those from underrepresented groups— from starting the entrepreneurship journey. However, equity is of course always the primary reward for being a startup founder.

About using Pickleball to Build Community Unmet Need

Pickleball is a great pretense for healthy exercise, socializing with friends, meeting new people, and visiting new places. But without intentional effort and design, we all tend to cluster in small pickleball bubbles, typically correlated with socio-economics. How could we use pickleball as a tool to break out of our bubbles and empower community & economic development?

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/01/28/pickleball-is-the-fastest-growing-sport-in-america.

Huge community builder: All ages can play and have fun together

Very inexpensive and Accessible to every community.

What Platform FIR’s Get

• Validated startup idea (in the form of Unmet Need and Solution) with a strong chance of success
• Talented, flexible, remote-first studio team with deep expertise in design, engineering, research, and growth to help you build, launch, and iterate efficiently
• Initial capital and access to our investor network
• Coaching all along the way
• Tried and true glide path to success with specific, measurable milestones
• Shared ops, HR, and G&A functions—legal, talent, finance, etc
• Access to Platform Guild, our network of trusted advisors and subject-matter experts

Who We’re Looking For

• Understanding of founder life: You understand both the highs and the lows of the founder journey, and you have the grit and mental fortitude for it (of course, we are here to support you all along the way!). You know that the day-to-day of a founder’s life is not necessarily glamorous. You might have gotten this understanding from starting a company already, being an employee close to a founder at an early-stage startup, or experimenting with your own entrepreneurial projects and initiatives.
• Goodness: You have low ego and high integrity. You’re motivated by wanting to change the world for the better. You do what is right. You are collaborative and communicative. You treat your customers, your team, and your advisors with utmost thoughtfulness. You are able to inspire others to goodness.
• Passion for our themes: You agree with the quote: “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution” (from Uri Levine at Waze). At the end of the day, you care most about solving a real problem in spaces that matter, and making an impact for those with a deep Unmet Need within our current four themes: new economy, climate, social justice, and civic engagement.
• Learning ability and growth mindset: You possess strong self awareness, situational awareness, and the capacity for critical self-reflection. You’re not afraid to ask for help, and you’re open-minded, curious, and eager to learn from others. You are able to objectively analyze and communicate your decisions, actions, and their results; process external feedback and other perspectives; and quickly adapt with new information.
• “Startup DNA”: You have a tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, paired with a bias toward action and proactiveness. You are driven to succeed. You are always coming up with new ideas and thinking about ways to make things better. Bonus points if you know how to prioritize your ideas to focus on ones that will move the needle.

Please get in touch and tell us more if you feel you are uniquely qualified to solve this problem as a Platform Founder in Residence.