Day One Ventures, a venture capital firm launched in 2018, has launched a program aimed at those affected by the technology downturn this year, combining venture capital with marketing and communications support.
The program, entitled “Fired Not Fired,” will write $100,000 checks to 20 startup teams at the end of the year. Top businesses from the group will receive follow-on capital from Day One Venture Commitment to lead their pre-seed round with a $1 million check. In total, the organization allocates at least $5 million of its $52.5 million fund to founders spinning off from violent startups.
Founder and GP Masha Butcher, She left her former life as a politician and TV reporter in Russia to become a venture capitalist, presented the show last week in the wake of Streep’s and Twitter’s firing. Her bet? Of the thousands of workers affected by tech cuts this year, at least 0.1% to 1% are likely to be untrusted founders.
The program is a formal double-click on the venture’s obsession with mafia founders, even with high-profile companies who have high-profile ventures to start their own businesses. The added layer of complexity, however, is the downfall that somewhat defines the technology of 2022. For example, if I was fired from my job, I don’t know if my first thought would be to take a bet on myself and start working. A very risky business can fail. But per Bucher, that mindset is exactly what keeps me (and probably many out-of-work tech workers) out of the entrepreneurial world.
“I think you’re not going to be a good founder if you’re afraid of risk,” Butcher said. “Don’t make the mistake of starting a company with so many changes in the last three years,” she added, adding that it certainly makes sense if people want to find work or work with founders. Instead of being one. Other examples of programs created to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs include Z Fellows and Cleo Capital, a fellowship for former laid-off workers.
She emphasized that the program is “not a charity” and that people from Stripe and Twitter don’t get preferential treatment when pitching Day One Ventures (even though they’re the inspiration for the program).
Aspiring founders do not need an incorporated company or a fully fleshed out startup idea to apply for the program. The form asks for founders’ background, lofty ideals, dimensions and why behind their entrepreneurial journey. To qualify for the accelerator, at least one co-founder must be recently fired, be able to go full-time at the startup and show three references.
The application deadline is November 25, 2022 and final decisions will be made by December 20, 2022.
“Compared to all the VCs who take a break until next year, we will work until December 31 – this is completely safe,” Bucher said. “It’s times like these that make us want to do a little bit more, go the extra mile, take a break, and hopefully bring back some companies that will be the size of Coinbase, Airbnb, and Stripe in the future.”
