For the most sought-after founders, the prestige of a top-tier accelerator is increasingly weighed against giving up a significant ownership stake in their company.
Ali Partovi, the veteran investor and CEO of venture firm Neo, wants to offer the mentorship and community of one of the most elite accelerator programs—without forcing the best up-and-coming tech leaders to hand over 7% or even 10% of their company before they’ve even started.
Partovi, who is known for his early investments in Facebook, Cursor, and Kalshi, has just introduced Neo Residency, a new, competitively structured program that combines the firm’s now four-year-old accelerator with a track for current college students.
The terms that Neo Residency offers are so founder-friendly as to be “not even comparable to any other accelerator,” Partovi told TechCrunch.
For the cohort of 12 to 15 startups entering the program this summer, Neo will invest $750,000 via an uncapped SAFE — a contract that gives an investor future equity in exchange for money now, with no ceiling on the valuation used to calculate that stake. Unlike the fixed-percentage deals typical of other accelerators, Neo won’t receive its equity until the company’s next formal funding round, and even then, the dilution is tied to valuation. If a startup raises its next round at a $15 million valuation, Neo’s stake will be 5%, but if that valuation hits $100 million, the firm’s ownership drops to just 0.75%.
“We take the risk up front, so this is extremely favorable to startups,” Partovi said.
In comparison, Y Combinator typically takes a fixed 7% of the company for $125,000, with another $375,000 invested on an uncapped MFN — or most-favored nation — SAFE, a clause that ensures early investors get terms at least as good as those given to later ones. Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz’s Speedrun program typically invests $500,000 in exchange for 10% of the startup via a SAFE note, and another $500,000 if the next round is raised within 18 months at whatever terms are agreed to by the other investors.
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