Looking to apply to the Zinc Venture Builder? Here’s everything you need to know
Zinc is seeking 70 extremely ambitious, talented individuals from across the globe who want to become Zinc Founders and build businesses to transform people’s financial resilience.
The 12-month Venture Builder starts full-time, in-person in our London headquarters, in October and April of each year. Will you rise to the challenge and join us?
Zinc is an early-stage investor. We back Founders who want to build a new mission-driven business, even if they don’t yet have a team or an idea. We support the Founders to build brand new commercial businesses by providing access to co-Founders, investment, experts, in-house research & development (R&D) support and a proven process to launch a new venture.
You can find a full list of our FAQs in the document below, but here are a few questions you may find useful:
read the full FAQs hereWhat will the hours be like? Can I work on something else while on the Venture Builder or could I join part-time?
The Venture Builder is a full-time commitment, based in London. We do not offer remote or part-time options as it requires 100% commitment and focus – you will need to step away from any full-time professional commitments to join and build your new business.
What is the Zinc investment?
When Zinc backs a Founder to build a business, you receive up to £250,000 in funding. This breaks down as:
- £13,200 stipend across the first 6 months per founder (we have increased this by 10% to support with the cost of living crisis)
- £80,000 first investment for any company that we decide to back
- ~£150,000 follow on investment in the company’s seed round
Is there an application deadline?
Places are offered on a first come first serve, rolling basis and we receive hundreds of applications for every Venture Builder. As a result, applying earlier is best, especially if you require a visa or have a notice period to meet.
What happens if I miss an application round deadline? Or just recently found out about the Venture Builder at the end of the application process?
We have application rounds, but there is no clear-cut deadline for submitting an application. We are seeking great talent 365 days a year.
read the full FAQs hereJoin the Zinc community
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Featured Resources
To Eliminate Environmental Threats to Our Health
Environmental health threats pose a grave danger to human health and well-being, causing suffering to individuals and communities worldwide. These threats, which include chemical pollution, climate change, and biological hazards, cause acute and chronic diseases and exacerbate existing health conditions.
To protect those we care about, we must tackle the causes of environmental degradation, shield people from the consequences of environmental harm, and, where protection fails, we must mitigate the health impacts they suffer.
This demands action to improve all aspects of our environment: soil, food, air, water, and the built environment. It requires us to focus on every aspect of human health to reduce suffering.
Entrepreneurship and technology are powerful means to tackle these challenges. That’s why we are backing 70 founders to build innovative companies addressing this mission.
Transforming people’s financial resilience and turning uncertainty into opportunity
Many people have been suffering a cost of living crisis for decades. This year, that crisis has spread to most of the population, causing a major shock across the developed world.
Whilst the immediate issues of rising energy costs and the COVID pandemic have tipped a lot of people over the edge, the underlying economic insecurities have been building for a long time.
Even before the energy and COVID crises, 100m people in Europe and 90m in the US were financially fragile. They wouldn’t be able to pay an unexpected bill today of $400, access $2000 within 30 days if they need it, or pay for food and basics if they’re out of work for 8 weeks.
In this mission, we want to empower middle-aged people to turn uncertainty into opportunity, to seize technology and make it work for them, to reinvent their lives (not be reinvented by others) and to achieve the financial security they need to navigate their own way through a changing and uncertain world.
