1.10Founder readiness and the minus-one stage

Fellowships for pre-company founders

Stage: Minus-oneDeeptech

Core idea#

The hardest months for a researcher-founder are the ones before there's a company to invest in: the technology isn't ready for a seed round, but you need to work on it full time. Fellowships fill that gap. They pay you (and sometimes your R&D) to turn research into a company, usually without taking equity, and they add mentoring, a peer group and credibility with investors.

Three kinds of programme get lumped together. Know which you're applying to:

Type What you get What you give Examples
Fellowship Living stipend, often
R&D money,
mentoring, network		 Usually no equity; a
time commitment		 Activate, Breakthrough
Energy Fellows, RAEng
Enterprise Fellowships,
NIDHI-EIR
Talent investor
or accelerator		 Stipend or
investment, co-
founder matching,
structured
programme		 Equity (often 5%
to 10%)		 Entrepreneurs First,
SOSV (formerly
IndieBio)
Mentoring
programme		 Structured mentoring,
investor access		 Time; no money, no
equity		 Creative Destruction
Lab

Grants (playbook on non-dilutive funding) are different again: project funding tied to milestones, often to an organisation rather than to you.

Who it's for: researchers 6 to 24 months from incorporating, or who've incorporated but aren't ready for a priced round.

The main programmes#

Terms change every year. Figures below were checked in November 2026; confirm on each programme's own site before applying.

Activate (US, plus international sites)#

  • What: a two-year fellowship for scientists and engineers turning research into hardtech companies; nonprofit, takes no equity (ProFellow).
  • Money: a living stipend of up to $100,000 a year, a health insurance stipend and travel allowance, $100,000 in research funding and access to at least $75,000 in additional flexible capital (Activate Boston). Total support is described as more than $300,000 over two years (Causo).
  • Selectivity: the 2024 cohort had 62 fellows in 50 companies chosen from over 1,000 applicants (Causo, citing Activate).
  • Sites: Berkeley, Boston, New York and Houston in the US (Grantable), with international programmes such as Singapore (Superscout).
  • Timing: US Cohort 2027 applications close 30 October 2026 (After School Africa). Projects too far along (ready for full-scale sales) are not eligible.
  • Best for: US-based hard-tech founders with a technology still needing R&D.

Entrepreneurs First (London, Bangalore, Paris, San Francisco and others)#

  • What: a "talent investor" that backs individuals before they have a co-founder or idea, then helps them form teams.
  • Money: an equity-free stipend during the team-forming phase, then up to $250,000 for teams that pass the investment committee, structured as $125,000 on a postmoney SAFE for 8% plus an optional $125,000 uncapped SAFE (F4 Fund); launchstage teams move to San Francisco (EF). Local terms differ by city.
  • Best for: researchers without a co-founder who are willing to start from scratch and give up equity for team-matching and speed.

SOSV NY and SF (formerly IndieBio)#

  • What: SOSV's lab-based programme for science startups. At the start of 2026, IndieBio was rebranded as SOSV NY and SOSV SF, widening its scope from biology to deep tech generally, including chemistry, physics and AI (Causeartist).
  • Money: up to $550,000 pre-seed according to SOSV; equity percentage not published (Causo). Includes lab space at the programme site.
  • Track record: 310 IndieBio graduates raised $3.6 billion in follow-on funding between 2015 and 2025 (Causo, citing SOSV).
  • Best for: bio and lab-based teams with early data who need bench space and are ready to take venture money.

Creative Destruction Lab (16 sites in about 10 countries)#

  • What: a nonprofit, objectives-based programme for seed-stage science and technology companies. Founders meet mentors in full-day sessions roughly every eight weeks over nine months; mentors decide whether to keep working with each company. No fees, no equity, and no cash (CDL; Grant Compass).
  • Scale: more than 7,500 founders from over 4,000 ventures have taken part since 2012, and more than 1,700 graduates have generated over CAD 60 billion in equity value (CDL).
  • Timing: applications typically close in late July for an October-to-June programme. Best for: companies that already exist, want tough mentoring and investor introductions, and can combine it with other funding.

Breakthrough Energy Fellows (global, climate)#

  • What: part of Breakthrough Energy Discovery; R&D funding, curriculum, one-to-one mentoring and network access for climate-tech founders (Breakthrough Energy). Pathways include Innovator Fellows, Business Fellows and an Explorer programme for earlier-stage research (Opportunities for Youth).
  • Recent cohorts: the fifth cohort (2025) had 22 startups from over 1,500 applicants, half from outside the US (The Tech Buzz); the sixth (announced September 2026) has 21 (TechCrunch).
  • Timing: the Innovator Fellowship deadline for Cohort 7 was 2 November 2026, for a September 2027 start (Opportunities for Youth).
  • Best for: climate technologies in hard-to-decarbonise sectors, from anywhere in the world.

UK and India#

United Kingdom#

  • Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowships. A 12-month programme for researchers and recent graduates turning engineering innovations into spinouts and startups (EBNet). It offers equity-free funding of up to £75,000, bespoke training and one-to-one mentoring from an Academy Fellow (RAEng guidance, July 2026). The most recent round's stage-one deadline was 25 August 2026 (RAEng). It can also support a Global Talent visa case (playbook 1.06).
  • Innovate UK ICURe. Customer-discovery programmes for university researchers: ICURe Explore is a four-month, full-time market exploration programme (Innovate UK Business Connect), and shorter Discover programmes, such as an eight-week part-

time one for advanced materials run with the Henry Royce Institute, are a lighter first step (Royce). Expenditure goes through the university rather than as an upfront grant.

  • University and regional proof-of-concept funds, plus Entrepreneurs First London and CDL Oxford, are other common routes.

India#

  • NIDHI Entrepreneur-in-Residence (DST). Run through approved technology business incubators, it gives aspiring entrepreneurs a subsistence grant for up to 12 months to offset the cost of leaving a job; the published guidelines set it at Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 a month (NIDHI-EIR guidelines). Some incubators run larger, enhanced versions; check the current amount with the incubator.
  • BIRAC Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG). A grant-in-aid of up to Rs 50 lakh over 18 months to take a biotech idea to proof of concept (BIRAC), released in three or four milestone-based instalments (BIRAC guidelines, November 2025). Calls usually open twice a year. Grantees who commercialise pay a 5% royalty on net sales until the grant amount is repaid (CASRAI).
  • Entrepreneurs First Bangalore offers the same model as other EF sites, with local terms (Startup Intros).
  • Institute incubator programmes (playbook 1.11) often provide stipends, prototype grants and access to government schemes in one place.

Choosing and applying#

Match the programme to your situation#

If you... Look first at
Have a technology that needs 1 to 2 more years of
R&D, and are in the US		 Activate
Work on climate technology, anywhere Breakthrough Energy Fellows
Are an engineer in the UK with a technology ready
to spin out		 RAEng Enterprise Fellowship, ICURe
Work in biotech in India BIRAC BIG, plus an institute incubator
Need a co-founder Entrepreneurs First
Need lab space and early capital SOSV NY or SF
If you... Look first at
Already have a company and want tough mentoring Creative Destruction Lab
Need to leave a job in India and want a subsistence
stipend		 NIDHI-EIR through an incubator

Combining programmes#

Many founders stack them: a customer-discovery programme first (ICURe, I-Corps), then a fellowship for runway, then CDL or an accelerator for investor access. Check each programme's rules: some require full-time commitment or limit other salaried funding (the RAEng guidance, for example, says further grants shouldn't include a salary component that reduces your time on the fellowship (RAEng)).

What reviewers look for#

  1. A technology with real potential, described in plain language, with evidence it works.
  2. A person who will commit full time and has started acting like a founder: talking to customers, finding a team.
  3. A clear plan for the fellowship period: what you'll prove, by when, and how it gets you to funding.
  4. Fit with the programme's mission: climate, hard tech, engineering, biotech.
  5. Honesty about risks and gaps.

A typical timeline#

  • Month 0: shortlist two or three programmes; note deadlines and eligibility (citizenship, stage, IP status).
  • Months 1 to 2: speak to past fellows; draft the application; get the tech transfer office to confirm the IP position (playbook 2.03).
  • Month 2 to 3: submit; prepare for interviews (often a pitch plus technical questions). Months 4 to 8: decision and start. Most programmes have fixed annual start dates, so plan your leave or quit date around them (playbooks 1.03, 1.05).

Scripts#

Asking a past fellow for advice

"I'm applying to [programme] this cycle with a [technology] spinning out of [lab]. I saw you were in [cohort]. Could I have 20 minutes to ask what the selection panel cared about and what you'd do differently? Happy to work around your schedule."

The one-paragraph summary most applications ask for#

"[Technology] does [what] for [customer], [X] times better than [current method] because [mechanism]. We've shown [result] in the lab. Over the fellowship, I'll [milestone 1], [milestone 2] and [milestone 3], which will let us raise a seed round to build [first product]."

Asking the TTO to confirm your IP position for an application#

"I'm applying for [fellowship], which needs confirmation that I'll be able to license the [technology]. Can we agree a short letter saying the institution supports a licence or option to a company I form, subject to normal terms?"

Common mistakes#

  • Applying too late. Several programmes treat projects close to market as ineligible. Applying too early. With no evidence the technology works, you'll struggle against applicants who have it.
  • Ignoring IP. Many programmes need confirmation that the IP can be licensed (playbooks 2.01, 2.03).
  • Treating equity programmes as free. 8% to 10% at pre-seed is significant; be sure the network and capital are worth it.
  • Not reading time and salary rules. Some fellowships forbid other salaried roles. Generic applications. Reviewers can tell when the same text went to five programmes.
  • 1.03 Leave, sabbatical or dual role
  • 1.05 Personal runway
  • 1.06 Founder visas
  • 1.11 Indian incubators
  • 1.14 Accelerators: YC, Techstars and sector programmes
  • 1.19 Customer discovery from inside the lab

Sources#

Last checked November 2026. Programme terms and deadlines change every year.

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