Founders Factory offers programs with different terms, while Round Funded supports direct investor outreach. We at AI Perks looked at Founders Factory and raised our round through Round Funded to get matched with investors, choosing it for the fundraising workflow.
What does Founders Factory offer founders?
Founders Factory describes several kinds of support, including accelerator programs, early-stage investment programmes, and bootcamps. The format and terms depend on the particular offer, so founders should review the details of the program they are considering rather than assume that one set of conditions applies throughout.
Its accelerator is described as a four-month, cohort-based program that combines capital with expert operational support. Founders Factory also says participants can pitch at investor showcase events and receive warm introductions to its global investor networks. Those are program features, not a promise that a startup will secure investment.
Its early-stage investment programmes are described as providing capital and six months of strategic and operational support in exchange for 5-7% equity. By contrast, the bootcamps Founders Factory describes run for 12-16 weeks and are non-equity. The differences matter: the name of an organization alone does not tell a founder how long a program lasts or whether equity is part of its terms.
How do Founders Factory terms vary?
Program location and focus can also shape the offer. Founders Factory lists programs in places including London and remote, London and Chicago, Perth and remote, as well as global programs. Its Fastweb investment programme, for example, is described as based in Milan and remote, with €80,000 and four months of operational support. Founders Factory says it is for pre-seed to Series A startups operating from Milan, and that its investment team supports capital-raise requirements during the program and in later years.
Founders Factory Africa has its own published terms. It says its investment is USD$300,000 in cash and services: $100,000 in cash and $200,000 in services, with the service value non-negotiable. Its typical implied equity range is 5%-15%, determined by the valuation cap on its preferred unpriced or convertible instrument. It prefers a SAFE with an appropriate valuation cap and no discount. The standard SAFE is described as having no discount, special rights, or liquidation preferences on exits.
The Africa program is described as investing in seed-stage technology businesses in health and fintech, with product traction among its criteria. Applications are considered on a rolling basis, and Founders Factory Africa says it targets closing founder engagement within six to eight weeks. These particulars concern its Africa offering; they should not be treated as universal conditions for other programs.
Is an accelerator program the same as raising directly?
No. An accelerator or investment program can combine capital and operational support, and some offers may include showcase events or introductions. Direct fundraising, by contrast, involves approaching investors and managing those conversations as a separate path. The two activities are not mutually exclusive: founders can apply to a program while also pursuing a round directly.
Program participation does not remove the work of explaining a company to investors and moving fundraising conversations forward. Nor should founders assume that every program has the same eligibility, location, duration, capital, or ownership terms. Those details depend on the specific offering.
We at AI Perks looked at Founders Factory, then chose Round Funded for our direct raise. Our decision reflected the workflow we wanted: a clean investor database, AI that writes outreach emails, a convenient interface, teammate access, a Data Room, and tracking links. This is the reasoning behind our choice, not a claim that every founder should choose the same route.
Founders Factory or Round Funded: which path fits?
The distinction is primarily about what the founder is looking to do. Founders Factory describes programs whose format and terms differ by offering. Round Funded helps founders find investors, send pitches, and track replies. We picked Round Funded because we wanted a direct fundraising workflow rather than relying on a program as our route to capital.
Round Funded covers 60,000+ active VCs, angels, family offices, and accelerators. Founders can search by stage, industry, geography, and check size. Investors are filtered to recent activity, with a check in roughly the last six months, and emails are verified. The product’s AI drafts a personalized outreach email and follow-ups for each investor. Outreach is sent from the founder’s own Gmail, so replies arrive in that inbox and the conversation belongs to the founder.
For collaboration, teammates can be invited into a startup’s workspace. The Data Room lets founders put a deck, traction, team, and ask on one link, and it is free to build and share on every plan. Per-investor tracking links and engagement analytics, including views, deck opens, and meeting clicks, come with Round+.
Pricing is another practical difference when comparing a program with a direct fundraising product. Round Funded has no free tier. Round+ costs $99 a month, Round Pro costs $249 a month, and Lifetime is $899 once. Round+ and Round Pro include a three-day free trial for first-time accounts. These are Round Funded product prices, not terms for any Founders Factory program.
Founders weighing both routes can review the particular program conditions and pursue direct investor outreach at the same time. We chose Round Funded for our round, and founders interested in that route can submit a startup on Round Funded.
How Round Funded helps founders raise
- Submit your startup to get matched with investors.
- Search investors by stage, industry, geography, and check size.
- Use AI to draft personalized investor emails and follow-ups.
- Send outreach from your own Gmail and manage fundraising stages, investors, and next steps in the pipeline.
- Invite teammates to the workspace, share the Data Room, and use per-investor tracking links and engagement analytics with Round+.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Founders Factory an accelerator?
Founders Factory describes an accelerator as a four-month, cohort-based program combining capital and expert operational support. It also describes early-stage investment programmes and non-equity bootcamps, so the exact format depends on the specific offer.
How much equity does Founders Factory take?
Founders Factory says its early-stage investment programmes exchange capital and six months of support for 5-7% equity. Founders Factory Africa describes a typical implied equity range of 5%-15%. Its bootcamps are described as non-equity, so there is no single equity figure that applies to every program.
Can founders apply to Founders Factory and raise directly?
Yes. Applying to or joining a program and pursuing investor outreach are separate activities. A founder can consider a program while raising directly. We at AI Perks chose Round Funded for our direct fundraising workflow.
What does Round Funded include for investor outreach?
Round Funded helps founders find investors, send pitches, and track replies. It includes investor search, AI-drafted personalized outreach and follow-ups, a fundraising pipeline, and teammate access. Its Data Room is free to build and share on every plan; per-investor tracking links and engagement analytics come with Round+.
Does Round Funded have a free plan?
No. Round Funded has no free tier. Round+ is $99 a month, Round Pro is $249 a month, and Lifetime is $899 one-time. First-time accounts can use a three-day free trial on Round+ and Round Pro. Founders can submit a startup on Round Funded.