Paid Founder-in-Residence: Build an Industrial AI Startup

The Flywheel Venture Studio (www.theflywheel.studio) is recruiting exceptional operators, engineers, and domain experts to build category-defining companies that solve hard problems in Europe’s most critical sectors: Manufacturing, Defence and Energy.

We are looking for ambitious entrepreneurs with first-hand insights into industrial challenges, bottlenecks, and revenue blockers. We turn your insight into a formidable company. You keep up to 80% equity of the company we build together. 

We compress the 0 to 1 journey from years down to months. Accelerators, VCs, and incubators fund you and advise you. We build with you: validating the idea, shipping the first prototype, forming the founding team, incorporating, and winning your first customers and investors. 

As a Founder-in-Residence (FiR), you will be paid while validating, designing, and launching a new venture with hands-on support from experienced founders, operators, engineers, and industry partners. Successful residents receive up to €300k in committed capital at incorporation, and keep up to 80% of their equity. 

The studio’s 20+ investors, including former operators from Google, Boeing and NASA stand ready to make warm introductions to first buyers, pilots, and investors.

Our Founder-in-Residence program is based in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The hybrid residency gives you a focused environment for making decisions and moving quickly, while giving you access to Greece's strong English-speaking STEM talent pool and an efficient base for building your first product and team.

Successful ventures are free to build anywhere in Europe. 

The Role

As a Founder-in-Residence, you will work closely with The Flywheel team to identify, validate, and build a venture that uses AI to accelerate productivity and efficiency in one of our core domains:

• Manufacturing & Supply Chains
• Defence & Security
• Energy & Sustainability

You will operate as the future CEO or CTO of a company formed during or after the program. This is a highly entrepreneurial role for individuals ready to build a 0–1 company with structured guidance, material support and capital.

Responsibilities

During the FiR Program (ideally 1-3 months, up to 6 months):

• Conduct deep user research and problem validation across target industries
• Generate or evaluate multiple venture concepts and select a high-potential direction
• Develop early prototypes (with The Flywheel engineering support)
• Validate customer demand, willingness to pay, and pathway to profitability
• Run experiments, pilots, and market tests
• Build early business models, market segmentation & analysis, and GTM strategy
• Develop and present the investment case for NewCo creation

Upon NewCo Formation:

• Become CEO or CTO of the new company
• Use The Flywheel’s €300k investment to launch the venture
• Build the core founding team with our recruiting support
• Secure early customers/pilots with Flywheel’s industry partners 
• Lead further capital raises with support from The Flywheel. 
• Drive execution toward product-market fit and long-term growth

Requirements

We are looking for high-agency, deeply competent builders. Successful candidates should have one or more of the following:

• Several years of experience in one or more of our focus areas
• Strong product/technical leadership experience building from 0–1
• A track record of solving complex problems and delivering outcomes
• Strong communication and leadership ability
• A willingness to own the company end-to-end as CEO, or lead the technical direction of the company as CTO

Nice-to-haves:

• Prior entrepreneurial experience (startup founder, early employee, product owner, technical lead)
• B2B enterprise sales or business development background
• Experience managing engineering or product teams
• Experience raising capital 
• Network of industry buyers

You do not need a fully formed idea or prototype to apply.

Who should not apply

• You already have traction, pilots, or a funded company and mainly need capital. We build companies; we don't just fund them.
• You can't point to a specific problem you've seen first-hand, or to the buyer who pays to solve it. You don't need a polished idea. You do need real insight.
• Your problem sits outside Manufacturing & Supply Chains, Defence & Security, and Energy & Sustainability.

What We Offer

(€4k/month) to validate idea, up to €300k at incorporation, you keep up to 80% of NewCo

• A real co-founder: We work beside you from first idea to first customers. You keep up to 80% of the company we build together. 
• Instant credibility and access: backed by 20+ investors, including former operators from Google, Boeing, NASA, and the European Commission. 
• A team that builds with you: fractional engineering, design, and go-to-market operators.
• User research & validation frameworks
• AI architecture & technical prototyping
• Business modeling & pricing strategy
• Access to industrial pilot programs and buyers 
• Team formation and recruitment of technical talent
• Company formation, legal, and IP support
• Pre-incorporation: €4,000/month stipend to properly validate the idea for up to six months. 
• Post-incorporation: Up to €300k in initial funding
• A path to your Series A: guidance and warm intros to US and EU investors, from founders with multiple raises and exits. 

How our application process works

We review applications on a rolling basis. The process: a 7-minute application, a 30-minute screening call, then a deep-dive session before an offer. Most applicants hear back within 5 days.

Apply now: https://theflywheel.studio/become-a-founder/