What On Deck does

On Deck Founders (ODF), operated by nZero Labs, Inc., is a private fellowship program headquartered in San Francisco that serves early-stage founders from the pre-idea through pre-seed stages. The company's core product is an intensive one-week in-person onboarding experience held in San Francisco for cohorts of approximately 80-100 founders per session, designed to help participants meet collaborators, pressure-test ideas, and build conviction before committing to a startup. Alumni receive lifetime access to the broader On Deck community, along with ongoing programming across multiple tracks, including the ODF Angels program for aspiring angel investors and Founders Unlocked and other vertical- and geography-specific cohorts. The program is explicitly non-dilutive — ODF takes no equity in participant companies — distinguishing it from accelerator models such as Y Combinator.

The business model is built on a pay-what-you-can contribution structure with a suggested contribution of $1,000 USD per participant, supplemented by venture funding raised at the corporate level (nZero Labs, Inc.). This pricing approach prioritizes access and community growth over per-unit monetization, with revenue variability offset by capital raised to scale cohort frequency and adjacent programs. Participant acquisition is primarily community-driven and referral-led, leveraging alumni evangelism and endorsements from partner investors and accelerators, which keeps customer acquisition costs low relative to paid-marketing-dependent alternatives. The company has progressively expanded its program surface beyond the flagship Founders fellowship into investor education (Angels), industry- and region-specific cohorts (Founders Unlocked and related tracks), and remote-compatible programming layers, indicating an explicit strategy to broaden the addressable market and deepen lifetime alumni engagement.

Name

On Deck

Legal name

nZero Labs, Inc.

Website

https://joinodf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

On Deck Founders (ODF), operated by nZero Labs, Inc., is a San Francisco-based, non-dilutive fellowship program that runs one-week in-person cohorts for ~80-100 early-stage (pre-idea to pre-seed) founders per session, offering lifetime alumni access to a broader community and adjacent investor and vertical programs under a pay-what-you-can model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Program Participation Fees: ODF generates revenue through a pay-what-you-can contribution model for its Founder Fellowship program. The suggested contribution is $1000 USD, which covers venue, food, and year-round community infrastructure. This is a non-dilutive program that does not take equity from participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ODF (On Deck Founders) is an intensive one-week in-person founder fellowship program in San Francisco for early-stage founders (pre-idea through pre-seed), focused on meeting collaborators, exploring ideas, and gaining conviction. Participants receive lifetime access to a 3,000+ member alumni community platform, workshops on fundraising/product/hiring, and >$800k in perks from partners such as Mercury, AWS, Stripe Atlas, and Carta. The program is non-dilutive (takes no equity) and operates on a pay-what-you-can contribution model with a suggested $1,000 USD.

Product overview

ODF (On Deck Founders) is a founder fellowship program structured as a single core product — the ODF Founder Fellowship — augmented by supplementary modules including ODF Talent Hub (job board), ODF Recruit (recruiting services), ODF Career Center (coaching), and the Solo Founders Program. The flagship is the one-week in-person onboarding in San Francisco, after which alumni gain lifetime access to the 3000+ member Community Platform. ODF does not take any equity in participant companies (non-dilutive), operating on a 'pay-what-you-can' model (suggested $1000 USD). Alumni have collectively raised over $2 billion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ODF Founder Fellowship An intense one-week in-person onboarding experience in San Francisco for early-stage founders (pre-idea through pre-seed), focused on meeting collaborators, exploring ideas, and gaining conviction. Includes lifetime access to a 3,000+ member community and >$800k in non-dilutive perks. Pay-what-you-can with suggested $1,000 USD contribution.
• ODF Talent Hub A job search platform that allows candidates and employers to post job openings, browse candidates, and communicate with each other, sourced from within ODF's network.
• ODF Recruit A white-glove recruiting service that provides advice to participants on hiring candidates for positions within their company and helps participants find candidates from within ODF's network.
• ODF Career Center Career coaching and executive coaching services that help professionals navigate job transitions and career-building in the startup world, connecting users with coaches for advice, resources, and action plans.
• Solo Founders Program A program specifically designed for solo founders, requiring information about their vision, progress-to-date, and equity breakdown during application.
• ODF Community Platform Lifetime access to a 3,000+ member community of founders and builders, including online community and IRL events throughout the year.

Quantifiable outcome

• >$2B raised by alumni
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MercurycoreOthersPerk provider offering banking services and credits to ODF participants as part of the >$800k perks package.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreOthersCloud infrastructure perk provider offering credits to ODF participants as part of the >$800k perks package.
• Stripe AtlascoreOthersBusiness formation and banking services perk provider for ODF participants as part of the >$800k perks package.
• CartacoreOthersCap table and equity management services perk provider for ODF participants as part of the >$800k perks package.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: The most prominent founder accelerator, running biannual cohorts in San Francisco with selective admissions, Demo Day, and lifetime founder community. Directly comparable to ODF as a pre-seed to seed-stage founder program, though YC takes equity (typically 7%) whereas ODF is non-dilutive.
• South Park Commons: A founder fellowship offering a multi-month in-person community in San Francisco for early-stage builders without taking equity. The closest direct comparable to ODF in terms of non-dilutive, community-led model targeting pre-idea and pre-seed founders.
• Antler: Global founder fellowship running cohort-based programs in dozens of cities worldwide, with intensive in-person residencies for early-stage founders. Comparable to ODF in cohort structure and pre-seed focus, though Antler takes equity and operates across more geographies.
• Techstars: One of the largest global accelerator networks running 3-month intensive programs with mentorship and Demo Days, typically taking equity. Directly comparable to ODF as a founder fellowship/accelerator, with substantially greater resources but a more time-boxed, equity-dilutive structure.
• Founder Institute: A pre-seed accelerator operating across global chapters, running cohort-based programs for aspiring and early-stage founders. Comparable to ODF in pre-idea to pre-seed focus and cohort format, with a structured curriculum and equity component at the end.
• Entrepreneur First: A 'talent-first' fellowship that brings together individuals to form startup teams from scratch, running intensive in-person programs in multiple global cities. Closely comparable to ODF in cohort-based, team-formation focus for very early-stage founders.
• 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups): Global accelerator and venture firm running multiple cohort programs worldwide with intensive mentorship and demo days. Comparable to ODF as a pre-seed founder fellowship with a global footprint, operating a more distributed, equity-dilutive model.
• Pioneer: A founder community and fellowship program targeting pre-idea through pre-seed founders, with curated cohorts and ongoing community access. Directly comparable to ODF in non-dilutive fellowship format and community-led go-to-market motion.
• Atomic: An accelerator that combines a fellowship-style program with a venture fund, supporting early-stage founders through structured programs and capital. Comparable to ODF in cohort-based founder fellowship structure, with more integrated capital deployment.

Broad incumbents

• Maven: A cohort-based education platform offering courses and cohorts for professionals, including founder and operator audiences. Comparable to ODF in cohort-based, community-driven learning format, though Maven serves a broader professional audience rather than exclusively founders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/joinodf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/'odf'

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about On Deck