After spending months of research on the topic of startup studios, I am pivoting TopCofounder towards this business model. I call it "Startup as a Service".
In Antifragile (my favorite book), Nassim Taleb describes antifragility as the characteristic of things that improve under stress and volatility. The startup studio model is an antifragile approach to company building. Instead of risking everything on the success or failure of 1 company, a startup studio utilizes an iterative process to produce several companies in parallel. This reduces the risk of individual failures while maximizing the reward through diversification.
Over the last several months, I conducted extensive research on the topic. I recommend the Startup Studio Playbook as the go-to resource. I also consulted for a startup studio in Miami and networked with startup studio founders around the world. Now, I am working full-time on TopCofounder.
I started TopCofounder last year as a networking group within Mensa, the high IQ society. Although now a startup studio, I still plan on utilizing this network to recruit executives once TopCofounder produces a startup that gains traction. Here is how I fully describe the entire process:
Our process produces a portfolio of scalable companies using a startup factory model. We create and develop companies from the best ideas we come across. These are usually in the areas of machine learning, big data, internet of things, and software as a service.
The first step is to produce a prototype within weeks. Once validated by paying customers, we attract seed capital to begin scaling operations. Finally, we recruit a CEO from within our selective pool of entrepreneurs (1 out of 50 applicants). The CEO will take over operations and TopCofounder will remain the majority stakeholder.