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Founder's DNA
Many successful founders share common characteristics. They’re visionaries who believe their ideas can disrupt industries, create new categories and change the world. They’re fighters. They’re independent thinkers and true believers. They’re also authentic, grounded and self-aware. They embrace their imperfections and aren’t afraid to be vulnerable. They have a gratitude mindset; they’re humble, look for answers and are always hungry to learn. This is what the Surge team calls ‘founder’s DNA’. Building a startup is hard and founders will face many obstacles and market cycles along the way. We believe that founders with these qualities – with this DNA – have what it takes to face these challenges and build for the future they see. To build for any tomorrow. To build legendary companies that endure.
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Surge from the start
Founded in 2019 as part of Sequoia, Surge was built to address the unique challenges that founders in India and Southeast Asia were facing. Seed start-ups were under-capitalized, the road to Series A consisted of many small rounds, early-stage fundraising took too long, founders were getting diluted too early and there was a lack of access to high-quality mentors – to name a few.
We built Surge to equip early-stage founders with what they need to build an enduring company. Giving them access to capital, talent, network, and decades of company-building experience from within and beyond the Sequoia network.
A startup ourselves, we are a fresh, passionate and dedicated team bringing the insights and network of Sequoia to more people. This is lifetimes of knowledge combined with the nerve of the new.
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Designed to be different
Learning never ends
Building a company is a long-term journey, so we make sure the learning continues. Once the program is over, founders can continue to join weekly company building sessions and founder-to-founder sector-focused chats.Fundraising support for the long-term
Any Surge company can join our UpSurge event to meet Series A investors at any time. We realise that some companies may not be ready for their Series A immediately after the program, so we wait until the company is ready.Open architecture design
When designing the Surge course, we opted for an open architecture. Our flexibility helps us to get the best possible outcomes for our founders. We invite angels, seed funds and accelerators to co-invest upfront in their Surge round as well as in the companies’ Series A.
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Stronger together
Community is an integral component of Surge. Every founder needs a circle of trust – a group of people going through the same journey they are with whom they can learn and grow together. The connections and friendships you make with founders from past and present cohorts will stay with you for decades to come. To read more about the ethos of Surge, click here.
